Albany to Cazenovia along U.S. 20 (New York)

-

Fall colors along U.S. 20

 

The longest road in the United States is U.S. 20, which goes from Boston, MA, to Newport, OR. This week we continue to explore its passage through New York State.

Abandoned Garage, Guilderland, NY

Last week, we traveled along U.S. 20 and got as far as the point where it switched from Madison Ave to Western Ave in Albany, NY. As we drove west from there, we passed the campus of SUNY Albany, one of the state’s four flagship universities.


SUNY Albany


Our trip continued through Albany’s western suburbs of Westmere and Guilderland. In Guilderland I spotted the John Schoolcraft House. This gingerbread style home was built in 1835 for John L. Schoolcraft (1804-1860), a U.S. congressman and banker from Guilderland. Today the house, with the town is refurbishing, serves as a historical museum and cultural center.


John Schoolcraft House, Guilderland, NY




U.S. 20 passes through the town of Duanesburg, where I noticed Joseph J. Merli Manufacturing. Established in 1948, J.J. Merli builds (built) and restores(d) vintage Victorian era horseless carriages.


Joseph J Merli Manufacturing, Duanesburg, NY 


Our journey continued through a largely agricultural part of New York. It passes through the rolling hills that connect the Hudson River Valley with the Great Lakes Plain that stretches along Lake Ontario’s southern shore. We passed through the town of Esperance. By the beginning of the 19th century the town was a major stop for farmers bringing their wares to Albany, with lumber and grist mills, and a toll bridge across the Schoharie Creek. But technology took its toll. First the Erie Canal and then the development of trains took away most of the freight traffic by the middle of the century. The final blow came with the opening of the New York State Thruway, and by the mid-1970s almost all of the businesses in town had closed. There are some reasons to visit, with the Landis Arboretum and a historical museum that includes a collection of quilts.


Looking along U.S. 20

Methodist Chapel Church, Esperance NY

Esperance Gallery




Driving on towards the town of Sharon Springs I was lucky to find that the Dairyland Ice Cream Stand open in their last week of the season. I am sure that they serve an excellent soft serve cone, but they offer Perry’s Ice Cream, a treat that I can only get upstate, so I really enjoyed a couple of scoops.





Sharon Springs reached its high point in the 19th century  as a spa town with four natural mineral springs in town with several large hotels were built there between 1836 and 1860 and up to 10,000 people would visit every summer. But when Saratoga Springs added horse racing to its list of activities, the rich and fashionable of New York and Boston switched their vacation destination. For a while, Sharon Springs became a destination for German Jewish families who were “unwelcome” in Saratoga. The 20th century brought prohibition, the development of resorts closer to the big cities and the development along the NYS Thruway to its north, Sharon Spring’s fortunes fell. Today there is money coming in to bring businesses back to town, spurred on by the Beekman 1802 Soap Company and several plans for the redevelopment of the hotels and baths.


Klienhart Hall, Sharon Springs, NY

American Hotel, Sharon Springs, NY

The Roseboro Hotel, Sharon Springs, NY




Continuing west on U.S. 20, I arrived at the Tepee Gift Shop. Built in 1954, this 50 foot-tall shop is a landmark on the road. Originally in the town of Cherry Valley. It was moved to its current location when U.S. 20 was shifted to bypass the town.

The Tepee, Cherry Valley, NY




Cherry Valley, now about 3 miles south of U.S. 20, was founded in 1812. It has become a center for artists, and draws visitors from nearby Cooperstown, especially during the yearly Glimmerglass Music festival.


Lithia Spring





Driving along our route, I continued to pass through small farming communities until I arrived in Morrisville, founded tin 1817. In 1908, the New York State School of Agriculture was founded here, and today SUNY Morrisville specializes in agriculture and bio-sciences.


Morrisville Mustangs

The Black Field at SUNY Morrisville


From Morrisville, it was a short drive into the town of Cazenovia, where I finished this leg of my journey. Next week, we will start from there.

Nuts and Bolts


  • The distance from Albany to Cazenovia is about 120 miles (200 Km) along route U.S. 20
  • Dairyland is open from late spring until early October.
  • Most businesses along the main drag in Sharon Spring are closed on Tuesdays
  • The Tepee is open Wed-Mon 10:00AM - 5:00PM (11:00 - 5:00 on Sunday)   
Location: U.S. Rte 20, New York, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Locks of the Erie Canal

-
Image
There is something about setting a series of tasks for yourself, especially if there is a time limit to complete them. It sets in your mind. After an initial burst of energy it becomes zen, a focus that blocks out other things. In this case I gave myself 33 tasks and 72 hours. Some were longer than others. Some were more interesting. I set out to photographs every lock on the Erie Canal. This year is the bicentennial of the beginning of construction on the original Erie Canal. Finished in 1825, the Erie Canal opened the west to the direct transport of goods. Prior to that everything had to be taken by cart over land. The canal spurred the settlement of western New York and Pennsylvania by taking a trip of up to 45 days and shortening it to about 9. It provided a faster and cheaper way for farmers to send grain to the cities along the coast and for industries in those cities to send manufactured goods to new settlers. It also allowed industry to develop along the rivers ...
Read more

Callicoon NY is a beautiful place to visit

-
Image
Delaware River near Narrowsburg NY   When I take a road trip, I love to travel on small roads, avoiding the major highways. It helps that I am retired, and rarely on a tight schedule. One of the things I look forward to is discovering the small towns that the interstate passes by. I am often surprised by what I find. A recent trip through the Catskill Mountains of New York brought me just such a find.  In the northwest corner of Sullivan county, where the Delaware river serves as the border between New York and Pennsylvania, is the town of Callicoon . The town sits in a valley along the river. It was founded in 1842, when the Erie Railroad came through this part of the state. This part of the Catskills was already a center of the timber industry. In 1849 a tannery was built, taking advantage of the local hemlock trees, whose bark played a key role in preparing leather for boots and industrial belts. The railroad allowed for an influx of farmers, offering them a reliable way to...
Read more

The Real NYC #28 - City College of New York

-
Image
 As I wrote in my last post, I am a graduate of the City College of New York. And despite wondering what I missed by not going away to a large university, CCNY will always feel like home. I grew up in New York and have lived here my whole life, and City College really represents the New York I love. It is truly a cross section of the city. I started college in 1979 at The Cooper Union, a small, elite engineering/art/architecture college in Greenwich Village but I never really felt comfortable there. I quickly learned that while I loved studying chemistry, I really hated engineering courses. I also really didn’t fit in. The students were almost all white, suburban kids who viewed their studies as a fast path to a big paycheck. Even worse, Cooper Union is the first place that I had to deal with the casual racism that exists. . I grew up in the very integrated Upper West Side of Manhattan and in a family that celebrated diversity and actively fought against racism. I rem...
Read more