More Pics Old barns And Silos

Adirondack case guy · Jul 3, 2010

My round trip milage today was about 80mi. Here are some pics. along the way. Back 50 yrs ago all these farms were active. My dad and grandfather made their living selling and servicing Case and New Idea equipment to the farmers who owened these farms. My wife and I continued that business until 1986. My dad became a Case dealer in 1932. It's sad to see What was once the backbone of our country deteriorate to this point. I haven't taken pics of our old mill towns up and down the Mohawk Valley yet, but there is not much to see; just abandon brick factories with crumbling smoke stacks and mill ponds that no longer power industry. SADD, to say the least!! Farm machinery pioneers such as Jerome I Case, Cyras McCormic, and John Deere were born here in the north east, and migrated west to Wisconsin and Ill. to manufacture their farm equipment
Today we, NYS are the #3 milk producing state in the US, but there are very few small family 50 cow dairys left. Now it's 500 head + operations with bunk silos and white snakes strewn all over. No character, other than function. Our country built it's might around Agriculture and Manufacturing. Today, both are dying.

Old Roy · Jul 3, 2010

Yes sad to see this happening no one realizes the sweat, blood, and tears that was left behind in this past history never to be entertained by today's generation as they drive by .

Some see it as falling down buildings, I see it as generations of toil and heart ache. I can see the fresh paint that once was. Some are still struggling to make what they can to make ends meet in this cruel economy.

Thanks for the Pics very interesting !!

charley hellickson · Jul 3, 2010

Well said caseguy. Thanks for more great pictures and history.

Charley Hellickson Madrid IA.

larry@stinescorner · Jul 3, 2010

you are so right! Imagine what it would cost to build those barns now, could you even get that wood that some of them were built if you wanted to ? Now I know why you prefer CASE tractors., what a great post you just sent us, I really enjoyed that.

Dave Eklund · Jul 3, 2010

sad to see my grandfather had a 300+ acre farm up around adams ny he used to milk 100+ head of cows and sold off at an auction in 96 it was a sad day then about a year later sold the farm to a farmer who had 1500+acres and was milking 1000+ head of cattle. Us grandkids always wanted to help and couldn't understand why we couldn't help come to find out in the 80's dad and mom offered to move out and help him but he refused because he told my mom she had the wrong last name she and her family would never gett he farm because he wanted it knows as his farm not my mothers married name farm guess he should not have drve his 2 sons off in the 70's after buying a bigger farm to leave them. so it's amazing what happens to our family history and the thing we find out as years past I been by the old farm three or four times in the past 15 years but it is a 600 mile round trip just to go see where my stubborn granpas old farm was

VaTom · Jul 3, 2010

Great photos, thanks.

This week I collected a windmill from New Jersey. The guy'd bought it at his father's farm dispersal auction several years ago, only to discover he had zoning problems and couldn't set it up at his house (small acreage).

Unlikely his father had bought it new, considering that model hadn't been made since the 30's. He was tickled that someone would haul it home and resurrect it. Motor was in good shape, or I wouldn't have. Even has a wood tank in the tower. Been awhile since it held water.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 3, 2010

nice pictures farm land is the best

olddog · Jul 3, 2010

Some of those could have been taken right here in NE Pa. 'cept for one thing. I couldn't find a single pigeon in any of them!

Still good to look thru them. I worked as route driver delivering milkhouse supplies to most of the farms, big and little, in parts of 7 countys around here.
Same happening around here, the small 50 - 100 cow dairys are quitting fast, soon we'll only have 5 - 600 cow farms and crop growers.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 3, 2010

I love upstate NY. Lived in the adirondacks for years. Sad to see the gradual decline of the rural NE. Thanks for the photos.

Spook · Jul 3, 2010

Nice pics. In Michigan, the small family farms went out a generation ago. The auto plants have been downsizing since the 70's. The only reason people moved here was to get jobs, now the jobs are gone, what next?

TomH in PA · Jul 3, 2010

We see the change that's taken place in our own lifetimes, but changes in previous generations was at least as dramatic.

Consider what a difference the labor-saving machinery made by McCormick and Deere made to the farmers in the late 1900's, then add electric milking machines and bulk hauling in the 20th century.

In the early 50's dairy farms averaged about 10 cows/farm, by the 1970 it was up to 20, and in the early 90's it was over 60. Dairy farming is different, but not dead unless the tree huggers get their way.

Traditional Farmer · Jul 3, 2010

I can tell you making a living now is a breeze compared to back when those barns were really being used for their intended purpose.Of course then we had a used car,used pickup a couple small tractors and that was it.One TV that worked about half time didn't bother to have it fixed in the Summer as we had no time to watch it.I'd like to see some people now that thik times are so hard milk 10-15 cows by hand twice a day and handle square bales all day.If it ever gets to the point again people have to really work for a living millions will die from starvation and exposure.

State of Jefferson · Jul 3, 2010

I do love your pictures. If I ever hit the lottery, I won't care what kindof house I live in, but I will spend a million bucks and build one of those great big ol' barns. They're amazing! I need to take my camera around this valley with me ane take some pictures of all the big timber frame barns here. MOST of them are still in use, and generally, people are taking care of them.

Ben

olgentdc · Jul 3, 2010

Man I hear Your Cry and FEEL YOUR PAIN,, I thank you for the wonderful pix ,, and SHARE a Kindred Spirit ,.. HAPPY 4TH OF july

DownSouth · Jul 3, 2010

THANK YOU for the wonderful pictures, it's always nice to see what other parts of our beautiful country look like.
You posted just enough photos to make a nice 18 month calendar of "Old Farms Of The Adirondack"!

Inno · Jul 3, 2010

(quoted from post at 05:57:02 07/03/10) Great photos, thanks.

This week I collected a windmill from New Jersey.

I would love to see pictures of the details of that old windmill.

Regarding old farm buildings, every time I take a trip to pick up my son in north west North Dakota, I drive past probably hundreds of old barns, silos, sheds and farm houses. Many of which look like they were just moved out of 30-40 years ago and never touched since. That is likely the case as I'm sure that all the smaller farms get bought up and become parts of larger farms. It really emphasizes the changes that have come about through "progress"
What amazes me is that many of these are probably close to 100 years old and many are still standing nice and straight and true. It really speaks volumes about the build quality. I'd like to see a house with modern construction just be left for 30-40 years. I'll bet they wouldn't even be standing without regular attention.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 3, 2010

Thanks for the pictures, love the rolling countryside. I agree with your last thought about manufacturing and small farms. Why is it some countries like Switzerland seem to stay the same while others like ours came to this point? It was a rush toward "progress" that now leaves a lot of people unemployed and small farms run down and often deserted. Most kids have no chores to do, either getting in trouble or sitting around without enough exercise. What will the next trend be?

VaTom · Jul 3, 2010

I go to West Branch every May. Still a lot of family farms there to Rose City. That's as far as I travel. My understanding, talking with locals there, is that family farming is doing just fine in that part of Michigan. The Ford dealer also thought so.

Surprised me that the old lake subdivision I take my elderly mother to had zero houses for sale. Last year there was one. The upscale restaurant in West Branch was crowded for lunch on Thursday. Just like every year.

I understand SE Michigan isn't so fortunate.

VaTom · Jul 3, 2010

Hi Inno, this one hadn't pumped any water recently, but the motor was in surprisingly good shape. Unfortunately, the tower got a bit mangled when it was moved from the farm. Like most things, repairable. Hmmm... no idea how to get more than one photo in here. The tower even has a large wooden tank. This model was discontinued in 1933, no idea how old this one is.

What surprised me was the reaction of people everywhere we stopped. Something about an old windmill that makes people feel good. Even got thumbs-up from some of the people who passed us on the freeway.

Regarding "I'd like to see a house with modern construction just be left for 30-40 years. I'll bet they wouldn't even be standing without regular attention", well, I've got one. It's concrete and steel with 2' of dirt on the roof. Needs no heating or cooling, no exterior maintenance, and doesn't care if we're here or not. We could walk away for years and it would be just about the same when we returned. Maybe a little dust inside.

A windmill outside here will look just right. It's to feed a new trout pond.

VaTom · Jul 3, 2010

Here's the upper 25' of the tower, as it sat behind the seller's house. When I got there to inspect, it looked better than the photos. Good thing, it was almost 6 hrs each way.

I'm excited, then mentioned it to a friend here today who told me about an unused windmill not 5 miles away. Haven't yet spoken with the owner, but if he's agreeable it'll also come here.

Almost time to fire up the well drilling rig. I'm gonna pump some water.

Inno · Jul 3, 2010

Thank you for posting those Tom, it looks great.
We don't have many left around here and every time I see one I think of all the potential uses it would have. The obvious being pumping water but I suppose you could also generate electricity, use it to compress air etc.
Windmills are one of those things that cheap electricity made impractical to keep using. Now that electricity rates are higher and more folks are trying to conserve, it might make sense to go back to some of the old ways of doing things.
What I really like is that in the event of a power outage or if for some reason we had a long term outage due to natural disaster etc. you would still have all the benefits it could provide. Or if you are living off the grid, a windmill is a no brainer .

c.w n.y · Jul 3, 2010

its hard to imagine now, the optimisim and hope for the future the farmers had when they were buliding those barns, what would they think is they were still alive to see what their buildings looked like now.

VaTom · Jul 3, 2010

You're welcome. The other part of the plan, depending on how much wind/water I get here, is to take the surplus water from the fish pond and let it fall 300' to a turbine. Our driveway rises 400', a 300' head would be simple.

These are great for pumping water, not so good for electric generation. A pond, obviously, stores the water for calm times. We almost always have some wind on this mountain. The question is: how much wind?

I'd love to go off-grid. The back-up plan is a wood-gas fired generator. Hydro-electric is immensely less maintenance. I'm a KISS fan, why I wanted this needs-nothing-from-me house. We've been in it almost 2 decades, while nearby friends with similar-sized houses burn 4+ cords/yr, cut from my woodlot. Last winter's 4x normal snowfall got their attention. We stayed snug.

Very few windmills in Virginia also, why I was happy to drive to New Jersey to get this one. Helps to have a buddy with a 48' trailer. New windmills are readily available, but expensive. Solar-powered pumps are a cheaper alternative if you don't live in tall woods. My trees are 80', not much sun hits the ground.

Anonymous-0 · Jul 4, 2010

The Jefferson Avenue assembly plant is hiring. They are making UAW / Fiats.

Inno · Jul 4, 2010

Using surplus water to turn a turbine, now that's an idea! Our ground here is too flat to make that work. Sounds like you have a very sensible setup there. I am currently working on a design for solar heating my workshop and eventually the new barn when it is built. The idea of using what we have all around us for free seems to make a lot of sense to me. I think we as humans got away from that because gas, oil, electricity and natural gas was very cheap and plentiful at first and was also more convenient than doing it yourself. I prefer independence myself and that means I'll pay with labor instead of paying with my pocketbook. Seems society has become one where the easy way is the preferred way. I do not believe that easy living is good living, I like to see the fruits of my labor at the end of the day, much like the old timers who built the buildings that were the original topic of this thread. Gives me a very satisfied feeling, more so than hiring someone to do it!

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