Wilderness Wednesday: Azure Mountain

This post has been in the making for at least the past month or at least once I learned that Azure Mountain’s Fire Tower celebrated its centennial on July 29, 2018. This post is a little more personal than usual because I grew up hiking Azure Mountain yearly and also because the fire tower on Azure was constructed with the intent of being part of the fire detection network New York State created in the early 20^th century. It oddly has some relevance given the fact that the state of California, where I currently reside, has had a hard recently with wildfires throughout the state.

Azure Mountain is located in the township of Waverly in Franklin County and is one of the mountains located in the Adirondacks in New York State. The mountain to though, is not one of the 46 mountains that make up the Adirondack High Peaks. The Adirondack High Peaks were all originally thought to be mountains that were all over 4,000 feet. Today it has been determined that four of the mountain peaks do not actually hit 4,000 feet.  Azure Mountain in comparisons is only 2,518 feet tall, so it’s far off from being a high peak. But even though it’s not one of the coveted mountains of the Adirondacks, I still think it is the prettiest. I could be biased though because I’ve been up the mountain so many times.

View from the summit of Azure Mountain during the summer.

While the view from the summit never changes, every new trek adds to my memories of Azure Mountain. The following is a collection of photographs showing the same view from Azure Mountain’s summit just during different times of the year!

View of three neighboring peaks near Azure Mountain; view during the summer; taken 2014.

Another view of the surrounding Adirondacks from the summit of Azure during the summer.

Views from the summit during the summer of 2015.

Those same three summits seen from Azure during the summer of 2015.

I have a thing for these nearby mountains I’ve realized; view from winter 2013.

This is considered a “glacier erratic,” which is basically a fancy term for debris that was left during the last ice age when the ice retreated some 10-12,000 years ago.

I can’t remember how old I was the first time I hiked Azure Mountain (most likely around 3^rd grade) but I know my Dad dragged my brother and I up the mountain not too long after we moved to Northern New York from Osceola, NY. We would typically make our annual trek up the mountain in the fall when the Adirondacks are in full color and the mountain top blueberries are ripe enough to eat. Some falls we could determine- based on how many blueberries were left on the summit- that we had beaten the local boy scout troops up the mountain for their annual hike to the summit. On one fall hike, we convinced my mom to join us, another time we brought along some of my cousins Kyle and Derek- Kyle almost killed himself by running down the mountain, and then there was another fall trip up the mountain that I took with the modified and varsity girls soccer teams that we did in lieu of practice on the field.

Me during a hike up Azure Mountain in the winter.

When I graduated from high school in 2008, I received a scholarship from the Friends of Azure Mountain. In return for the scholarship, I had to be a Fire Observation Tower “interpreter” on the summit five different days during the summer. Being an “interpreter,” meant hanging out around the fire tower and welcoming visitors to the mountain’s summit, as well as answering any questions that they may have had about the mountain, the Adirondacks, or the fire tower. There were also other things to do other than answer questions, such as documenting the conditions of the trail, picking up any litter seen in the parking lot or on the trail, and even moving stones around the summit to help slow erosion. Was I good at being an interpreter? No, it’s because I was super nervous talking with strangers but I did hang around the tower to be there is people had questions. But I was super good at documenting trail conditions and moving rocks around to areas that needed erosion prevention. I did this adventure five times during the summer of 2008 and I dragged my brother with me every time. Two years later, my brother repaid me by also receiving the same scholarship and dragged me up the mountain a number of times during the summer of 2010. Every time there was a hike, it would be a race to see who could get to the summit first. I think Cody often beat me but there were a few times I made it first.

As you can imagine, I’ve been up the mountain many times, so many that I can visualize most of the winding trail from the parking lot to the summit. The trail starts from the parking lot, which is gravel and located in a stand of coniferous trees. There’s also a sketch outhouse in “front” of the parking in between the trees. At the end of the parking lot headed in the direction of the trail head there is a pile of stones, which super dedicated hikes can pick from and transport rocks to mountain summit. There is a pile at the end of the trail at the summit where the stones can be dropped off at. The stones are used by volunteers to help slow erosion on both the summit and along the trail. There is like a type of warm-up trail that goes from the parking lot to the actual base of the mountain, which is actually an old jeep trail. This trail stays mostly level for its duration and goes through a swampy/marsh area where you can see frogs and then goes into a heavily wooded area. Eventually, you’ll come to a mini wooden sign-in “station,” which is a common sight on trails in the Adirondacks.

The old jeep trail ends in a small clearing where the site of the former fire tower observer’s cabin was once located. The cabin is long gone but there still exists the ruins of a stone fire place indicating that there was once more to the clearing than meets the eye. The cabin went through three different incarnations, the original structure was constructed in 1914, with later reconstructions occurring in 1919 and then in 1936. The cabin would have last been used in an official capacity 1978, the same year the tower was last used to detect fires. Over the years, the cabin fell into disrepair much like the fire tower but wasn’t as lucky- it was officially removed in 1995.[i]

Ruins of the fireplace from the former observer’s cabin.

The hike continues through a forested area on a natural dirt path with some sections slightly altered by volunteers through the addition of stones or logs to help keep the trail intact from erosion. Along the first half of the hike, I have my favorite rocks and trees I like to stop at to catch my breathe. The so called “halfway” mark of the hike is at a rocky outcrop that’s on the right-hand side of the trail as you climb upwards. You won’t miss it. My brother calls it the, “caves.” There are some good rocks to sit on and the cave can be explored to some extent. I don’t think there’s any real caves though, it’s just the way the rock formation has shifted and eroded over the years, which gives the idea of there being caverns.

While it is a great place to stop, eat a quick snack, take a water break, and seems like a “halfway” point of the hike, it’s all a lie. You’re not really half way up the mountain- trust me. I consider the real halfway point to be slightly further up the trail at a ledge with a great view of the surrounding mountains and forest.

This is a view from what I consider the true “mid-point” of the hike, from a walk up the mountain during the fall.

Another view from the “mid-point” stopping point of the hike up Azure.

From that point onward, it’s an even more vertical climb up Azure, kind of like stairs. Eventually, the trail curves to the left and that’s when you know you’re almost at the summit because you can start to see specks of light through the tree canopy. The last 100-200-foot climb is steep but you just have to do it because the summit is close. The trail evens out at the very end through some underbrush and you walk out below the fire tower. To the right of the end of the trail there is a pile of stones where you can drop any stones you carried up the mountain.

One year, the rock pile at the summit was very inspiration.

Which brings me to Azure Mountain’s claim to fame, which is its historic fire observation tower that at one time was part of New York State’s main line of defense against forest fires in the Adirondacks. Before the current fire tower was constructed, there was a fire observation station constructed of wood up on Azure Mountain in 1914. That’s also the same year that the mountain’s name was changed from “Blue” to “Azure.”[ii]

The construction of the fire observation station at Azure followed a common trend in the Adirondack Preserve in the early 20^th century- the construction of a number of observation stations on mountain peaks to help combat devastating fires. For example, in 1903 a fire in the Adirondack Forest destroyed 428,180 acres between April 20 to June 8, and only ended because of heavy rains. While in 1908, another fire caused by railroads burned an estimated 368,000 acres of the Adirondacks. In both instances, New York City experiences falling ash and smoke from the Upstate fires. In response, by 1909, a fire detection system was put in place and by 1910, 20 fire observation stations had been built.[iii]

The early fire stations were typically constructed of wood but as anyone can guess, wood doesn’t always stand up well to mountain top weather, lightening, or wind. Many of the early structures didn’t fair well and by 1916, the State had started to replace the wooden stations with steel structures and by 1918, there were a total of 52 steel towers in the State. Also, in 1918 the present galvanized steel tower was constructed on Azure Mountain- materials were transported up the mountain using horses most likely.[iv] Now the exciting thing is that the fire tower is a specific model. The steel frame was manufactured by the AerMotor Company of Chicago and they actually specialized in wind mills. The cool thing is that their wind mill structures could be easily adapted into a fire tower station, instead of the windmill on top, a cabin could replace it. Azure Mountain’s fire tower is the AerMotor Model No. LS-40, which is considered the “heavy  construction type.” These models used heavier steel for the tower legs and angled “X” braces, as well as integrated stairs, with a square steel and glass cabin with a hip roof. Because Azure’s tower has five flights of stairs that means it’s 35 feet tall.[v]

This is the only photograph I have ever taken of the Fire Tower on Azure.

A quick search through historic newspapers from 1900 to 1980, found the first mention of Azure in a news article titled, “Commission Designates Game and Forest Protections,” in the Chateauguay Record and Franklin County Democrat on September 11, 1914 where it was reported that, “Harlow Wheeler, formerly forest ranger as observer at the new mountain station on Azure Mountain.”[vi] Now this is interesting information because most sources record that Fred N. Smith was the very first fire observer at Azure Mountain and may have even helped build the original wooden observation station.

An article in the Adirondack News entitled, “Forest Rangers and Mtn. Observers,” reported that Fred Smith was designated Azure Mountain’s observer. The article stated that:

 “State conservation commissioner George D. Pratt has announced the appointment of his assistants in the conservation department, including the forest rangers and mountain observers, whose duty it will be to guard the forests of the state throughout the great extent of Adirondack territory from fire also from trespassers.”[vii]

It seems that yearly announcements were made in the local Northern New York newspapers on who had been appointed forest rangers and mountain observers starting in 1914 until the late 1970’s. For example, an April 8, 1948 article reported that Earl Johnson was that year’s Azure Mountain fire tower observer. That year mountain fire observers went back to duty starting April 1 and that a number of observers would be assigned once the weather demanded it. Between Clinton, Essex, and Franklin counties there were a total of 18 mountain stations.[viii]

The Azure Mountain Fire Observation Tower was used as part of the fire detection system in New York for 60 years. The last fire tower observer was Mike Richards, who closed the tower for the season in 1978, the DEC removed the lower sets of stairs to prevent people from climbing up. The use of the towers to detect fires had been slowly replaced with aerial detection flights making the historic observation towers obsolete.

In 2001, the State began to move forward with plans to demolish the fire tower, which was in poor condition to say the least. In response, a group of concerned citizens and organizations like Adirondack Architectural Heritage quickly came together with the purpose of saving the Azure Mountain Fire Observation Tower by working with the DEC. The DEC gave those concerned with saving the tower, the opportunity to form an official group who would be involved in the maintenance efforts of the tower for long term. The group that formed was the Friends of Azure Mountain and was created largely in part to the efforts of Carolyn Kaczka and Michael McLean.[ix]

In the same year, as part of the effort to save the Azure Mountain Fire Observation Tower, it was listed on both the State and National Register of Historic Places as part of a multiple property nomination, Fire Observation Stations of the NYS Forest Preserve. Other fire towers included in the nomination consist of the towers on Arab, Blue, Hadley, Kane, Snowy, and Poke-O-Moonshine Mountains. Azure Mountain is listed under Criteria A and C because of its historic significance to NY State’s forest preserve (Criteria A) and because architecturally it is a good representative of early 20^th century fire towers (Criteria C).[x]

By 2002, the involvement of a number of forest rangers helped the cause. Jeff Balerno was able to coordinate seven helicopter flights to Azure’s summit to drop off needed construction materials that would be used in restoring the tower. During the 2002 summer, a collection of people including forest rangers, Americorp volunteers, members of the Friends of Azure Mountain and volunteers worked to replace damaged and rotted wood, hardware, repainted metal, etc. basically everything you see today on the tower was done during the 2002 restoration. Eventually, a DEC structural engineer inspected the newly restored Azure Mountain Fire Observation Tower and on September 27, 2003, the tower was once again open and could be used by the public![xi]

View from the fire tower’s cabin and those three mountains again!

This is a close-up of the map that is located at the top of the fire tower. You can see the names of the three neighboring mountains, I’ve photographed constantly.

The interesting thing is that Carolyn Kaczka trained me on how to be a fire observation tower interpreter for my internship/scholarship in 2008. ON the first day that I was the interpreter for the summer. I don’t think I saw again for a very long time. After moving back home from graduating UVM, I did occasion consultant jobs, one of which was conducting a free walking tour of downtown Potsdam, NY, which is known for its Red Sandstone buildings. I did this as part of Adirondack Architectural Heritage’s yearly tour offerings in May 2016.  At the end of the tour, this woman came up to me and re-introduced herself as Carolyn and that she had enjoyed the tour! I can’t remember how the full conversation went but I do remember telling her that after graduating from SUNY Potsdam, I went on to grad school for historic preservation and was doing the occasional odd consultant job. It was a wonderful surprise to see her again and, in a way, see how somethings in life are connected.  I’m not sure if being having a scholarship/internship with the Friends of Azure Mountain is what exactly got me into historic preservation but maybe subconsciously, it was there the entire time when I was making decisions about grad school.

On that note, Friends of Azure Mountain is always looking for volunteers, as is most non-profit organizations. If you live in the area of Azure or any historic fire tower for that matter, and enjoy hiking and helping preserve history and trails for others to use…. I suggest volunteering or at least contacting them to see in what ways you can help.

Thanks for reading this Adventure with Courtney.

 

Further Information:

Friends of Azure Mountain:

Historic Images of the Fire Tower: http://azuremountain.org/azurehistory.htm

History and Facts about Azure Mountain: http://azuremountain.org/azurefacts.htm

History of the Restoration Work for the Fire Tower: http://azuremountain.org/restoration2.htm

National Historic Register Lookout, a website dedicated to documenting historic fire lookouts: http://nhlr.org/lookouts/us/ny/azure-mountain-fire-tower/

Brief History of Azure Mountain: http://people.clarkson.edu/~csmith/azure-hist.html

Online Surveys and Reports of Fire Towers in the Adirondacks:

Bill Star, “A Pictorial History of the Fire Towers in New York State,” (Unpublished Work, 2009): http://www.nysforestrangers.com/NYS%20Fire%20Towers%20Pictorial%20History%20by%20Bill%20Starr%20(3-7-09).pdf

Bill Star, “Listing of the Fire Towers Operated by the NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation Bureau of Forest Fire Control,” (Unpublished Work, 2010): http://azuremountain.org/New_York_State_Fire_Tower_List_by_Bill_Starr_%288-8-10%29.pdf

Thomas Kapelewski, ed., Fire Tower Study for the Adirondack Park, (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Published Feb. 2010: https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/ftowerstudy.pdf

National Register of Historic Places Nomination:

Wes Haynes, “Azure Mountain Fire Observation Station,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination (2001): https://cris.parks.ny.gov/Uploads/ViewDoc.aspx?mode=A&token=Y1kP//aSeWpM1M4gIzsYeyveaD53bfW4CS+k/lBOKffSh81hZ+fiI9qEQ6rBmRgtPHrv1qFLD8mAMhusZlYM6As1PZqN9qSRlx5Sv8nga6ja1vmqRlmR06ERYZAh7/hF&q=false

NYS Historic Newspapers:

“Commission Designates Game and Forest Protectors,” Chateauguay Record and Franklin County Democrat, September 11, 1914: http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn87070301/1914-09-11/ed-1/seq-11/#date1=01%2F01%2F1900&sort=date&date2=12%2F31%2F1980&words=Azure+mountain&to_year2=1980&searchType=advanced&sequence=0&index=0&am+p=&from_year2=1900&proxdistance=5&page=1&county=Franklin&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=azure+mountain&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&SearchType2=prox5

“Forest Rangers and Mt. Observers,” The Adirondack News, May 15, 1915: http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn87070345/1915-05-15/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=01%2F01%2F1900&sort=date&date2=12%2F31%2F1980&words=Azure+Mountain&to_year2=1980&searchType=advanced&sequence=0&index=2&am+p=&from_year2=1900&proxdistance=5&page=1&county=Franklin&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=azure+mountain&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&SearchType2=prox5

“? On Watch at Fire Towers for 3-County District,” Adirondack Daily Enterprise, April 8, 1948: http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn86033360/1948-04-08/ed-1/seq-2/#date1=01%2F01%2F1900&sort=date&date2=12%2F31%2F1980&words=Azure+Mountain&to_year2=1980&searchType=advanced&sequence=0&index=12&am+p=&from_year2=1900&proxdistance=5&page=1&county=Franklin&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=azure+mountain&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&SearchType2=prox5

 

End Notes:

[i] Wes Haynes, “Azure Mountain Fire Observation Station,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination (2001), 3.

[ii] Ibid, 5.

[iii] Thomas Kapelewski, ed., Fire Tower Study for the Adirondack Park, (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Feb. 2010), 39-40.

[iv] Ibid, 41-42.

[v] Ibid, 45-46.

[vi] “Commission Designates Game and Forest Protectors,” Chateauguay Record and Franklin County Democrat, September 11, 1914, 11.

[vii] “Forest Rangers and Mt. Observers,” The Adirondack News, May 15, 1915, 3.

[viii] “? On Watch at Fire Towers for 3-County District,” Adirondack Daily Enterprise, April 8, 1948, 2.

[ix] A Near Ending, A New Beginning: A History of the Fire Tower Restoration: http://azuremountain.org/restoration2.htm.

[x] Haynes, “Azure Mountain…,” 5. Azure Mountain Facts at a Glance: http://azuremountain.org/azurefacts.htm.

[xi] A Near Ending, A New Beginning: A History of the Fire Tower Restoration: http://azuremountain.org/restoration2.htm.

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Point Reyes National Seashore

I meant to get this post out sooner than what I did. Work had been much busier than expected since returning to California in January. So free time after work was limited but I still have been going to the Sunday “Shut Up and Write” sessions. For the time being though I’m currently on a much needed vacation home in Northern New York. So while I’m home, I hope to catch up on a number of posts I’ve written but haven’t yet shared on the blog.

Anyways, the next part of my adventure along California’s coast was in Point Reyes National Seashore where I stayed at a hostel located within the National Park and hiked a couple of shorter trails: the San Andres Fault Loop and part of the Coastal Trail.

The Point Reyes National Seashore was established in 1962 by Congress and is located on the Point Reyes Peninsula. The Peninsula is separated from mainland California by a linear valley, which happens to be on the San Andres Fault. The Fault is where the Pacific and North American Continental Plates meet; geology talk time- this means that the Pacific Plate is slowly sliding underneath the North American Continental Plate and when things don’t go smoothly with this geological process, earthquakes happen. Today about 1/3 of the National Seashore is a protected wilderness, while another third is preserved as a pastoral zone for dairy and beef farms that date back to the 1880’s. The National Seashore also offers numerous outdoor activities and places to see for visitors; there’s roughly 150 miles of trails within the boundaries of the Seashore.

The drive from Sacramento to Point Reyes is roughly two hours. Inverness, which is the place I wrote about in the last post, is about a 15 minute drive from the National Seashore’s main entrance….longer if you’re planning on driving deeper in the Seashore. The car ride is very simple. The route goes through Point Reyes Station- a quaint looking town but I didn’t stop. I drove to the Point Reyes Visitor Center to get a map and to buy some souvenirs. I did walk on a short trail located near the visitor center: the San Andres Fault Loop (roughly 0.6 miles long). The trail is along a mostly even terrain that winds through a field and a forested area, which must be a popular hangout for the local deer population.

The local welcoming committee to the Point Reyes National Seashore

Along the trail there are a number of signs giving both geological history of the region and the history of the Great 1906 Earthquake. By the way, it seems any time I go to something related in anyway to history here in California there’s always some connection to the 1906 Earthquake or the Gold Rush….there always is a connection….no matter what.

View of the trail of the San Andres Fault Loop.

 

The fence was split in two when the 1906 earthquake hit. The blue markers also indicate the active fault line.

Within the National Seashore, I stayed at the Point Reyes Hostel located in the heart of the Seashore. It’s very secluded yet homey with a large kitchen, porch area and a cozy living room. The hostel is at the site of the historic ranch, Rancho de Laguna, which was established at the current site in 1866. Eventually, the ranch buildings were purchased by the Park Service in 1971 and instead of demolishing the buildings, they were renovated and the hostel was opened up in 1972.

Decor outside of the hostel.

The ladies eight bed dormitory was spacious, as was the shared bathroom within the main hostel house. There’s also a number of newer looking buildings that are apparently more dorm rooms for larger groups aiming to stay within the Seashore. When I’m traveling around I like to stay at hostels because it’s way cheaper and it gives the opportunity to meet cool people. While at the Point Reyes Hostel I didn’t really talk to anyone like I had at previous hostel stays in San Francisco and San Luis Obispo. Since the Point Reyes Hostel is secluded and in a forest, there is no Wi-fi and there’s definitely no cell service. I was able to get one bar at the end of the road on both of my cellphones (work phone is AT&T and my personal cell is Straight Talk in case you’re interested). I spent the night at the hostel writing…you guessed it…blog posts and reading on my tablet, A Company of Liars by Karen Maitland is what I had been reading at the time. Side note- it’s a very interesting book but literally the last chapter isn’t the best. I looked up the book after finishing to see if others were as annoyed as I was and it seems like the general consensus was that the ending isn’t the best. So readers beware.

In the morning, I decided to hike the Coastal Trail, which the trail head is just down the road from the hostel. The morning was colder than I expected- probably in the 40’s. I didn’t see a lot of wildlife on the trail other than groups of partridges. On that note, I’ve never seen groups of partridges- they’re funny little posse and they all flap off together when you get too close. Closer towards the coast and the beach, you could hear the crash of the ocean waves.

There were no other people on the trail, which can kind of be unnerving in a large national forest especially since there’s signs telling you to watch out for mountain lions, not to hike alone, and to flee to higher ground in the case of an earthquake/tsunami death combo. On another side note, what the wrong with California?!?!?!?!?! We don’t have these kind of warnings at the beginning of trail heads in New York. This all just continues to solidify my thoughts that California is a hostel environment….

Now back to the coastal trail….

When I emerged from a marshy area with a lot of tree coverage, there were sloping hills where grazing elk could be seen. Let’s be honest, they probably saw me first and were probably wondering what the hell I was and why I was up so early. I assume I must have been a spectacle for the elk to watch since I was flaying my arms around trying to determine if my phones were going to pick up a signal or not.

The trail curved through the hills without any real incline. To be honest most of the trail seemed to be an even grade without any real noticeable inclines/ downhill sections and then finally the path emerged onto rolling hills towards the beach.

There was, unsurprisingly, no one at the beach. So I was able to hang out on the beach by myself and take lots of photographs. Based on the trail signs, the Coastal Trail continues past the first beach stop to another beach area. Instead of continuing on the trail, I decided to head back to the hostel to get ready to leave for the day to travel the rest of the way to Fort Ross, which would be another 1 ½ drive up the coast.

On the walk back through the woods, I was still keeping an eyes and ears alert for any unusual rustling sounds. Call me a Nervous Nancy but there’s a crazy need to be alert in the California woods especially when most trail head signs warn of tsunamis and mountain lions. It also didn’t help that the local, patrolling, partridge posses are noisy in the wee hours of the morning. So while I was walking along the trail observing my surroundings, minding my own business, I looked down the trail and saw that it was clear, I looked down at my feet and then I looked back up and saw some four-legged canine creature ahead of me on the trail.

Well let me tell you. I freaked out. I think it was a coyote.

It looked at me.

I looked at it.

I mentally freaked out.

It remained calm.

I yelled a little to scare it off.

It stayed on the trail staring at me- probably wondering what the hell was happening.

Actually, wait. It was probably judging me for hiking alone on the trail in the early hours of the morning. Obviously that’s what it was doing- judging the lone human in the woods.

I decided my best move in our standoff was to walk towards the coyote while making some obnoxious noises. It must have been my menacing look and walk that caused the coyote to saunter off the trail….LOL. Who are we kidding, probably not. But at that moment I realized that I probably needed an adult supervising my outdoor adventures, especially in California. For the rest of the walk back to the hostel, I only saw a few cute bunnies and luckily no more sightings of larger mammals.

And that was my adventure in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Fort Ross.

*See below for applications to be a “supervising adult for Courtney’s Adventures.”*

 

Further Information:

All of the information about Point Reyes came from a pamphlet I picked up at the Point Reyes National Seashore Museum but more information about the National Seashore can be found here:

https://www.nps.gov/pore/index.htm

http://news.aag.org/2016/02/point-reyes-national-seashore-a-brief-history-of-a-working-landscape/

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1127/chapter9.pdf

http://www.norcalhostels.org/reyes/history

 

*Sadly, there’s no actual applications to be a supervising adult in my adventures, I just need to be better prepared for the unexpected. Obviously, my years as a girl scout didn’t prepare me for coyotes in the woods at 8 am. But if you’ve had moments in your own adventures, where you questioned your life choices, please feel free to share!

Albany: Washington Park

This post begins while I was a graduate student at the University of Vermont. My class did this really awesome project using historic postcards as a research tool. We picked postcards related to Burlington and the surrounding area and then re-photographed the locations depicted in the cards. Using the postcard and the new photograph, we wrote a “before and after” history comparison.

Since that project I’ve had a new appreciation of historic postcards because they can offer a wealth of information about both buildings, landscapes, and any changes that have occurred. Let’s be honest any historic photograph can offer a ton of information when researching the history of a place. I found a wonderful collection of historic postcards to go through at North Country Neighbors, a type of flea market located under the Roxy movie theater in Potsdam, NY.

North Country Neighbors is a pretty cool place to check out since the different vendor booths are always changing their wares. One of those booths has a bunch of historic postcards, which every now and then I go through and see what I can find. The most recent time there I found a few postcards including one for Washington Park in Albany, NY. Since I was going to Albany for the historic preservation conference I figured it would be a fun postcard to buy so I could compare it with the Park today.

Typically you would be able to date the postcard on the design located where the stamp is suppose to go but the stamp on this postcard is blocking that. The stamp is a called a Washington “Olive Branch” design that was issued around 1912. Another website called the “Albany Postcard Project,” actually has an estimated publishing date range for this card as 1907-1915. So in other words the postcard dates to the early 20^th century!

So when I was in Albany I check out Washington Park and took photos of the Mall which extends form Knox Street to Northern Boulevard. This area is the eastern section of the park and is actually the old parade ground. It is the most formally planned section of the park and has a lot of things including: flower gardens, croquet lawn, and a tree lined promenade (the Mall).

The Park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Washington Park Historic District. The district includes portions of South Lake Avenue, Madison Avenue, State Street, Willett Street, Thurlow Terrance, Eaglewood Place, and Western Avenue.

The park has technically been in existence for a little over a hundred years but the land has always been designated for public use since 1686 when Albany was first chartered during the reign of King James. Let’s take a moment to realize that Albany is an extremely old city. I did not realize that until I was there and walking around and listening to the different presentations on the City during the Conference. For comparison, Boston is a little over 50 years older than Albany (it was founded in 1630).

The Park has had many uses during its history. It has been the location of Albany’s powder house (1802), a burial ground (1800), the public square (1806), and used as a parade ground for drills, county fairs, and skating parties. By 1869 a law had been passed allowing for a public park and obviously the parade ground was the prime candidate for the City’s new public park. Frederick Law Olmsted (a really important landscape architect) was hired as a consultant to write a report on the possibility of a park.

About a year later the firm, Bogart & Cuyler, began to design the park and started construction, which lasted for 20 years. The gentlemen had worked previously with Olmsted on another project and were heavily influenced by the report Olmsted had written for Albany. Design elements that are Olmsted features include the natural scenery of rolling meadows and lake views within the realm of formal spaces. It’s all about the view in the parks inspired by Olmsted and feeling like you’re in the wilderness when really you’re in the middle of a city. Think Central Park in NYC, which is designed by Olmsted.

According to the Washington Park Conservancy’s website the Knox Street Mall was completely renovated in 2001. I tried looking for information in regards to the restoration but could not find that much information. In general their website was lacking a lot of information. Hopefully in the future they add to the contents of the site. Check out the photos below to see what the Mall in Washington Park looks like today. When I was visiting Albany, the Tulip Festival was happening, so there were a lot of tulips and people in the Park one of the days I visited.

I was facing Madison Street while standing on the Knox Street Mall.

Looking in the opposite direction towards State Street. The Albany Postcard Project thinks the original postcard was facing this direction.

During the Tulip Festival, the Mall was lined with vendors. It gave the area a totally different feel with this many people and the vendors!

Since I saw the Park during the Tulip Festival, I might as well share a photo of some tulips!

If you own any historic postcards, see if you can find the locations depicted. It’s always cool to see how things have changed over time or maybe there haven’t been that many changes over the years. The photos I took of the Mall today look pretty much like it did in the early 1900’s. It’s most likely because of the renovations that occurred in 2001. It was also fun to be at the Park on a week day when it wasn’t so busy and then compare what was going on during the Tulip Festival when the Park was buzzing with life!

If you have any thoughts or comments about Washington Park, or are interested in the history of your old postcards and need help, leave a comment!

If you’re interested in learning more about the UVM postcard project see this link: http://www.uvm.edu/~hp206/2012/. I specifically worked on the “University, Hill Section.”

Or if you’re interested in what other UVM historic preservation groups are researching follow this link: http://www.uvm.edu/~histpres/?Page=HPJ/index.html.

For further information about today’s blog post:

Washington Park:

http://www.washingtonparkconservancy.org/

http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2011/04/18/the-moses-fountain-in-washington-park

http://www.theawl.com/2016/04/who-owns-washington-park

http://www.parkplayhouse.com/

Frederick Law Olmsted:

http://www.olmsted.org/the-olmsted-legacy/frederick-law-olmsted-sr

http://www.pbs.org/wned/frederick-law-olmsted/home/

Albany Postcards:

http://www.albanypostcardproject.com/

 

A Grave Site Located in the Woods

We’re going to be looking at War of 1812 graves located basically in the middle of nowhere in the woods. It also happens to be the 204th  anniversary of Elijah Sacket’s death and his companion’s death.

This marker is for two soldiers who perished on a march from Plattsburgh to Sackets Harbor in the spring of 1813. The location of the graves and marker are on County Route 24, which is also known as the “St. Lawrence Turnpike” or the “Russell Turnpike.” The road ran all the way from Malone through to Carthage via Russell and was very important during the War of 1812 because it allowed Sackets Harbor to be connected to Plattsburgh via Malone. This allowed transportation of troops and supplies during the war. The actual information on both the roadside marker and grave marker are lacking any real substantial information, so I decided to do some research.

HINT, HINT- If you see something interesting and historic, but lacking information, research it! And, share your findings because someone, somewhere is probably also interested.

Researching Elijah Sacket was not easy. There’s still some unanswered questions. Records are not the clearest and some have been lost to time. So from what I could find, this is the story of Elijah Sacket, a militiaman during the War of 1812.

First off, there are two Elijah Sacket(t)s! Both lived during the same time and were involved in their local militias.

Just for your records, the first Elijah Sackett (two “T”s) was born in 1751 and lived in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He was involved in the American Revolution; eventually he moved to Ohio and died at the old age of 86 in 1837. He’s not our guy but at least he seems to have lived an interesting life!

Back to our Elijah Sacket (only one “T”).

Elijah was born in 1768 in Sheffield, Massachusetts. He moved with his parents (Benjamin and Dorothy) and siblings to New York State shortly before the American Revolution began. In 1789, he married Dorothy Hitchcock. Eventually with his wife he moved to Hartford, NY located in Washington County. Elijah and Dorothy had five children: Elisabeth, Erminia, Electa, Ebenezer, and Erwin.

Elijah had been part of the militia in Washington County from 1800 to 1807 in Colonel Solomon Baker’s Regiment of the Brigade of the Militia of said county. During that time, Elijah was promoted from private to lieutenant.

Sometime between 1807 and 1809, Elijah decided to move his family to Northern New York. They settled in Gouverneur, where Elijah worked as a miller. He must have decided to join the local militia, the 123^rd Regiment, which was also known as Benedict’s Regiment (Thomas Benedict) located in St. Lawrence County.

Elijah’s movements during the War of 1812 are unclear thanks to the lack of both surviving and digitized documents. His name does not show up on any digital records of muster rolls for the regiments of St. Lawrence County. Solely based on his grave site in Pierrepont, NY, we know that Elijah was en-route to Plattsburgh from Sackets Harbor. He died from some kind of sickness, which was very common in the military camps during the War. Oddly enough, Elijah has a second gravestone in Gouverneur, where his wife and some of his children are buried.

Pathway to the grave marker. It’s a short walk in the woods from the roadside marker.

Some American Flags have been placed at the marker, along with a War of 1812 Veteran marker too.

Close-up of the grave marker.

The unknown soldier is still a mystery. I haven’t been able to find any real information from the muster rolls for St. Lawrence County. As I already mentioned, Elijah is not listed on any lists I was able to find online and there was nothing related to the death dates of April 7^th and 13^th.

Researching Elijah Sacket was difficult. Many of the online resources I found had a lot of conflicting information or just general lack of information, which made things confusing.

For example on Ancestry.com I found a record that listed Elijah Sacket as “Benedict’s Regiment, NY Militia, Private” and another listed him as “Elijah Sacket (1768-1813) lieutenant, Washington County Regiment, NY.” This is the same Elijah, just the information is not a lot to go on and are about two different times during Elijah’s life. Finding other sources online helped piece together what little is known.

I also think it’s interesting to look at the maintenance of a very small grave site, along with the remembrance of soldiers who died during the War of 1812. A lot of books and articles on the War of 1812 call it the “forgotten war.” Have we forgotten the War of 1812? I’m not sure. Being a historian who’s interested in local and early American history, I know it happened and I’ve done some research on it (as in this blog post). I also know that Northern New York played a very important role being the Northern frontier to Canada (British Territory) during the War.

The town of Pierrepont is in charge of the maintenance of the property. As you can see in the images, it’s not a very noticeable place and parking isn’t easy. Today when I was at the site taking pictures, it was obviously I had been the only visitor so far. So what happens when a place isn’t easily accessible. Do we forget about it? Should the effort be put in to preserve it and remember it? How do we make it so that people notice this marker more?

Maybe by spreading the word that it exists. I’m not sure if there are “right” answers to these questions. But on that note, this is the final resting place of two soldiers who fought to protect early America and they died 203 years ago to the day. Let’s spread the word that they lived.

If anyone has thoughts or ideas on how to find more information on Elijah’s movements during the War or how to figure out the identity of the unknown soldier, leave a comment or send me a message.

The following is a list of resources I found online that were helpful in figuring out the story of Elijah Sacket. They also might be helpful if you have your own personal genealogical research you’re working on.

Elijah Sacket Family Tree Information:

Thurmon King’s New Sackett Family Tree, http://sackett-tree.org/getperson.php?personID=I1439&tree=1, accessed 04/09/2016.

The Sackett Family Association: Sacketts in the Military, http://sackettfamily.info/militarysacketts.htm, accessed 04/08/2016.

Information on the Grave Site:

Soldier’s Graves, War of 1812, Town of Pierrepont, http://stlawrencecountycemeteries.org/Pierrepont/soldiers.htm, accessed 04/11/2016.

Images of the Grave Site:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28033906, accessed 04/09/2016.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=77837, accessed 04/10/2016

Elijah Sacket and St. Lawrence County:

“What was going on in St. Lawrence County 200 years ago? Here’s a town-by-town look, from Canton to Waddington,” July 3, 2012. http://northcountrynow.com/news/what-was-going-st-lawrence-county-200-years-ago-heres-town-town-look-canton-waddington-061006, accessed 04/08/2016.

St. Lawrence County Quarterly, Volume 3, 2011. The entire journal is about the War of 1812 in St. Lawrence County. There’s a lot of cool information and a little information on Elijah Sacket. I found a copy at the Potsdam Public Library.

“De Kalb’s Own General: Thomas Benedict,” Bryan Thompson, De Kalb’s historian. http://www.dekalbnyhistorian.org/LocalHistoryArticles/DeKalbGeneral/DeKalbGeneral.html, accessed 04/10/2016.

Documents of the Senate of New York, Vol.9   https://books.google.com/books?id=LKIlAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA498&dq=elijah+sacket&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiglsLvzofMAhULWxQKHc0IB304ChDoAQgbMAA#v=onepage&q=elijah%20sacket&f=false, accessed 04/09/2016.

Information on the War of 1812:

War of 1812 Bicentennial, http://slcha.org/warof1812/bicentennial.php, accessed 04/07/2016.

St. Lawrence County War fo 1812 History Trail, http://slcha.org/warof1812/sites.php, accessed 04/07/2016.

A note on Ancestry.com: I do not have a subscription to Ancestry.com, the Potsdam Public Library does. If you’re in the Library using their WiFi, you can get access to Ancestry.com through their website. It’s really cool that the Library has access to Ancestry.com and it helped when I was researching!