From Architectural Firm, Arnold and Scangas:
“Working for The Fish and Wildlife Department for the State of Vermont, we renovated the Gordon-Center House during a two-phase project. This 1824 building with a history associated with lake ferry operations was extensively damaged during an ice storm. A new roof was constructed and the stone masonry was restored during the first phase of work. During the second phase, we designed renovations for public displays and educational purposes, offices, and overnight guestrooms. All renovations complied with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.”-Working for The Fish and Wildlife Department for the State of Vermont, we renovated the Gordon-Center House during a two-phase project. This 1824 building with a history associated with lake ferry operations was extensively damaged during an ice storm. A new roof was constructed and the stone masonry was restored during the first phase of work. During the second phase, we designed renovations for public displays and educational purposes, offices, and overnight guestrooms. All renovations complied with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.”-http://www.arnoldandscangas.com/gordon-center-house/
“The Gordon-Center House is a historic house on West Shore Road (Vermont Route 314) in Grand Isle, Vermont. Probably built in first quarter of the 19th century, it was long been associated with the nearby ferry service to Plattsburgh, New York, and is one of the town’s few surviving 19th-century stone buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[1]
The Gordon-Center House stands on the east side of West Shore Road, north of the Gordon’s Landing ferry terminus and just south of the Ed Weed Cultural Fish Station. It is a 2+1⁄2-story stone structure, built out of ashlar granite and coursed rubble, with a side-gable slate roof and two interior chimneys. The entrance is centered on the main facade, and features a distinctive oversized keystone arch. A 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame wing, dating to early in the building’s history, extends to the left. The property also includes five barns, all built before 1930, reflective of the evolutionary changes in the property’s agricultural uses.[2]
Apparently completed in 1824, the interior has retained a few Federal style details despite fairly extensive alterations early in the 20th century. The building was long been associated with the ferry service operated, and tradition has it that its construction was begun by Hazen Bell and completed by someone named Boardman. Both were known to be operators of the ferry service, and its subsequent owners were also ferry owners and operators until 1941. The Gordon and Center families were later owners of both the house and ferry privilege in the 19th century.[2]”-https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon-Center_House
“FACT SHEET-Gordons Landing:
Repairs to Breakwater
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, NEW YORK DISTRICT
DESCRIPTION:
A 654-foot-long rock breakwater, disconnected from the shoreline and extending northwest out to the minus 16-foot contour of Lake Champlain. The 130-year-old breakwater protects the eastern terminus of the Cumberland Head-Grand Isle Ferry Route from wind and wave action and ice floes.
AUTHORIZATION:
Adapted in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1887.
STATUS:
The economic and physical conditions at the harbor have changed since the breakwater was constructed. Ferry usage has increased from two small steamers each day in 1891 to larger diesel ferries making 22,000 annual landings and departures. The ferry now operates 24 hours a day and 365 days a year and transports over one million passengers each year. Rising temperatures are driving a trend towards wetter conditions, which increase the frequency and duration of high lake level events. The breakwater is almost or completely submerged during such events.
Currently, the Gordon’s Landing Breakwater does not adequately protect the ferry landing from wave and ice overtopping. Since 1891, deterioration has lowered the breakwater’s crest elevation by 2 feet across its entire length. Comparison of the 2009 and 2019 surveys shows the breakwater has lost an additional 1-4 feet of crest along its lakeward sections in the past 10 years, as a chain reaction of armor dislodging and core material loss unravels the rubblemound structure.
In the Section 216 Initial Appraisal Report signed on 19 June 2020, the District recommended a feasibility study under Continuing Authorities Program Section 107. The project was included within the CAP database and recommended as a FY21 CAP Section 107 new start. The District had communicated with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the Vermont Department of Transportation at the time of the IAR development concerning the possibility of serving as the non-Federal sponsor, but a NFS has not been identified at this time.
ISSUES:
The Gordon’s Landing Breakwater was found to possess significance under National Register of Historic Places. Research has shown the breakwater provides rare and important spawning habitat for economically important lake trout and other fish species. Vermont fish hatchery at Gordon’s Landing that relies on local water quality to produce fish for the economically important recreational fishery. Construction would require mitigation to avoid fouling the hatchery’s intake.
FUNDING:
FY21 Federal Cost: $100,000. CAP Section 107 funds requested to initiate a feasibility study but not yet received.”-https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Media/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Article-View/Article/487455/fact-sheet-gordons-landing-vt/