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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 10:43:08 GMT
I went and had my annual visit to the old family farm while in New York recently. The farm was the center of my childhood although, my immediate family did not live on the actual premises. My paternal Grandmother and my three aunts,none of whom ever married resided there up until the last aunt died in the early 1980's and bequeathed the farm to the 63 nieces and nephews that survived her. A huge auction was held and the contents of the home along with the farming machinery and contents of the barn were sold off to help pay for the enormous taxes and legal fees involved. (N.Y. state has some of the largest taxes in the country,particularly inheritance tax,AKA "death tax").
The farmhouse was built in 1775 along with the 2 huge barns that sat on three acres of beautiful gardens lovingly tended by my Grandmother and three aunts. My grandparents purchased the farm in the late 1890's and raised ten children all who worked on the premises in some capacity. Accompanying the farmhouse premises our family tended 60 acres of cultivated potatoes.
No longer a working farm,the glorious gardens long gone save some old trees and the occassional shrub,the farm property was sold in the 1980's and has changed hands several times.
It is always bittersweet for me to go and visit.
Here are some photos of the farmhouse and barns.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 10:58:57 GMT
 Farmhouse,section on the left added on in the 1920's  Western side of farmhouse. Existing driveway and side yard once home to one of the finest gardens around. Note the bay window where my Grandmother lovingly tended her beautiful ferns and various other houseplants.  view from the house  the old outhouse. Many a cold,cold night had to run out to use! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 11:11:57 GMT
 one of the old barns that housed tractors and other farm machinery  another view of the barns. on the far right once sat an enormous glass greenhouse from which I have an old galvanized tin watering can.  more remnants of the garden,old wisteria arbor  more of the grounds  old driveway for farm machinery leading to the fields and beyond,the Atlantic... |
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Post by happytraveller on Oct 18, 2009 11:37:15 GMT
What a beautiful place casimira. I can see why your heart hangs on this. Any child would love it there !
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Post by lagatta on Oct 18, 2009 13:47:30 GMT
It is too bad the land isn't being farmed any more, not even as a hobby farm/garden. I can't imagine having that land and not planting vegetables and fruit trees.
You need a WINTER picture of the old outhouse. Brrrrr! (Not even a "backhouse", attached to the house as the new extension is).
Wast this farm on Long Island? There can't be much else of New York State one can see the Atlantic Ocean from...
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 18, 2009 14:17:00 GMT
Oh my goodness. What a wonderful, classic house. And I can see how it would be the focus of so many childhood memories, and how it helped shape who you are.
Even though the garden is gone, it's rather lovely how the present owners have not overly groomed the grounds. Also, that view from the house, with weeds and field, keeps the feeling of farm country and the spirit of the house.
Beautiful pictures -- thanks.
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Post by imec on Oct 18, 2009 14:37:58 GMT
Wow! Love this place!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 15:23:55 GMT
There is a place that I go to see each time I pass through La Petite Raon, France, which was my grandmother's birthplace and the site of the home of my great grandparents, even though they never owned it. The town was a textile town owned by the Boussac textile tycoons, and that house and many others belonged to Boussac. However, it is a lovely mill house on a mill pond,and I will post a photo of it some day (all existing photos are still trapped in my broken computer).
The farmhouse looks great.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 15:49:58 GMT
I always get butterflies in my stomach when I go there. There I was skulking around and ventured far more onto the property than I would normally do. I would have liked to have taken some more pictures but I felt I was pushing it as it was. Judging from the number of vehicles in the driveway there were people there. On other occassions when I've gone there were no cars (and I had no camera).
The land surrounding the farmhouse is currently being farmed. The 60 acres we sold became part of a land reserve through the efforts and brilliant foresight of the Group for the South Fork,a land bank preservation group that emerged in the 1980's out on the South Fork of Eastern Long Island. The farm land is leased to the few existing farmers out there who try to eek a living out of farming. Some have turned to growing grapes and there are some wineries out there.
The current owners of the house only use the house as a weekend retreat and vacation house so the only gardening that exists is in what you see and the few apple and crabapple trees that still exist from the old days.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 18, 2009 18:24:32 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Oct 18, 2009 18:47:18 GMT
I had someone who had grown up in what is now my house knock on the door and it was fascinating hearing about the history of the place. He even sent me some copies of old pictures of when the house was new. Have you tried talking to the present owners? They might find it as interesting talking to you as I did talking to him.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2009 21:46:21 GMT
Yes. I have spoken to the current owner. Some years back I was there and she saw me in one of the fields and approached me.(I was scooping up some dirt to put on my altar). She was very kind. Apparently I'm not the only member of the family that skulks around on occasion as she told me I had a" family look" which I very much took as a compliment. As I mentioned I have 63 first cousins so I did not want to imposition her in any way. I don't know that I would have wanted to go back in the house had I been invited. I prefer to keep the memories I have of it the way it was. Now,I do confess having sneaked into one of the barns a long time ago. It smelled just the same,like an old potato barn. That was special.
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Post by fumobici on Oct 19, 2009 0:15:49 GMT
63 first cousins? I don't know what to say  I have three. Fecundity isn't our thing I guess  |
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Post by Kimby on Oct 19, 2009 3:13:12 GMT
I have 16 first cousins, but my two sisters are also my 4th cousins, because my dad's parents were second cousins. (We don't have extra fingers or anything, in case you're worried.)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2009 11:02:09 GMT
63 first cousins? I don't know what to say I have three. Fecundity isn't our thing I guess I would have to sit down and do the math but I believe around 63 to be correct (and that's just paternal side!). My father was the youngest of 10 and I'm the youngest of 4 so, there are many older first cousins of whom I barely knew. My mother is the youngest of 9 and I have a couple dozen or more first cousins on her side. It was very common for farmers of the day to have large families,particularly among the Polish and Irish Catholic clans. Everyone worked on the farm. |
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Post by hwinpp on Oct 19, 2009 11:10:59 GMT
Was there ever a time when all of you were there together? It must have been a riot!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 19, 2009 23:47:37 GMT
I'm sure there was hw,perhaps at Easter time which was always a huge gathering,or Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was fairly young so I would not have been cognizant of whether or not EVERYONE was there. I will ask my mother though,she would certainly recall. I do recall having lots of cousins to play with and that was all I cared about.The adults would all be in the house and we ran free outside.
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Post by lola on Oct 20, 2009 21:38:53 GMT
Beautiful place, casimira. The house reminds me of where my mother grew up when her father was trying to be a gentleman farmer near Boston.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2009 14:25:09 GMT
What a lovely place to grow up. Just beautiful.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2009 4:47:02 GMT
Thanks.
lola , I didn't know your mother had roots in New England. Do you have relatives there and go to visit. Lovely countryside around Boston.
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I have three. Fecundity isn't our thing I guess 
