Tag: Willsboro New York

  • Willsboro Paper Mill, circa 1900 and 1920

    Willsboro Paper Mill, circa 1900 and 1920

    We return today to Willsboro’s industrial Boquet River shoreline a century and more ago. This follow-up to “Willsboro Mills Circa 1912: Grist Mill, Saw Mill, and Paper Mill” includes three intriguing glimpses of this once thriving site of which only a hint remains today. The aerial photograph on this vintage postcard above offers a birds-eye…

  • Willsboro Mills Circa 1912: Grist Mill, Saw Mill, and Paper Mill

    Willsboro Mills Circa 1912: Grist Mill, Saw Mill, and Paper Mill

    My October 19, 2023 look at the Phoenix Mills (through the lens of “preservation by neglect“) incited some interesting feedback. I’m planning a post to pass along some interesting new tidbits including the building’s name. (Think about the concept of “phoenix from ashes“, a myth that resonates with me personally and that surfaces frequently in…

  • A Barnophile of Bygone Barns

    A Barnophile of Bygone Barns

    Yesterday I meditated a minute on bygone barns. Ancient farm buildings. Tempered by time, tempted by gravity, and sowbacked beneath the burdens of generations, these rugged utility structures retain (and sometimes gain) a minimalist elegance long after design and construction and use fade into history. My meditation was meandering and inconclusive. In part this was…

  • Camp Cherokee for Boys in Willsboro, New York

    Camp Cherokee for Boys in Willsboro, New York

    Have you ever heard of Camp Cherokee for Boys in Willsboro? If so, I’d love to learn more. So far the details are pretty thin… As we roll into the final days of 2022, I’ve been attempting to streamline my end-of-year projects. And while the prospect of simply deleting lingering items on the perennial punch list…

  • Boathouse Repairs 6: Northside Post Wraps Installed

    Boathouse Repairs 6: Northside Post Wraps Installed

    Boathouse northside post wraps have been installed, and southside companions are in process…

  • Camp-of-the-Pines

    Camp-of-the-Pines

    I turn afield this afternoon to share with you a growing collection of vintage postcards and miscellaneous artifacts featuring Camp-of-the-Pines in Willsboro, New York. To be 100% transparent from the outset, my aspiration is twofold: I want to solicit community knowledge about this [apparently] no longer extant Lake Champlain neighbor. I want to showcase our remarkably…

  • Recovering from Irene

    Much of the North Country is still recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. Four weeks on, I return to the notes I jotted during and shortly after Irene passed through Essex, New York. A sheet of water cascades in front of the parlor windows. I’ve sunk into an armchair to watch the…

  • Moon Over Lake Champlain

    Last night’s moonrise over the Vermont foothills (south of the Green Mountains) was absolutely sensational! The moon started out fat and orange as it made a dramatic appearance. My bride and I first spied the moon over Lake Champlain while driving home to Essex from Willsboro after dining at Johnny’s Smokehouse. Breathtaking. And elusive because it…

  • Rosslyn Roundup, June 6

    Monday morning media mashup? From Champlain Area Trails (CATS) to Old Adirondack, there are so many local news updates directly related to Rosslyn that I’ve collected the half dozen most relevant links for you. The titles are clickable links to the primary content, so once you’ve read each blurb (in most cases excerpted directly from…