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| Fort Johnson |
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| Inside Fort Johnson |
Today we went to
Fort Johnson, Johnson Hall, and Mabee Farm. At Fort Johnson we toured the house
of William Johnson and we learnt about his life. He played a huge role in the
French and Indian War and the events leading up to Revolutionary War. He handled
the relationship with the Indians and British. Because of this it was not
uncommon for his house to be housing many Indians at the time. He did have a
family but if I was his kid I would not be happy about giving up my bed for
someone else. I also would not be comfortable with having to wake up and there
being a chance that my floor would be full of people sleeping on it. Although
Johnson did have a nice house, many rooms were set up to entertain his guests.
After Fort Johnson we next went to another home of Johnson’s, Johnson Hall.
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| Johnson Hall |
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| Butler's Bed |
His second house
was defiantly a lot nicer. Despite it being nicer then his first house, Johnson
Hall shared a lot of similarities with Fort Johnson. The biggest similarity being
it was set up to house and entertain many guests at the time. One difference was
he had his master bedroom on the first floor. Johnson had developed hip issues
after being shot so he had is room placed on the first floor to make it easier
for himself. I will admit he was one tough cookie after getting shot three separate
times and dealing with infection, he still continued to do what he did. What I
found interesting about this house was it had hallways that were almost like
secret passage ways for the servants to travel floor to floor without
disturbing the guests. I also enjoyed the basement (not just because the cool
air was refreshing). The basement is where the Kitchen and the Butlers Pantry
was. Except he probably wasn't the best butler because he forgot to make his own bed. After Johnson Hall we headed out to our next stop, Mabee Farm.
At Mabee’s farm we
toured what used to be the house the family lived in. It is impressive that the
house is about 300 years old. Through the years it has been extended but it is
still the same house it was when the house was first built. The family grew out
over the years building an Inn near the three main ways of transportation at
the time. What I liked about the farm was the Mabee’s were just regular people
(maybe a little more well off then some), they weren’t anyone Important yet
they were able to keep the land in the family up until 1999. The Mabee farm was
right alongside the Mohawk River giving us a chance to go in a boat. Most of us
got the chance to ride in the boat even row it. They used the Mohawk River,
then later they mostly used the Erie Canal to travel supplies from East to
West. At that point all I could think about was the Erie Canal Song that we
learned in like 3rd grade, it’s one of those songs that will easily
get stuck in your head. I would not be able to sit in that boat for the two and
a half weeks it took to get “….from Albany to Buffalo”, (<- lyrics from the
Erie Canal song, as I am now singing this as I typed and couldn’t resist). I
love being out on the water but that would get boring really fast. After Mabee
Farm we ended our day and headed back to Sage.
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| Mabee's Home |
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| Out on the boast |
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