Jean Baptiste La Framboise, a French Canadian, is considered the first permanent white settler of what is now Chazy. To some of his English neighbors, he was known as Johnny Raspberry. Accompanied by two other men, Goude and Swarte, La Framboise is recorded to be in the area as early as 1763. After receiving a land grant in 1768 from Francis McKay, he owned lots 70 and 72 of Dean's Patent. La Framboise built a home for himself and his family on lot 72, set close to the lakeshore. On his second lot, he planted the first apple trees of the North Country. He tended his orchard until 1777, when British General John Burgoyne and troops embarked on the Saratoga Campaign. La Framboise and his family were driven away from the Champlain Valley and their house was burned. After the Revolution ended, he returned to his homestead to rebuild and resume care of the orchard. In 1810, La Framboise died and was buried near his homestead. The La Framboise land still provide apples to the region, under the care and ownership of Chazy Orchards. This historical marker was erected by the Friends of the Library of the Chazy Public Library, as an initiative of the 350th Lake Champlain Anniversary Celebration. In 1959, the entire Lake Champlain basin, not just lakeside towns, celebrated Samuel de Champlain and his 1609 discovery of the region.
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