cameraguyd: Back Yard History

Our family lives in a house that was built in 1785. It has most of the original wide plank oak flooring, which has been restored by a previous owner along with the original wood paneling and many other elements. The post and beam construction can be seen from the basement or the attic. Many of the wood beams still have the tree bark on them from well over 200 years! The chimney stack is 12’x12’ in the cellar and tapers down to 4’x4’ above the roof. It accommodates 4 fireplaces, 5 if you count the beehive oven in the cellar, and an oil fired furnace. The main fireplace in the center of the house or “great room” has a small oven off to the side as well as an opening for storing firewood. These are both behind a wood panel door. There are several old wood panel doors with the old style latches and hinges throughout the house as well. Despite it’s age and history, living in a house this old for several years gets to be commonplace and I seldom give it any thought. We’re more preoccupied with the task of daily life, paying bills, walking the dog, cutting the grass, doing dishes, going to work, running errands, etc. So, although we live in this old historic house I am more fascinated by the creamery “ruins” from 1880 at Sloper’s Pond which is about a five minute walk from our house. Perhaps the old creamery is more intriguing, even though it is about a century newer than our house, because it is in ruins. This lends greatly to it’s mystique. Only a few large brownstones that formed the foundation remain, so most of the small building is left to the imagination. In fact, in the few short years since I have known about this place one of the large stones has managed to dislocate itself from the wall. A small sign accompanies this historic site which helps to create an image of a pastoral era of long ago. One begins to imagine the old fashioned process of hand churned cream and butter and the final product being transported on horse drawn wagons covered with hay and sawdust. The ruin reminds me of the “Stanley Mansion” we used to frequent as kids. Stanley Mansion was much larger but because it was also a ruin hidden in the woods it had a similar mysterious quality to it, especially to a kid. This place, just like the Creamery at Sloper’s Pond, has a tremendous potential to be a learning experience. The Stanley Mansion, however, is literally behind the A.W. Stanley School in New Britain, CT. Yet, I wonder if school kids ever go there for a field trip or do the teachers even know about it? Backyard history as exemplified here is a fascinating experience because it brings the distant historical past within closer reach, relating it to our own sense of place.