[3] The name is derived from the younger brother of King George III, Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany.

The Hudson River at this point north is no longer a navigable waterway because of waterfalls and rapids.

Historically, travelers through this area would leave the Hudson at Fort Edward and carry their canoes overland to Lake George.

[6] The Indians called the area around Fort Edward Wahcoloosencoochaleva, which means "The Great Carrying Place."

Fort Edward's location was the most northerly point on the Hudson River for the early Dutch, and was near the boundary between the Province of New York and New France.

[6] As early as 1709 during Queen Anne's War, a stockade (Fort Nicholson) was erected in the area due to its strategic importance.

Fort Nicholson was garrisoned by 450 men, including seven companies of “regulars in scarlet uniform from old England.” A crude stockade was built to protect storehouses and log huts.

Fort Edward is on the opposite shore of the Hudson River from the town of Moreau in Saratoga County.