THE CHURUBUSCO LODGE An Adirondack Great Camp Mooers, NY

Located in the Northwest corner of the Town of Mooers, New York is an

Adirondack style great camp on 395 Acres of wonderful land.

THE NAME

The Churubusco Lodge is named after the village of Churubusco, NY, the closest village to the premises and an area well known for good deer hunting.

The village was named after Churubusco, Mexico, an important battle in the

Mexican-American war of the 1840s. Returning veterans of the war to the area formed the village and named the village after this important American victory.

THE LODGE

The centerpiece of the property is a seasonal lodge located on 20+ acre

Lodge Pond. The pond is entirely within the boundaries of the property and fully private. The access to the property is at the terminus of Drown Road, through an imposing 8 foot gate which assures privacy of access, then through a mowed landing to the lodge building and attendant sheds and outbuildings.

The lodge building is an 18’ X 38’ original rustic hunting camp which has been connected to a 30’ X 40’ hand hewn, pre-1810 barn, with 27 foot ceilings, all clear span. The two structures are connected by a small pie shaped connector addition, forming one long flowing lodge, all overlooking Lodge Pond.

The structures are absolutely in the rustic style, with the barn being a real treasure. Few lodges will rival its sheer depth of over 200 years of patina.

1 The barn structure was originally located on a farm in South Hero,

Vermont, a large island on nearby Lake Champlain. It had been used for about

200 years to store hay and farm equipment. The barn was in good shape after all those years, protected with a metal roof and solid stone foundation. Before moving the barn a poured concrete foundation was prepared at Churubusco

Lodge and expert barn erectors and preservationists meticulously tagged every component of the barn, loaded it on trucks and with a crane, re-erected the barn on the poured concrete foundation, as close as possible to its original state.

Over the many years a few of the barn components had deteriorated, and those few were replaced by original, same age components supplied by the barn experts. To this day, the numbering tags of each component is still attached to them, showing the re-erection numbering system.

The barn shows the original wood structure inside, with the insulation attached to a frame on the outside, using four inch rigid insulation of high R factor, with luan sheets over the outside wood of the barn, to close off any visible gaps in the 200 year old barn boards, some up to two feet in width. Then the insulation was applied, covered by Tyveck type barrier, then one inch thick pine boards were used for exterior facing, with pine batten to cover the gaps, a very

Adirondack-style board and batten exterior.

The structure was meant to be able to feel nature beside Lodge Pond, just as it had in its lakeside location on the shores of Lake Champlain in South Hero.

From the huge lodge windows you see the trees waving in the wind as you look over the pond as beaver, ducks, geese, herons, Kingfishers, hawks and otters go

2 about their daily business, lending ample fascination in this so primal world. Is that an Osprey landing on the broken white pine with a large fish in one talon?

At night, around 5 PM, listen closely, and you can hear the coyotes set up their wolf-like howls, as they wail to the heavens, ready for the night’s hunt. Does the primitive fear of wolves make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck?

Black bear have been seen on the property, and whitetail deer are plentiful, as are that most difficult of hunting quarries, the Ruffed Grouse. In the fall, Lodge

Pond and Clearcut Pond offer ducks and Canadian geese, as they to and fro, prior to that blast of northern air, sending them south.

HUNTING

The hunting on the land is extremely varied and offers exciting opportunities in season for whitetails, black beer, coyote, partridge, Canada

Geese, many ducks including mallards, snowshoe hare, woodcock and squirrel.

Or one can simply photograph the game or just watch it. Several years ago about

30 acres of land were turned into fields, carefully interspersed into the woods, to better see and attract game. The fields are mowed annually, a great mindless, but satisfying endeavor for those with demanding professions. Being in a thriving farming area, all the supplies necessary to plant and cultivate the field for wildlife forages are readily available, as are third parties to carry out these services.

For the whitetail hunter, the property offers excellent deer hunting with several fully enclosed hunting stands, some with stairways to reach them safely, viewing open fields which can be cultivated with deer forage to enhance the hunting, as numerous does appear and aggressive bucks fight for dominance. Sit

3 patiently and quietly in your stand, monitor your cell calls and email, and the cavalcade of wildlife filters in and out as the day passes, even as you are connected to the outside world.

Like the venison? Then harvest a choice deer, take it to your meat pole beside the lodge, and deliver it to one of several area deer butchers, and pick up well butchered and wrapped venison. But of course, when your deer is on your meat pole, as a last act, recover the tenderloins, cook them for dinner that night over your wood fire pit beside the lodge and savor the gift from the God, Nimrod, the god of hunters and join the pantheon of hunters in their age old quest to live from the land, respect their quarry, and have it become a part of you. You are one with nature and the cycle of life and death goes on relentlessly. Like those ancient hunters, wrapped in hides around a campfire, you eat voraciously.

THE BROOKS

Several year-around brooks run through the property, all emptying into

Lodge Pond. Martin Pond Outlet flows from the north, down through State land before it comes onto the property, disappears below ground into the stones for several hundred feet, re-emerges at the hill bottom, flowing into Clearcut Pond (a large beaver pond), then running through the property over Pat’s Falls, down through a ravine, before emptying into Beaver Pond. Pat’s Falls is a water fall about 6 feet high, well down the brook, close to Beaver Pond, in a ravine where the brook runs steeply downhill.

All along this brook and anywhere else where water flows, you’ll find the real owner of the land, the beaver. This prolific and energetic character is forever

4 building and enlarging his ponds, creating more wetlands to attract ducks, geese, herons, Kingfishers, fish, muskrats, and other water creatures. It is this vibrant mix of wildlife, which creates the endless panorama of being a part of the natural scene, today, all too often lost to most of us. At the Lodge you are the resident

Monarch, the wildlife your friendly visitors. This is the one place where you are king, and like rulers of old, you make the laws.

THE GULF UNIQUE AREA

To the north abutting you is a very large and special parcel of land owned by the People of the State of New York, being almost 2000 acres in size. It is

“The Gulf” Unique area, so named for the gorge running through the land, several hundred feet deep, scoured into the Potsdam Sandstone, the area bedrock. The sandstone comes in a variety of colors, and breaks off in layers, with area quarries providing the stone for ornamental purposes. This stone is evident throughout the land and adds to the charm. You have full rights to travel on state land, hunt it and enjoy it within the general public land rules. People are not entitled to trespass on your land without your permission. Your land is posted against trespassing.

“The Gulf” is believed to be the outlet for Lake Quebec, an Ice Age lake covering large portions of the Province of Quebec, Canada. In the area of The

Gulf, as the glaciers receded, a break in the ice dam there allowed much of the lake to drain south through The Gulf, creating the gorge. Today, the public can enter The Gulf property. It is open to the public over at an access point off Rock

Road, a very rugged 2.4 mile walk each way from the parking lot, an extremely

5 difficult traverse for most. At the Churubusco Lodge you can drive your car, ATV, or mini-truck to the former course of the Rock Road extension, park your vehicle on your land (no vehicles allowed on State land) and an easy 10 minute walk over a well cleared trail has you in the soaring white pines along the edge of the gorge. Get close to the edge, and look over, but careful, it’s a long way down!

The creation of The Gulf, as the ice dam bust must have been a truly cataclysmic event, probably unviewed by cowered humans.

THE HERMIT OF THE GULF

No story of The Gulf is complete without the story of Sam Smith, the

Hermit of the Gulf. Sam was a Canadian who served in the U.S. military during the American Civil War. Like so many serving in war, he was emotionally injured, and for the rest of his life he tried to get away from civilization, going to the wild

“Gulf” property and building a very small stone cabin there with the rocks lying about in profusion in the area. With his dog, he escaped to the “Gulf” to avoid the sound of the guns (cannon), which tormented him from his battle days. They say he could still hear the guns.

Sam lived at the Gulf for years. Charles Drown, of a very prominent local family, was a young boy living on an area farm. He well remembers Sam coming to their farm on his way to the post office once per month to retrieve his government pension check, buy needed provisions, and hike back to the cabin, his refuge. Sam stopped at the farm each way, the halfway point, enjoyed dinner with the Drown family, and by 4 in the morning the next day, he and his dog were

6 gone, until the next month. Sam is described as a sweet old man trying to escape his torment.

Sam did not escape civilization forever, as his family, on the Hemingford,

Quebec side of the border burned down Sam’s cabin and brought him home for his final years. So the Hermit left, but is still remembered by tale and song, the area Bluegrass group, the Gibson Brothers having a song about ole Sam. On your land at the Churubusco Lodge, take a trail through mature woods thru state land, where a 15 minute walk brings you to what remains of Sam’s little cabin, now much destroyed, but still clearly visible. Charles Drown who has been on this land for many years remembers finding Sam’s drinking spring close to the cabin, covered over with a flat rock. As you stand by the cabin surrounded by giant trees, you reflect on the serenity of the spot, which brought Sam and his faithful dog there. Perhaps the quiet there stopped the roar of the guns.

CHARLE’S SPRING

Tucked away at the end of Beaver Pond Road, just as you enter the former maple sugar orchard, flowing out of a cleft in the hillside, in a little crevice, flows Charles Drown’s spring, named after Charles Drown, a member of the family long associated with this land. The water is pure and cool, coming from the very bowels of the earth, forming a small brook as it flows into Beaver Pond, then on to Lodge Pond.

Charles is over 90 years old now. Remembers the Hermit, Sam Smith lodging overnight at his family’s farm nearby, and keeps a tin cup hung on a nail on a tree beside the spring. In an area with lots of beaver activity, one must

7 watch where one drinks water because of giardia, which can cause sickness.

Charles states proudly that his spring, coming from the bowels of the earth, traveling through the filter of glacial gravels is pure and very tasty. He says no one has ever gotten sick from this spring though commonly that’s where loggers, hunters and sugaring operations all drank for 200 years.

THE DEER FARM

The Drown family logged and maple sugared this land for many years,

and one brother, Eugene Drown, owned it for many years until sold to a German

immigrant, who put in a whitetail deer farm, to raise whitetails for commercial

food. The high whitetail-proof fences (or parts of them) remain, but whitetail

farming is a notoriously difficult endeavor and the venture was not successful.

The German immigrant built the small cabin located on the property and lived

there several years, where his girlfriend burned the outline of a whitetail buck on

the floor by the dining table, where it still remains. With the heavy snows falling in

the area, and the harsh winters there, both the German and Sam Smith must

have been very rugged people to have prevailed over the winters. Winters are

lengthy, but the snows bring an extra quiet to the landscape. On a bitter cold day,

with powdery snow crunching under your boots, you appreciate the desparate

struggle to survive set up in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.” You, of course, will

return to your warm, cozy cottage.

THE ROADS AND TRAILS

Today, for the fit and hardy, the miles of roads and trails on the property

allow biking, hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and

8 ATVing as you marvel at the scenery and sneak up on whitetails, grouse, owls, coyote, and yes, even an occasional eagle and moose has been sighted. Great

Blue Herons are common, their deep croak sounding as they are very wary and will fly off at a hint of danger. With the land well crossed with access roads, all parts are available to the owner, his friends and family.

THE LAND

The 395 acres, more or less, is a roughly rectangular shaped parcel, bordered on the east by the Gulfview Club, a private hunting club, on the north by the State of New York property, on the west by other lands of the seller, and on the south by State lands and lands of Eugene Drown. Drown Road; the town road accessing the property is a hardtop road to within 1.25 miles of the lodge.

Where the blacktop ends, only two other seasonal cottages are beyond on that stretch of road. Most landowners in that area own 100 or more acres. The electricity ends at the hardtop, where it turns into a gravel road, going through the large working maple sugar orchard of the Stone Family, on both sides of the road. Drown Road beyond the hardtop is a seasonal access road and is not maintained in winter, although the Town of Mooers does generally plow the road several times per winter to allow access to the lodge. One could have the portion plowed that the town does not maintain if they desired winter entry, or could walk in or snowmobile the final quarter mile from the plowed portion. The present owners have frequently accessed the property in winter. Usually snows impede passage after Dec 10, and by April 1 access is easy again.

9 UTILITIES

Buried to the lodge is 30+ lines of telephone cable and landline phone service is available and has been used in the past. Cellular service is limited at present, but sufficient Verizon service exists to get cell calls, with the existing antennae, booster amplified and inside transmitter. However, Verizon has already erected a new cell tower for 4G service and should be energized shortly.

For the moment, Internet service is by dial-up, cell phone tethering, or satellite service. Once 4G is up, many high speed phone options exist for Internet access. Television is available with numerous channels over the air, or the two satellite providers, both of whom have been utilized in the past.

Electricity is provided by a photovoltaic, solar power array, battery storage bank, and stand-by generator. For over 15 years the system has been sufficient to power lights, appliances, TV, radio, computers, etc. The solar array could easily be increased in both generation and storage capacity. A stand-by Honda

5000 volt generator is used during the heavy-draw activities of electric coffee brewing and vacuuming, or for a quick recharge after heavy use during the late fall and early winter sunless days.

The power from the Grid could be extended to the lodge at lodge-owners expense, but it would be expensive. NYSEG, the utility, has reviewed the extension in the past and has details.

THE OUTBUILDINGS

There are several outbuildings with the property used for a number of storage purposes. There is a Ranger shed, where the Polaris Ranger, the mini-

1 truck is kept and there is a workbench and additional storage for planters, carts, ropes, tools, etc.

The former outhouse is now used for a generator shed, but the appearance of the outhouse gives a rustic look and feel. There is another small shed used for storage of hunting items, such as deer decoys. The red corncrib is a building transported from South Hero, Vermont in two pieces and re-assembled here. It is 12’X20’ and used for storage. It is a hand made shed used as a corncrib on a farm and is well over 100 years old. Like all the out sheds, it has a metal roof. The Wood Shed is beside the lodge and is used for tool storage, and items used in the lodge like fans. It has electric overhead lights for ease of use, and electric plug for tools. The ATV shed was also moved here from South Hero and was the former tool shed for the farm. It is heavily built and used to store two ATVs, lumber and other supplies.

THE HARDWOOD STAND

As one goes past Charles’ Spring, one enters the hardwood stand, about

150-200 acres in size, stretching to the north to the state land known as “The

Unique Area, The Gulf.”

The hardwood stand was carefully logged in 2006, by a veteran logger, under the watchful eye of a professional forester from one of the largest firms in

New York. Mature trees were harvested, and hauled to lumber yards in the area, including Canadian mills. Tops were harvested and chipped and the stand left neat and clean. It is is bursting with added growth, awaiting the time when an owner can once again reap a sizable amount of money from the log harvest.

1 The stand is made up of hard and soft maple, white and yellow birch, beech, ash, and many other species, including some very large, old hemlocks around the northerly edge of Beaver Pond. The emerging growth is the favorite forage of Whitetail deer and provides both food and cover for wildlife, especially

Ruffed Grouse.

BEAVER POND

Beaver Pond shows on the U.S. Quadrangle map as a large pond or small lake. Beaver Pond Road skirts along from the Writer’s Shack Landing to the north along, the westerly shore of what is now a very large wildlife pond, active with beaver, muskrats, otters, ducks, geese and lots of other wildlife. As the road winds north, it crosses several small streams, passing under the road and tumbling down rocky cascades into the pond. The pond itself, about 30 acres or more, should you be a hunter or birdwatcher, harbors waterfowl, herons,

Kingfishers, and the nearby flooded spots, with alder, present woodcock

The area was used previously as the collection center of a large maple sugar orchard operation, with over 10,500 taps.

WIND POWER

If you want to erect a wind turbine, know you are in the area of some of the best wind east of the Mississippi River. In the next town west, the Town of

Clinton, a very large wind farm is fully functioning. During the investigation stage, in 2005, two turbine sites were identified on the land, but never built. You cannot see or hear the existing wind farm turbines from the property, but if you chose to

1 put up your own turbine to live off the grid, the wind necessary to power it is there on the land.

SUMMATION

This is an extremely interesting and unique property, offered at an attractive price. The existing attributes at the property will keep you, your family and invitees entertained and delighted all during your stewardship of the land, and perhaps that of your family. A hideaway, an escape, a treasure, the Churubusco

Lodge welcomes its new stewards.

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