Robert Millot, alternatively spelled Mailot or Maylotte and finally, Mylott can be found in the 1850 census of Whitehall, New York working as a farm laborer on the Rathburn farm on the outskirts of town. Exactly when he arrived from Québec, we do not know. What attracted the young man to this town at the southern end of Lake Champlain? Looking around Whitehall today, it would be hard to tell. What did Whitehall look like in 1850? When Robert Millot came into Whitehall, he found a town bursting with activity, jobs, commerce and crime but, at that time, only a few French Canadians. For several decades the region was the farmland of New England descendants. With the opening of the Champlain Canal, Whitehall quickly became the center of economic activity in the north county attracting many new immigrants because it offered many new opportunities. It was so busy and bustling, it even became the center of a nonfictional account entitled Ship Fever Times. While Robert Mylott continued farming throughout his life, his sons became Champlain Canal boatmen.
Below are several stereoscopic views and a few panoramic scenes of Whitehall in the 19th century, helping us to imagine the Whitehall Robert Millot saw when he arrived.
