The Finger Lakes--historical gem of New York State

Thousands of years ago, when glaciers carved the hand print of God into Central New York State, a perfectly beautiful region was formed known as the Finger Lakes. Growing in popularity only in recent decades, it has long been a hidden paradise known to lucky upstaters like me. World class wineries, picturesque landscapes, orchards, sailing, a NASCAR raceway, and glens and gorges with hiking trails laid by FDR's Works Progress Administration, name only some of the attractions drawing tourists in recent years. History is rich in this region. Come and take a virtual tour with me.

Early in New York's settlement, plentiful native-growing grapevines were discovered, and attempts to cultivate them date back into the 1600's. In the early 1800's two godly men found success in creating a palatable wine. Deacon Samuel Warren and the Reverend William Bostwick had vintner ambitions springing from a desire to produce communion wine as well as a good table wine to compete with the too-plentiful grain alcohol responsible for the rampant over-indulgence of the 1800's. The lake winecountry, with its micro-climate and prolonged seasons has been compared to Germany for growing some of the finest white wines in the world. Early successes in the region involved champagne, including Pleasant Valley Wine Company's award winning vintage that won the coveted medal at the Vienna World Exposition in 1873. It was the first American wine to be so recognized internationally. Prohibition hit many of these vineyards especially hard, but some of the old wineries exist today. 

Seneca Lake, the deepest of the Finger Lakes, holds many distinctions historically. Salt mines supplied table salt since the mid nineteenth century. The long body of water connected the Erie Canal to smaller regional waterways, such as the Chemung Canal, from the early 1800's. At the southernmost tip of the lake is Watkins Glen, which has its own intriguing history. First named for a Mohawk Chieftain's daughter Catherine, it was an early tourist attraction and center of industry. The natural wonders of a glen carved through layers of shale became a travel destination over a century ago. In later years, motor car races attracted a faithful following at Watkins Glen International Raceway. 

On the upper, east side of the lake, a military depot was built in Romulus and trained servicemen since the 1940's. Seneca Army Depot, and a Naval Training Station later converted to Samson Airforce Base, were active military posts in their time. Sonar tests were conducted in the depths of Seneca Lake during World War II, Airmen were trained there for the Korean War, and the base reportedly held underground nuclear silos for a time. In recent years, the closed depot offers a military museum while a nature preserve on the grounds protects the largest herd of wild white Whitetail deer in the world.

Cayuga Lake is the second biggest finger lake. Ithaca, at the southern tip, boasts Cornell University, the first Ivy League college to admit women.

Another claim to historical fame, along the northern shore of Cayuga Lake was the birthplace of the women's suffrage movement at Seneca Falls. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were two abolitionist women who had been spurned from taking part in a London anti-slavery convention, so they organized a meeting for women near Stanton's home in Seneca Falls in 1848. Two hundred women met at the Wesleyan church on July 19 over social, civil, and religious concerns, launching the women's rights movement in earnest, and ultimately leading to the female vote. 

Like Seneca, the geography near Cayuga Lake is full of gorges and glens surrounding the lake, including one of my favorite summer places, Robert Treman State Park. It has spectacular waterfalls, natural swimming holes, and hiking trails like Watkins Glen State Park which were both built during the Works Progress Administration, building infrastructure and putting Americans to work during hard times. Hiking paths with slate pathsascend miles of trails, and have weathered the decades beautifully, making it a tourist draw for nature lovers and photographers as well as camping enthusiasts the world over.

From the rolling farmland to the world-class vineyards and wineries, to sports and recreation, to historical landmarks, Upstate New York's Finger Lakes region challenges all rivals for beauty and romance. Cruising the crystal waters, or picking apples in the orchards, horseback riding, touring the wineries, or hiking the glens, can't you just imagine the stories begging to be told here? I sure can! Thank you for visiting. I hoped you enjoyed your tour of the beautiful and historic Finger Lakes.

 Kathleen L. Maher’s first literary crush was Peter Rabbit, and she’s had an infatuation with books and fictional heroes ever since. She has a novella releasing with Barbour in the 2018 Victorian Christmas Brides collection, featuring her hometown of Elmira, NY. Her debut historical “Bachelor Buttons” was released in 2013, and incorporates her Irish heritage and love of the American Civil War. She won the American Christian Fiction Writers' Genesis Contest for unpublished writers, historical category, in 2012. 
Kathleen and her husband raised their three children in an old farmhouse in upstate NY, along with a small zoo of rescued dogs, cats, and birds. They run an art business in their spare time and enjoy spoiling their grandchildren on the weekends.

Find Kathleen on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mahereenie
And on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/kathleenlmaher

(photo credits to Kathleen L. Maher and Nancy Carmichael)

Tre Brah - Home of a 21st Century Woman Living in the 19th Century

By Pamela S. Meyers


For our August visit to the shores of Geneva Lake in Southeastern Wisconsin we walk from the eastern shore of Williams Bay to the western shore, passing by the public beach and dock This is where, during summer, many lakeshore residents of the 19^th Century and early 20^th Century were met by their private yachts when they disembarked at the train station across the road. Many of the men worked in Chicago and at week’s end, took the train out to the "country" to spend weekends with their families.

East is to the right and West to the left. The markings indicate many of the homes I've featured on this blog.

You will see on the map that the lake vaguely resembles the shape of a leg and foot. The location of the town of Lake Geneva is in the toe and the inlet known as Williams Bay is the projection almost to the most western point of the lake. Last month we visited the home of E.B. Meatyard which sat the point the inlet that begins on the east side, and now we are heading across the norther border of the bay and up its west shore to the home known as Tre Brah.

Relatively speaking, the home appears to be much smaller than many of the large mansions we’ve visited, but it’s owners more than make up for the size of the home. And in particular, the lady of the home, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert.

Born into an Indiana family of substance, Elizabeth had been “properly” educated at the Western Female Seminary, that was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Despite its name, the school was basically a finishing school. Most young women went no further in their education at such a school, having been prepared for being the lady of the home and dealing with her societal duties. But, Elizabeth wanted more education and enrolled at the Terre Haute Female College, since the nearby Wabash College only admitted men. It was here that she became drawn to the rising Woman’s Suffrage movement

taking place in the Midwest.

A fact I found of great interest, since I’m a novelist, is that, in addition to her strong interest in women’s suffrage, she was also a novelist and penned three novels in her lifetime.

She met her husband when he was a student at Wabash College in 1860. They wouldn’t marry until ten years later after the Civil War. By the time of her wedding she had served as the vice president of the Woman’s Suffrage Association of Indiana, and when they moved to Iowa after the wedding, she became president of that state’s association, and lobbied hard for the state Republican party to include women’s rights in their platform.

From that time forward she became a well-known name in Woman’s Suffrage and when her husband accepted a position in Chicago, the people affiliated with the movement in Iowa suffered quite a blow. Of course, once settled in Illinois she became involved in the Illinois suffrage movement. All the while, over the years she birthed several children.

In 1874, the Harberts purchased the property on Williams Bay and built the home they named Tre Brah (their last name spelled backwards) and spent every summer there for 31 years. They entertained many guests at Tre Brah, including sorority sisters of their daughters and Mr. Harbert, who had a strong interest in intellectual conferences, hosted several of them at the property.

In their older years the couple followed one of their daughters and her husband to Pasadena, California and settled there. Outside of a little participation in the suffrage movement and politics, they considered themselves retired. Will died before the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, but Elizabeth did live to see the fruit of her many years of labor come to bloom

You can read much more about this fascinating woman at the Boynton-Harbert Society website from which I drew some of this information.

A broad variety of people were attracted to beautiful Geneva Lake, from back before the Civil War and right up until today.I am blessed to have grown up there and able to share these different home stories with you.

Resources:  Lake Geneva Newport of the West, Ann Wolfmeyer and Mary Burns Gage, 1976

Boynton-Harbert Society Website, http://www.elizabeth-boynton-harbert.com

A native of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, author Pamela S. Meyers lives in suburban Chicago with her two rescue cats. Her novels include Thyme for Love, which has recently been re-released on Amazon and her 1933 historical romance, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Love is All We Need (the sequel to Thyme for Love) will release in 2016, and Second Chance Love from Bling!, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, will release in January 2017. When she isn’t at her laptop writing her latest novel, she can often be found nosing around Wisconsin and other Midwestern spots for new story ideas.