by Anura Guruge
on May 8, 2022
Click to ENLARGE.
All taken by Anura Guruge, on April 26, 2022.
As you are driving up along Route 11, headed for ‘Katahdin Woods & Waters‘, you will more or less simultaneously notice two things: first the huge barn & then that the trees have been cleared on the other side & you see the mountains. On a clear day you can see Katahdin.
The barn, built in the early 1900s, is impressive. I parked the car, about 1/4 mile from it & then hiked up and down the road a couple of times taking pictures. In the process I was lucky enough to meet the lady who had inherited the barn (the previous year). She told me that she is in the process of trying to get it registered (& eventually funded via grants) as a historic monument.
It took ‘a second’ for something else to sink in. The original settlers at this farm had cleared HUGE tracts of lands to create these OPEN fields. Much of that would have been done in the early 1900s prior to the availability of heavy, mechanized equipment. I am sure they use horses & cattle to clear much of the trees that would have once been there. Impressive. Sobering. From then on I paid particular attention to the cleared fields. You should also look around. It is quite amazing.
Just wanted to share this. Definitely worth stopping & walking around.
