Photographs and thoughts on photography and camera collecting
Not far from the entrance to the trails you come across this barn-like structure. I liked all the contrasts: the greenish-blues and the red/orange bricks, even the yellow notice. I also found the textures appealing: of the old leaves, the wooden doors, the metal fixtures and the bricks and other masonry.
Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3
The Carriage House forms part of a cluster of buildings called the The Service Courtyard. A nearby sign explains:
This group of buildings, including the Carriage House, Wagon Barn, Stable and Ice House, was built on this location for the Morse family in the 1850s, but the present appearance of the buildings dates from renovations for the Young family in 1901.
The Youngs kept both riding and driving horses in the Stable’s four stalls, as many as five carriages and a sleigh i the Carriage House, and an ever-changing variety of maintenance equipment, from carts to lawn mowers, in the Wagon Barn.
The second floor of the Carriage House includes a dormitory for the grooms and a hayloft. Built fifteen feet deep into the hillside is the Ice House, where ice cut on Locust Grove’s own Lake was stored for use in the summer.
I liked the pastel yellows and greens and the lovely textures. But most of all I was struck by the “rikkety” feel of the whole building. Everything seems a little twisted, bent or leaning. At a quick glance it looks like it could fall over at any moment. However, since it’s been standing for over 100 hundred I don’t suppose it’s likely to.
Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
By the entrance to the trails at Locust Grove are not one, but two pet cemeteries. The first one (see picture above and first picture below) consists of what appear to be recently painted simple (i.e. just the pet’s name) wooden markers. The second one (see second picture below) looks older – with stone markers and more extensive inscriptions. My wife did the house tour and told me that there are all kinds of animals in the two cemeteries – including horses. The owners must really have loved their pets. I have no idea what kind of pet Pinky Winky was.
First two pictures were taken with a Sony RX-100 M3 and the final one with a Canon EOS 650.
I believe that this was one of the handles on a wrought iron containter of some sort – possibly a planter, or maybe a fountain – I don’t remember which. I liked the expression on the face of creature (some kind of aquatic reptile?); and of course the rust.
Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3
About a month ago we visited Locust Grove, the former home of Samuel F.B. Morse near Poughkeepsie, New York. Of course Samuel Morse, is best known for the invention of the telegraph. However, until our visit I wasn’t aware that he was also an accomplished artist – particularly celebrated for his portraits (see: Samuel Morse Painting Sold For $3.25 Million). My wife did the tour of the house interior while I went for a walk in the grounds with our dog, Harley.
According to Wikipedia:
Henry Livingston Jr. was Locust Grove’s first resident owner and named the estate after the black locust trees growing on the property in 1771 when he purchased the property from his own father. After his death his heirs sold the property to a wealthy New York City couple, John and Isabella Montgomery. They moved farming operations to the lower-lying lands closer to the river and built a cottage.
Morse bought the land from them in 1847, three years after his breakthrough with the telegraph. He hired Davis (who also designed Lyndhurst – see: House of Dark Shadows) in 1851 and began working with him to remodel and expand the cottage into an Italianate villa. He continued to improve the landscape around the house, which became his summer home, for the rest of his life.
After Morse’s death in 1872, his family spent less time in Poughkeepsie and eventually emptied the mansion and rented the estate. One of their tenants, William Young, moved to Locust Grove in 1895 and eventually bought the property from Morse’s heirs in 1901. He and his wife Martha realized its historic importance and restored the mansion and gardens. They added modern amenities like central heat, and hot and cold running water, as well as a new dining room and guest bedrooms in a large north wing (the last significant renovation to the building). Family heirlooms were the foundation of the Young Family’s 20,000-piece collection of fine and decorative arts, today displayed in the mansion’s 40 rooms.
William and Martha Young’s daughter, Annette, and son, Innis, also worked to preserve and restore the house, which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Annette and Innis Young also restored their great-great grandfather’s home, the Locust Lawn Estate and opened it to the public as a museum in 1958.
Annette Young died in 1975, establishing in her will a trust so that her house, property, and collections of paintings and decorative arts could be opened to the public. Five years later, they were. Today the estate offers guided tours, lectures and other special events. Five miles (5 km) of trails, originally 19th-century carriage roads, have been built in the woods around the house.
For an informative overview of all of the owners of Locust Grove see: The Owners of Locust Grove.
Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3
