Vintage Photo: Homeport, Wadhams, NY

Every Monday we share an image on the Essex on Lake Champlain Facebook page and invite our viewers to play some Vintage Essex Trivia.

Do you recognize this building? Where exactly is it? When do you think the photo was taken? What is different today? Is this building still there?

The caption tells us that it is a building called Homeport in Wadhams, New York — that’s not too far from Essex.

Here’s what the community had to say:

Dianne Lansing: I’ll bet George Davis knows!

And that turns out to actually be the case as that building was once his home. You can read George Davis’s thoughts on Homeport in a recent blog post at Rosslyn Redux and learn more about the building here: “Homeport in Wadhams, NY.”

Below is an except from an old book describing the history of Wadhams that sheds a little more light on Homeport and its long-ago owners:

“Homeport” was the summer home of the late Albion V. Wadhams, a younger son of William Luman Wadhams, and a grandson of the General. Albion was graduated from U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. 1868. His cruise took him to China, an encounter with the Koreans; and later an instructor at the Naval Academy. He retired June 30, 1907 with the rank of Commodore after 43 years service. Mr. and Mrs. A.V. Wadhams had come to “Homeport” about 1896, which become the home of Mrs. Frances T. Ladd in Sept. 1926. This home was originally built by Levi H. Cross as indicated on the 1876 map. (In the Beginning… Wadhams 1820-1970)

Do you have any other thoughts to share? Please leave a comment below!

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About Katie Shepard

Passionate about reading and writing stories, Katie Shepard enjoys discovering more about her home while writing and editing for Essex on Lake Champlain. Katie graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh in 2011 where she studied English literature, philosophy, and Asian studies. Her first book Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler's Field Guide was published in 2015. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, or at Linked.in. Or email her at katie [@] essexeditions [dot] com.