Beautiful weather today, what a wonderful time to be out and about. Cooked up breakfast burritos this morning in order to use up a bunch of veggies that were hanging around in the fridge for a while. Wanted to get to them before they made a pact between themselves and turned into one giant science experiment. So I ate while listening to 'The Car Guys' on NPR and reading the comics.

   Once out and about the 1st stop was back at Fort Klock to see if anyone had shown up yet. No one there yet, at least for the 5 min's I hung around. From there it was back to Johnstown in order to explore a little more of that town. Stopped several times while driving the streets and wandering around to take pictures of some of the neat old buildings. It is hard to pick and choose though when so many of them are so old and so interesting. I think there are several that will go into my 'Cool Buildings' folder though. So they will show up here at some point.

   Spent many hours down there, ran into one homeowner there, almost literally since I was standing in his driveway taking a picture of the house across the street when he wanted to drive out. He stopped and talked to me for about 15 min's about his home and some of the other ones on his block. He pointed to a small, one car garage size, building at the back of his lot that he told me was once one of many glove factories in the area. Leather work, and in particular, making gloves was once a big business in the area. In deed, a town just down the road, Glover, was named that because of all the manufacturing. So it was off to Glover next where there are even more neat houses to look at. So many that I'll need to go back in a day or two and see some more of them.

   Will be heading back to Fort Klock tomorrow to see if it is open. I would think the weekend would be the most likely time for that to occur. If not, the next stop will be down the road at the 'Nellis Tavern' building I discovered the other day. The sign in the window there said that it was suppose to be open on Sunday afternoon, so we'll see. If not I still need to go on into Little Falls again and check out what I believe is the start to the Erie Canal. Maybe take a boat ride, certainly look around, and if nothing else, have a good time.

   In the meantime, here are some photo's of the Library Building in Little Falls.

A house in Little Falls, NY. At first it appeared to simply be a nice old house that someone had turned into a business office. Upon a second look it turned out to be part of the Little Falls Library.

A second view showing the 3rd story and the mansard roof a little better. The brick work on the building was outstanding and the slate tiles are beautiful. Built around 1806 by a guy who invented new types of horse drawn farm machinery, ( Mowar Farm Machinery), the house is right across the street from the towns main park.

One more exterior shot. Turns out that the family that built the house wasn't very prolific and had only one male heir. This son, who became Judge Smith, had no heirs at all so upon his death in 1910 his estate donated the house to the city to be used as their first library. It wasn't until 1911 that all the paperwork was finished, but since then, 101 years, this house has been a portion of the town library system.

I had to go inside and see if there was anything left of the original structure still left. As it turns out the guy at the front desk, Tom, lit up like a candle when I mentioned being interested in the 'Architectural Details' of the place. After finding his coworker, he then took me on a hour and a half private tour of the whole house and told me more than I ever wanted to know about Judge Smith and his family. This was originally a bedroom, the materials on the desk are articles pertaining to the family and the house. Check out the fireplace surround and mantle. The color is from the type of soapstone they used for it. It was gorgeous!

What was originally the living room, the light is one of the original gas fixtures. All of the woodwork is original as is a lot of the furniture. Check out the plaster work on the ceiling and along the arch. As part of the library you can bring a book in here and read for however long you want to.

A view into the Judges personal library. The double pocket doors, one of three sets, still worked perfectly. You can almost see some of the original wooden flooring. It was a combination of oak, black walnut and chestnut. Other floors used different woods and combinations.

A better view of the original library. You can see some of the original built in bookcases on the far wall along with another original gas light fixture.

Looking back into the living room you can see the tile fireplace with the original mahogany fireplace surround. I thought the rocking chair over there would of been a nice place to read for an hour or two.

A close up of the arch in the living room complete with all the unique plaster 'wedding cake' designs. So named because they are applied using a pastry bag just like decorating a cake. (All those years of watching 'This Old House' finally came in handy).

A close up of the plaster medallion and light fixture in the living room.

A view into a small sitting area where the stair landing to the 2nd floor is. Again note the double pocket doors.

      Headed out this morning with the intention of seeing a Grist Mill that was mentioned in some local brochures I had found. Got over to it though and found this really sad old building with a broken down water wheel, there wasn't even any water to speak of. Didn't spend much time there, instead it was off to the big city for me, in this case the village of Johnstown. Wandered around the old downtown area for several hours looking at all the old buildings and houses and exploring some of the quaint old shops they had there. Had a bit of lunch at one nice little cafe, hot turkey sandwich and some wonderful ice tea. They didn't even ask me if I wanted sweet tea or non.

    Didn't really buy anything there except in this one local dollar store, the kind where everything really is a dollar, not a multiple of one. What they had, which is hard to find anymore, was tins of smoked oysters for a $1. They aren't good all of the time, but sometimes at night ya just want something like that and a good cracker to munch on while watching a movie. So I bought 10!

   Otherwise the day was pretty uneventful, got back to the trailer around 7:30 and read for a couple hours, did a crossword puzzle and did the dishes. One nice thing about today, even though it wasn't all that exciting, the sun came back and it almost got warm. Wish there would of been a dance somewhere in the neighborhood tonight. It appears as though this area is a contra dance desert, the closest one being all the way over in Albany. Come Sunday, that drive may not sound as bad as it did tonight when I looked it up.

    Here are the rest of the photo's I shot yesterday over at Fort Klock. Still hope for some interior shots at some point.


A most interesting structure... this is called a Hay Barracks. Built on four post's sunk into the ground, dried hay, or grain is piled under the roof structure to be protected from rain and snow. Each post has a series of holes drilled in it and a peg is used to support the roof framework. When more height is needed because the stack is getting to tall, the whole roof system can be raised up or lowered as needed. I would think that with a small block and tackle setup one person could do it all. But with 2-3 people helping you could probably do the whole procedure in 10 mins or less.

A sign posted nearby that explains it better than I did.

A closeup of one of the posts and the holes drilled through it. The roof frame is notched in a half-lap joint and pinned together with a wooden peg, but the support pin going into the post is a metal rod.

A view of the roof structure from underneath, looking up. All the major joints were joined using post and beam construction joints and pegged with hardwood pegs.

A sign on the property talking about the Revolutionary War battle of Klock's Field which was fought just west of this location. Taking place on Oct 19, 1780, this was a battle between units of the 'Kings Royal Regiment', made up mostly of Indians and loyalists, and the 'Palatine District Regiment' of rebel forces of the area, under the command of Brig. General Robert Van Rensselaer with several assistants, including Col. Jacob Klock actually directing the battle. My interpretation seems to show that we won, but the British forces still managed to escape across the river and continue burning and ravaging the countryside. So it wasn't a total victory. Still; hurray for the Rebels! (Note: Wikipedia has a pretty good description of it all... just type in Battle of Klock's Field).

The one room school house located on the property. Not sure how long this building has been here. Yet another question to ask when I meet up with an actual person.

A plaque located on a large rock near the road. Placed there by descendants of Johannes Klock.

A limestone block building used as the blacksmith shop. Stone would of been a good material for a smithy... less chance of fire that way.

The Highway Dept's sign pointing to Fort Klock.

   Still cloudy, still cold and even a little bit of rain today. Really hope it starts to warm up tomorrow and that the sun will come out for a little while. Even with the mediocre weather it was still a day to go out and do some exploring. First on the list of course was a trip to the ancestral family homestead, Fort Klock. It's only a 15 minute drive over there from where I'm camped out, so even Emma didn't manage to get me lost in that short time. Pulled into the driveway there only to find that it wasn't open today, even though the sign, placed on the back side of the sign today, said they were open Tuesday-Sunday. Oh well! Got out and wandered around the place for nearly two hours looking at all the buildings and all of the grounds. Will go back of course and hopefully they will be open when I do. Until then I'll post a few pictures and comments today with the hope that more will come at a later time.

    Decided to drive a little further west after wandering around Fort Klock and ended up in the small town, or as they say here, the village of Little Falls. What pulled me off of the main road was a view of a stone steeple somewhere in the middle of town. Found it and the beautiful church that went with it and had to get out and walk around it and take a few pictures of it as well as the 120 year old school across the street. While walking back to the truck, another building down the block came into view and it looked even more interesting. Turns out that it started out as a single family residence built back around 1805 by a local Judge Smith. It is a beautiful 3 story brick home with mansard roof, stain glass windows, slate shingles, etc.... What was really amazing though..... it's now the Little Falls Public Library! How cool is that.

   After taking a few exterior photo's I walked inside hoping that maybe they hadn't covered up all of the original architectural details that had to have been there. Walked up to the guy at the front desk and asked if there was anything left of the original structure and he just lit up like a light bulb. After calling a fellow worker to watch the desk for him he then took me on a personnel tour of the whole house showing me all the rooms, all the details and all the history of the place. It was wonderful!!!! I learned more about Judge Smith and his family than any one person should have to know, but it was so fun to hear this guy talk about a subject that was obviously dear to his heart. Took quite a few pictures and will post a bunch of them in  a day or two... once they all get sorted out. It was just so neat to see this old home that had been donated to the city 101 years ago, to be their library, still being used as it had been intended, and still in much the same shape as it started out to be.

   Made a post on Facebook yesterday reminding people there that I was now writing a Blog also. One of my friends there, James, then came back later and posted a link to it along with a nice comment. The end result was that a lot more people ended up viewing it yesterday than at anytime since it was started. Made me wish that there would of been a more interesting day to talk about, but alas, despite what many people imagine my 'life of travel' is like, most of the time it can and is quite routine. Don't get me wrong, it's a ton of fun, and there are no plans to give it up yet. I hope that those of you who are reading this enjoy it to some degree. Still not sure what my feelings are about writing it, but plan to keep up with it until it isn't fun anymore.

    So here are some photo's from today's trip to Fort Klock. More will be added as I find time.




The main sign out on the highway.

A view showing most of the buildings around the old homestead, the stone building in the center of the picture.

A sign showing the relationship of all of the buildings on the site.

  

This is a view of the main house. Built of hand laid limestone, it is the reason that this is considered a 'Fort', as in, fortified homestead. While building it they also incorporated a couple of other features that helped protect it and the people inside. The main thing was that there was a running spring in the cellar that would provide water if they were under siege. Other defenses will be noted on other pictures.

Another view of the main building, this one shows the steep, 12:12, pitch of the gable roofs. On the right is a wood framed structure used to make cheese in.



The front door of the Fort. Check out the lintel block over the door. Wonder how much that one stone block weighs?

   

The 'Historical Landmark' sign on the wall beside the front door of the Fort.

An outside wood fired oven. I believe the wood structure over it is of new origin and there only to protect the oven from the elements.

Another view showing some more of the stonework that makes up the building. Note the small, rectangular spots on the walls at about shoulder height. These are 'loopholes' built in as the walls were laid up. Loopholes were openings in the wall where rifles could be thrust out to shoot at anyone who was trying to do harm to you or your family. In that age it could of been either the British, French, Native American or disgruntled neighbor. Besides the loopholes there would of been heavy wooden shutters on all the windows that could be closed and locked. I think setting fire to the roof would of been a possibility, but I guess it never happened.

A close up of one of the windows and one of the loopholes. I love the arched stonework above the window. The loophole was filled with some kind of insulation wrapped in plastic today, wonder what they would of used way back when.

Really liked the view of the house from this side. Again you can see the steep gable ends of the building.

A view from the riverside. I would imagine that all the trees and bushes surrounding the house would of been cut down and used at the time the house was built and they would of also wanted to have a clear field of fire around the house, just as a safety precaution. It is sometimes hard to imagine what it would of looked like when you have trees around that could be more than 100 years old.

There were these marvelous stone steps between the main house and the cheese house to the west. Overgrown a bit now, they still invite a person to see what is at the top.

Another window close up, this one showing a large straight stone lintel and sill.

A small wood framed garden shed type structure.

A view from the garden. This shows the cheese building better. There is a small creek between the buildings and where I am standing. I thought at one point that maybe they had used it to run a mill, but no real sign of that. Will ask someone next time I am there.

A view of the 'Dutch Barn' seen through some of the trees lining the creek. Not sure at this time what makes it a 'Dutch Barn'.

A view of the creek with the barn in the distance.

A closer view of the Barn. It appeared to me that the stone wall seen in the photo might in fact be the base foundation of a much larger structure that was once there. However; no one was around to talk to so that question will have to wait until I visit again.

This small cannon was located out by the barn. Not sure why it was there, while the surrounding area saw a lot of action during the French and Indian war as well as the American Revolutionary war, I don't believe they had any major forces staged right there at Fort Klock. Yet another question to ask when I go back.

    That's all for tonight.... I'm tired and my Internet connection is really, really slo-o-o-w. Will post more photos later on.

   So the sun came out and the rain finally stopped today. Still cloudy, and not all that warm, but a real nice day to be travelling. Hit I-88 early this morning and had a wonderful ride through part of the country between the 'Catskill Mountains' on the south and the 'Adirondack Mountains' to the north.

   Beautiful country filled with up and down fields of harvested corn and pastures with big old timber framed barns, even saw a couple of old wooden silo's. On through little towns with big old two story framed houses all painted up in white or pastel colors and roads that took you first east, then back to the northwest and finally deposited you due north of where you started. Made me feel like I was sailing and had to 'tack' my big old land yacht just to get where I needed to go.

   Finally made it though, even if  Emma, my GPS, did think the entrance was a good 1/2 mile or more to the east. Pulled into 'Royal Mountain Campsites' around 2:30 and was met at the entrance by Tom and his wife, Norah. Got checked in for a two week stay and finally got a chance to unhook and get everything set up. First thing on the agenda was to turn the water heater on and get up some warm water for a shower. Whoo-e did that ever feel good! Took a short walk, then a short nap and then rustled up some dinner for the evening.

   Spent a little time this evening figuring out what there is to see around here. First off of course is Fort Klock. Emma says that it's about 10 miles from here, so it won't be much of a drive. Am anxious to see the place where my ancestors settled and built a life for themselves here in 1750 in the Mohawk Valley.

    Plenty of other things to see in the area also including: sections of the Erie Canal, the Mohawk and Iroquois Indian Museums, covered bridges, old barns and church's, and if all else fails there is a factory that makes baseball bats and the Baseball Hall of Fame museum. Still need to find a local dance within driving distance though.

    That's enough for now though, time to go read a little bit and then hit the hay. Hope it's a nice day tomorrow.

   Another slow and easy day. Still raining though it may stop sometime this evening they say. Driving was a real bummer today, seems like it was mostly just me and every big rig in the country out there on the highway. Most of them seemed to take delight in passing me up and throwing great gobs of spray and road crap all over the windshield. After 5 hours of it I decided to give it up for the day. Spent a few hours in a McDonald's reading the comics and sorting out all the pictures from the dance last weekend. Some of which are posted below.

   After a couple of hours there, it was back on the highway for another hour or so. Actually made it all the way into New York state before pulling into another rest area, but there is still about another 100 miles to do tomorrow before reaching my final destination. On the other hand... there's only another 100 miles to go tomorrow before I get to Fort Klock.

   The real good news is that it is suppose to clear off and warm up a bit by tomorrow morning. After two days of solid rain it was beginning to feel like I was back on the Oregon coast. Looking forward to feeling the sun again and having to wear sunglasses. Here are some pictures of last weekends contra dance the 'White Water Whirl'.

Here is the building we danced in. Built by the CCC's in the late 1930's, it was a wonderful old wooden building. Very similar in design to the one I danced in at the Dance Romance weekend, this building is a little better finished, had some nice covered porches and several large doors on each side that could be opened for cross ventilation.

All of these pictures were taken Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. This one shows the band, The Avant Gardeners', playing a short concert for those people who are awake or still in attendance. The stage size and location were a real asset to the dance and the sound quality was surprisingly good considering the hall is this huge open space.

A view of the stage from the other side. Note the neat little balcony overlooking the side of the stage as well as one of the large side doors that could be opened up for ventilation.

A view of the other end of the hall. Like the building at Dance Romance this one also has a beautiful stone fireplace complete with a hand hewn wooden mantle.

A waltz while the band and caller are busy shifting from the concert into dance mode. The floor here was really pretty good, no soft spots to speak of, and while worn, not sticky or slippery. It did have an interesting shis-s-s-ing sound whenever we were all dancing, but you soon learned to ignore it.

Another picture of some of the people waltzing.

A nice view from the balcony over the stage. It gives you an idea of the size and shape of the hall and dance floor. Note the big open doors along the side of the room. On Friday and Saturday night there was barely room for us all to dance. By Sunday though you have a lot of people who leave early because of commitments, long drives or just being tired. What you have left though is all the hard core dancers. We were all tired also, but we don't care.... some of the best dancing is often done at this last dance of the weekend.

Lining up to get ready to dance the 1st contra of the day. Here we have two lines made up of two sets of couples, more commonly referred to has 'Hands Four'.

So the dance has started and the skirts are starting to twirl. Here you have your basic 'swing'. (Often proceeded by a 'balance', but not always).

And the last picture of this series. I had to go put the camera away and get ready for the end of this dance so I'd be ready to find a partner and get into the next one.