Mural in Keeseville Commemorates the Battle of Valcour

Keeseville has a new mural celebrating one of the pivotal moments in the American Revolution. Ausable Valley Central School District students, teachers and a local artist have brought the story of the Battle of Valcour Bay to life in ceramic tile at the Ausable-Chesterfield-Keeseville Civic Center.

Titled The Battle of Valcour Bay, the mural commemorates the 250th anniversary of the October 1776 naval battle on Lake Champlain, where American forces under Benedict Arnold fought a larger British fleet in the early stages of the Revolutionary War.

The project was spearheaded by Sharon Bainbridge, AVCS Middle-High School library media specialist, and Jennifer Winternitz, an art teacher who helped develop the grant application and organize the mural team. Rebecca Conklin, also an AVCS art teacher, joined Winternitz in guiding students through the creative process.

Artist Gerald Gardner of Saranac designed the mural, worked with students as a visiting artist, and contributed many hours to its layout, installation and painting.

Approximately 70 Ausable Valley High School students participated in the project, which combined local history, research and hands-on art. Work on the ceramic tiles began in December 2025 and continued through June 2026. Installation and painting took place from July through October.

Students began with a field trip to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, where they learned about the Revolutionary War on Lake Champlain. They then took part in brainstorming sessions with Gardner to develop imagery for the mural.

Their drawings were transformed into three-dimensional tools, or stamps, by AVCS technology teacher Jim Caron. Students used the stamps, along with other tools, to create images and textures in the clay before making and glazing the ceramic tiles.

Winternitz and Conklin also created portions of the mural themselves, working alongside Gardner on the planning, layout and installation.

Bainbridge chose the mural's theme to mark the battle's 250th anniversary and highlight a digital 3D model of the Spitfire, a gunboat associated with the American fleet that was recently created by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The Spitfire is represented in the mural through specially designed tiles created by Gardner.

Funding came from a 2026 Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Local Heritage Grant, which covered the mural's costs, including materials, the museum field trip and Gardner's time. The grant also funded the purchase of books related to the project for libraries at all three schools in the AVCS district.

The Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership works with regional partners in New York, Vermont and Quebec to promote, conserve and interpret the shared cultural and natural heritage of the Lake Champlain region.

The mural's placement at the Civic Center connects the district's educational work with the community's history. The building, formerly a high school, now serves as a center for local government and community life.

The Battle of Valcour Bay took place on Oct. 11, 1776, in the channel between Valcour Island and the New York shore of Lake Champlain. Although the American fleet suffered a tactical defeat against the better-equipped British navy, Arnold’s resistance helped delay the British advance south toward Ticonderoga and the Hudson River. With winter approaching, the British withdrew north rather than continue the campaign.

The delay gave the Americans valuable time to prepare for the following year’s campaign and helped set the stage for the American victory at Saratoga in 1777.

The work of art at the Civic Center commemorates the battle and recognizes the students, teachers and artist who worked together to bring the region's Revolutionary War history to life.