President Barack Obama declined his invitation to the quadricentennial, the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's exploration of our lake. But the possibility of a presidential visit made me curious about one that happened before.

One hundred years ago, William Howard Taft — the 27th president — attended the tercentenary. As reported by the New York Times, Taft's Champlain Valley visit was noteworthy. The July 7, 1909, New York Times, (which cost a penny in "Greater New York, Jersey City and Newark," and two cents elsewhere) carried a front-page story datelined July 6, Bluff Point, N.Y. The Times reported that Taft and ambassadors Bryce of Great Britain and Jusserand of France rode a special train from Albany to Ticonderoga, arriving at 2 p.m. At Fort Ticonderoga, the president and ambassadors "committed their respective countries to policies of peace, and in the shadow of an old fortress (that) had witnessed some savage battles they expressed the hope that never again would the peace of the great nations of the world be interrupted by war."

After that commitment to peace, Taft left the fort to board the steamship Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. The weather in 1909, however, seems to have been as wet as that of 2009, and the road from the fort to the lake was muddy.

"Taft's Auto Skids on Dangerous Hill" headlined the New York Times. "Crowd at Fort Ticonderoga Frightened but Danger is quickly Averted," was the smaller headline.

If Obama's car slid on a muddy road, YouTube, Twitter and CNN would report it immediately. But Taft's mishap on July 6 was reported on July 7: "A heavy rain fell from the fort down to Lake Champlain. When the big machine, its wheels locked by the brakes but slipping over the treacherous surface, began to skid toward the edge of the roadway, the chauffeur quickly got the car under control and the danger was over in an instant. The President was the least concerned of any person in the large throng."

(Was the chauffeur a local or the president's regular driver? The New York Times does not say.)

Before Taft boarded the Ticonderoga, he visited and had tea with Stephen and Sarah Pell, who had restored Fort Ticonderoga and opened it to the public in 1909.

Aboard the Ticonderoga, Taft traveled to Port Henry, where he and New York Gov. Charles Evans Hughes and Vermont Gov. George Herbert Prouty boarded the train for Hotel Champlain at Bluff Point. For a time at Bluff Point, Taft was a guest on Walter Witherbee's houseboat.

Finally, the Times reports that Taft "will go to Plattsburgh," give a speech and listen to an "oration by Senator Elihu Root."

I don't know if Taft enjoyed Root's oration, but the rest of the trip — riding trains and boats through our local history — sounds great to me. At Ticonderoga, he even had the chance to view the Don de Dieu, which the Times reported was a reproduction of "Champlain's little caravel."

With some relatives visiting from Idaho, we went to Fort Ticonderoga this July 4, listened to pipers and the local fife and drum corps, looked at Lake Champlain from behind the fortification. It's better than ever.

Then we visited the Crown Point lighthouse, where the Rodin sculpture will soon be rededicated and had dinner in Port Henry. It was a great day.

So I think Obama made a mistake. I know he's busy, but he should have come up here with his family. They would have enjoyed themselves, probably more than they will when they vacation on Martha's Vineyard.

Jerry McGovern, the Press-Republican's coordinator of Newspapers-in-Education, taught in New York state's public schools, and now teaches in the Communication Department of Plattsburgh State. He can be reached at gmcgovern@pressrepublican.com or 565-4126. This column is the opinion of the writer and not necessarily of this newspaper.