The end of classes brought deadlines, finals, and a field trip for my preservation classmates and me. We piled into a UVM van with snacks, lunch, and rain jackets (most of us) + 2 cars and we were off to catch the Grand Isle ferry over to Plattsburgh, NY.
Route 2 on the way to the ferry. We were hoping to avoid whatever storm lingered.
Our first stop was the new home, and old mill complex, of the organization Adirondack Architectural Heritage. We had lunch overlooking the Ausable River.
Ausable River in Keeseville, NY
Next we were on our way to do some survey practice, as part of our Practice Methods class, but before that we stopped at the Keese Homestead to take a look at the amazing collection of barns and outbuildings. (If you will recall, our class is particularly interested in barns, thanks to our Vermont Barn Census projects.) And for most of us, this turned out to be the best part of the day. The collection of buildings is astounding, especially the cow barn. The Keese Homestead is privately owned, but the owner (a friend of AARCH) was kind enough to give us a tour and allow us to take pictures. He and his wife have done their best to keep up the buildings and to understand their history.Without sharing the 50 0r so pictures I took that day, here are few (well, less than 50 anyway):
The smokehouse.
A row of farm buildings, just a few.
The granary.
The ceiling of the granary: those planks are about two feet in width, talk about firs growth timber!
Looking out the granary window.
Beautiful hinges on one of the barns.
Another farm building on the property (and Jen).
The best barn on the property was an unsuspecting (large) cow barn. I don’t think these pictures will do it justice, but see if you can note the massive timbers. It was just such an incredible space. We spent the most time in here.
Inside the cow barn. Wow.
From the hayloft. A few of us climbed up the handmade ladder -- hand hewn, rounded pegs/steps through a middle post.
Again from the hayloft.
To give you an idea of the timber size.
On the other side of the barn, the cow stalls and troughs. Note the cemter floor, indicative of an improvement in technology and sanitation.
The cow troughs.
The Keese Homestead. We only explored the barns, but the house is spectacular as well.
And after the barns we headed over to Peru, NY to practice our survey skills. I did not take nearly as many pictures, however. Here are my two favorites:
Window on the restored (and still active) church in Peru.
Former industrial area in Peru that flooded and is waiting a return to use.
We were back in Burlington by mid evening, just in time for a final review. A wonderful field trip day. For the record, Bob McCullough brings the best lunches and snacks.
Preservation in Pink 
UVM HP – finished December ’06 – and I agree with you that, yes, Bob McCullough definitely brings the best lunches and snacks 🙂 Fresh tomatoes from his garden, this little Laughing Cow cheese triangles – yum!!! Enjoy the classes, trips, and the program!
BRL – thanks! We ran into another alum who works at AARCH in Keeseville and she mentioned the Laughing Cow cheese, too, which Bob definitely had that day. I love that Bob brings the same snacks! And the tomatoes were so good, but I believe these were just from the grocery store. Too early for home grown tomatoes, I guess.
these photos look eerily similar to a farmstead I visited today – specifically the interior shots of the cow barn…..
Nicholas, I’d love to see those photos. Perhaps they were constructed around the same time?
What a wonderful place (and that hinge is fabulous!). Thanks for sharing.