Rewind: May 1, 2026 –
“George Washington Did Sleep Here!”
Some very important people of the Revolutionary time period visited what would become Warren County: Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Henry Knox, Benedict Arnold, and Thomas Jefferson to name a few. Perhaps the most distinguished visitor would be the Father of Our Country, George Washington.
Washington visited here in 1783 when he was on a survey of the army posts in the North country. At the time, he visited old Saratoga, Fort Edward, Fort George, and Ticonderoga.
Tradition says he stopped at Halfway Brook – in the area of the current Market 32 on Glen Street where there was a blockhouse – to get some water. Tradition further states that a local man named Walter Briggs got Washington the water he wanted.
The idea of Washington’s visit was captured in a painting by Frederick C. Yohn. The painting was one of several that the Glens Falls Insurance Company commissioned in the early 20th century and hung in the insurance company building in downtown Glens Falls for many years. The original paintings are now safely kept at the Chapman Historical Museum.
One of Frederick C. Yohn’s specialties as an artist was illustrations. He specialized in military history illustrations. Trditions tells us that the man on the right in the red shirt was Walter Briggs.
Frederick Coffay Yohn
Frederick Coffay Yohn (February 1875 – June 1933) was an American artist and magazine illustrator. His work appeared in many publications, and he also did illustrations for several books. He specialized in historical military themes, especially of the American Revolution and the Battles of Lake George. During his career, he also designed a two-cent postage stamp for the US Postal Service in 1929 to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of George Rogers Clark’s victory over the British at Vincennes, Indiana (1799), and his painting of General Herkimer at the Battle of Oriskany (1777) was used on a Bi-Centennial stamp (1976). The Glens Falls Insurance Company commissioned Yohn to do several illustrations for a calendar, and paintings for their offices in downtown Glens Falls.
