PREHISTORY OF THE UNADILLA RIVER VALLEY

 

I recently published this essay.

Windsor, Donald A. Prehistory of the Unadilla River Valley.

Chenango County History Essays 2022 August 29: 1-7.

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13982.61763

A digital copy can be obtained by searching its DOI (Document Online Identifier) or by requesting it at windsorda@roadrunner.com

The Unadilla River Valley was a vary richly inhabited area going back to the Paleo stage, at least 4500 BC, and continued to be inhabited until historical times, mid 1700s AD.

CHENANGO COUNTY HISTORY ESSAYS

 

Chenango County History Essays

Chenango County History Essays is an online journal that, as its name implies, publishes essays about the history of Chenango County. It began in May 2022. Essays are defined traditionally as analytic, interpretive, or critical literary compositions from a limited and personal view (https://www.britannica.com/art/essay).

CCHE is online only; it is not issued in a paper version. DOI = Document Online Identifier.

CCHE has no regular schedule. Individual essays are published when they are ready, as preprints on ResearchGate (https://www.researchgate.net ).

My plan is to publish these essays as soon as they are written, until I accumulate enough pages for a book. If I do not live that long, at least some are in the public domain.

Essays are available for free. Just send me an email requesting to receive an individual essay. windsorda@roadrunner.com

Here are the essays published so far.

Windsor, Donald A. Stone Cairn Clusters As Marketplaces. Chenango County History Essays 2022 May 24: 1-4. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.27315.09766

Windsor, Donald A. Cairn Sites Aligned with Archaeological Sites. Chenango County History Essays 2022 May 29: 1-6. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34025.98401

Windsor, Donald A. Prehistory of Chenango County. Chenango County History Essays 2022 June 18: 1-14. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.16301.77281

Windsor, Donald A. Chenango River as a Lake. Chenango County History Essays 2022 July 4: 1-4.

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.13495.19365

Windsor, Donald A. Prehistory of the City of Norwich. Chenango County History Essays 2022 August 8: 1-6. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.35986.32965

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GANASOWADA TO CANASAWACTA - Digital copy from Dropbox

Get a free digital copy of my article from Dropbox

Windsor, Donald A.  Ganasowada to Canasawacta.  Journal of the Chenango County Historical Society 2018 Summer; 7: 107-112.

by using on this link. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l1ouyuexv5jvoud/Canasawacta_Windsor.pdf?dl=0

Journal of the Chenango County Historical Society

JOURNAL OF THE CHENANGO COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Donald A. Windsor

A good way to explore Chenango County is to read about its history in the Journal of the Chenango County Historical Society. The 2018 issue has just been published. Here is a list of the articles it contains.

Editorial—Researching and Writing - Donald A. Windsor

Letter to the Editor: CCC Camps in Pharsalia - Henry Drexler

Letter to the Editor: Indian Castle and CCC Camp in Greene - Peg Ross

March Etheridge, Civil War Veteran: 11 th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery - Sharon M. Donahe

Chenango County in the Great War: How Four Local Soldiers Experienced World War I - Sara C. Evenson 

 

“A Ship with Her Own Private Rabbit’s Foot”: The USS Chenango in the Second World War - Edward J. Erickson 

 

The Smyrna Citizens’ Band Celebrates its 100 th Anniversary – Marilyn Fuller 

The “Bixby Pharsalia Farm” - Henry J. Drexler 

 

A Ruin Revived - Joscelyn Godwin 

 

Unmasking The Beaver Meadow Gang - Joscelyn Godwin 

 

They Are Back—The Migrant Workers - Marilyn Fuller 

 

Chenango County Girl Scouts - A. Gail Merian 

 

The Restoration of Stewart’s Corners CemeteryDale F. Utter and Christina H. Utter 

 

Bonesetter Ira “Doc” Sweet - Clay Welch 

 

Ganasowada to Canasawacta - Donald A. Windsor

The Journal is available at our CCHS Museum book store in Norwich, Silver and Rexford streets, for $20.00 (10% discount for members). It would make a dandy Christmas present.

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KINGS SETTLEMENT CHURCH -- ITS END TIMES

KINGS SETTLEMENT CHURCH – ITS END TIMES

Donald A. Windsor

Once the roof caves in, a building is doomed. The roof of the Kings Settlement Church fell in a few years ago. On 9 November 2017, I took these 3 photos.

Front, west side. #2794

North side. #2792

South side. #2793

A photo of the Church in much better condition appears in this article, along with its history.

Scott, Patricia F. ; Decker, Janet. The Kingsettlement Methodist Church of North Norwich.

The Evening Sun 2003 December 12 Friday: 11.

An earlier article, recently reprinted is:

King, Ada A history of Kings Settlement Church. Journal of the Chenango County

Historical Society 2017 Summer; 6: 74-79.

An article on the hamlet as well as the church is:

Hazard, Mildred E. King’s Settlement. In: Anon. Next Stop Galena. Historical Perspective

of North Norwich, New York, 1849-1999. North Norwich, NY: Sesquicentennial Book/Planning Committee. 1999. Pages 52-54.

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DEVIL'S WALKING STICK (= HERCULES' CLUB)

DEVIL’S WALKING STICK (= HERCULES’ CLUB) IN NORTH NORWICH

Donald A. Windsor

Devil’s Walking Stick, also known as Hercules’ Club (Aralia spinosa), was found by Pete Bida on Thursday afternoon 9 November 2017 on our Bullthistle hike in the Whaupaunaucau State Forest in North Norwich, growing in a small grove along Trail 13. This member of the Araliacae (Ginseng) Family is native to southern New York State, down to Florida and west to Texas (Symonds).

It has been reported as vouchered (specimens in herbarium collection) from 11 counties in NYS on the New York Flora Association website. The closest are Delaware, Madison, and Oneida.

It grows as a tree or shrub and can attain a height of 35 feet. It is sold for horticultural purposes and the ones Pete found may be escapes.

Now that I have seen this plant I will be more alert for it in the future.

The flower display can be very impressive, as per a photo in Leopold’s book. It blooms in August, so I look forward to seeing it then.

Petrides lists (page 197) a close relative called “Devil’s Club” but in a separate genus and species, Oplopanax horridus, a northwestern plant with simple leaves and slender thorns. The leaf that Pete is holdinging the above photo has doubly compound leaves.

References consulted:

Leopold, Donald J. Aralia spinosa. In: Native Plants of the Northeast. Portland, OR: Timber Press. 2005. Pages 216-217.

New York Flora Association (NYFA) www.nyflora.org

Petrides, George A. Aralia spinosa Hercules-Club. In: A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs. 2^nd Edition. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. 1972. Pages 128, 152-153.

Symonds, George W.D. ; Merwin, A.W. Hercules’ Club. In: The Shrub Identification Book. New York, NY: William Morrow & Co. 1963. Main Plates 92-94, Pages 258-260.

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BIGFOOT HAS A FAMILY!

BIGFOOT NOW HAS A FAMILY!

Donald A. Windsor

A male Bigfoot was spotted this spring in Plymouth. This photo was taken by me on 30 April 2017.

Now, just a week or so ago, his wife and child were spotted in Preston. This photo was snapped by Dave Harvey, who also told me about Mr. Bigfoot.

Apparently, they seem to enjoy Chenango County.

Exact locations of these sightings are not being disclosed because we want to protect the security of the Bigfoot family.

Authentication of the sightings remains elusive. However, here is a hint. If the videos were viewed, they would resemble the still photos.

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SLUGS AS CARNIVORES

SLUGS AS CARNIVORES

Donald A. Windsor

As you watch slugs voraciously devour your garden plants, you probably regard them as herbivores. However, they do have a carnivorous side.

Slugs in the species Limax marginata are occasionally seen feasting on road-killed frogs and toads. On our Bullthistle hike Sunday morning 3 September 2017, we encountered this fest of slugs dining on a road-killed Red Eft (larval stage of the Red-spotted Newt).

The photo was snapped by Maryann Weiss on the Truck Trail through the Whaupaunaucau State Forest in North Norwich.

I have heard of using beer to attract slugs, but perhaps road-kill might work better.

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CHENANGO COUNTY HAS 7 HILLS ABOVE 2000 FEET

CHENANGO COUNTY HAS 7 HILLS ABOVE 2000 FEET

Donald A. Windsor

I knew that Chenango County has 6 hills above 2000 feet: 3 in Afton, 2 in Pharsalia, and 1 in Otselic (1).

However, there are 7. In mid August, 2017, I found one that I had missed.

This “new” one is in Pharsalia, east southeast of the southern sharp bend in Beardsley Road and west of County Road 42. It is on private property just east of the Perkins Pond State Forest.

High points are found by closely examining the United States Geological Survey topographic maps. I missed the 7th point because of the “1980” printed on the 1980 contour line. The 2000 contour line is too small to have its own printed designation.

So, now it is clear; we have 7 hills in Chenango County above 2000 feet. The highest is in Afton with over 2040 feet (2). Actually, there are two points over 2040 feet, but they are close together on the same hill. Thus, to be even more clear, we have 7 hills over 2000 feet, but have 8 points over 2000 feet.

To put it into perspective, all of the five counties surrounding Chenango (Madison, Otsego, Delaware, Broome, and Cortland) also have hills over 2000 feet.

Reference cited:

1. Windsor, Donald A. Souvenirs of Yesteryear. Exploring Chenango County, New York. Norwich, NY: Self published. 2008. Volume 4, pages 28-29.

2. Windsor, Donald A. The highest point in Chenango County. In: Souvenirs of Yesteryear. Exploring Chenango County, New York. Norwich, NY: Self published. 2008. Volume 1, pages 56-57. 

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BIGFOOT IN CHENANGO COUNTY

BIGFOOT IN CHENANGO COUNTY

Donald A. Windsor

He had to arrive here sooner or later. The photo below was taken south of the Plymouth Reservoir, from the Truck Trail, where it crosses the Perrytown Creek.

It certainly looks authentic, but the giveaway is that Bigfoot does not move.

Bigfoot is really a plywood cutout, mounted on Elmer Harris Road. The man who put it there appears in the photo below.

I took both these photos on Sunday morning 30 April 2017. For more information, see our Bullthistle Hikers Group site on Yahoo.com .

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NEW JERSEY SCUMBAG

Donald A. Windsor

The unusual message on the sign in this photo has become a local landmark.

A nasty grudge has apparently been going on for 9 years. When the first sign appeared on Stewart Road in Pharsalia I snickered and then ignored it. But it seems to have grown from a small, crudely painted one to the neatly lettered one in the photo. Taken on our Bullthistle hike on Sunday 15 January 2017.

A Google search for “New Jersey Scumbag” turned up nothing. Perhaps my Blogspot posting here will bring one.

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EXPLORING CHENANGO COUNTY BY HIKING - JULY-DECEMBER 2016

EXPLORING CHENANGO COUNTY BY HIKING – JULY - DECEMBER 2016

Donald A. Windsor

We explored 15 towns in the last half of 2016, covering a total of 147 miles. 

The best way to explore Chenango County is to walk it. I lead hikes every Sunday morning, year around, for the Bullthistle Hiking Club and report them on our Yahoo group site. Here is a summary of my reports for July - December 2016. FLT = Finger Lakes Trail.

In the last 6 months of 2016 I led 26 hikes in Chenango County. We were in 15 towns. Some hikes were in two or more towns. I prefer hiking in the woods, so we tend to go to towns where state forests are located. For more information about our hikes visit http://www.bullthistlehiking.org/

Town	Hikes	Miles	Hikers
Columbus	7 Aug = Baker State Forest	5.0	9
German	24 Jul = Buddhist Temple	6.0	8
Lincklaen	4 Sep = Upham & Hyer roads, Lincklaen State Forest 9 Oct = Joe Road loop, Lincklaen State Forest	7.4 6.2	6 7
McDonough	17 Jul = McDonough State Forest around Bowman Lake area 25 Dec = FLT loop Berry Hill south	5.3 5.2	8 5
New Berlin	31 Jul = Hunts Pond State Forest 27 Nov = Button Hollow loop	4.0 6.5	3 5
North Norwich	6 Nov = Whaupaunaucau State Forest	6.3	8
Norwich	20 Nov = Greenway 4 Dec = Ravine roads loop 18 Dec = Greenway	5.7 5.6 2.5	2 7 1
Otselic	10 Jul = Plank Road 18 Sep = FLT, Bucks Brook State Forest 2 Oct = Pharsalia Wildlife Management Area	5.5 6.0 7.7	8 7 8
Oxford	30 Oct = Grog Hollow, Wiley Brook State Forest	5.1	6
Pharsalia	10 Jul = Plank Road loop 2 Oct = Pharsalia Wildlife Management Area 23 Oct = Camp Pharsalia loop	5.5 7.7 5.1	8 8 6
Pitcher	21 Aug = Pitcher Springs State Forest	5.9	8
Preston	16 Oct = Loop southeast of Bowman Lake up Griffin Road 11 Dec = Pryde Park loop	6.3 6.3	6 7
Sherburne	11 Sep = Hunts Mountain	5.0	9
Smithville	3 Jul = Ludlow Creek stone piles 24 Jul = Buddhist Temple 28 Aug = Genegantslet State Forest 25 Sep = Genegantslet State Forest 13 Nov = Long Pond State Forest	5.5 6.0 7.2 4.0 5.3	6 8 6 9 6
Smyrna	14 Aug = Beaver Meadow State Forest	6.8	4

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GROG HOLLOW MONSTER

  Grog Hollow Monster

Donald A. Windsor

So here we are, right up there with the big guys. Loch Ness has Nessie; Chesapeake Bay has Chessie; Washington State has Sasquatchie, and Chenango County has the Grog Hollow Monster, Groggy.

Grog Hollow is a complex valley fed by several streams and gullies which drain multiple hilly watersheds. It lies within the Wiley Brook State Forest along the eastern edge of Oxford, near its border with Guilford. The origin of the name "Grog" remains elusive. Perhaps it is an acronym for "Gruesome Repulsive Obnoxious Ghoul". Perhaps it is an old Indian name for "Land of the bull monsters".

The focal point of Grog Hollow is now a beaver meadow. It was a large beaver pond as recently as 2003, with six tiers of dams, but the beavers have been absent since. They may have been trapped out, but I suspect they left voluntarily. The aspen and alder, their favorite foods, had been exhausted and they were forced to cut hemlocks. Beaver habitat runs in multi-decade cycles. Beavers dam a forest stream. The water kills the trees and allows sunlight to enter and a thriving pond ecosystem develops with aspen and other deciduous woody vegetation along the banks. When these plants are depleted, the beavers leave. Their dams are no longer maintained, so they fall apart. The water flows away and a luxuriant meadow results. Eventually the trees return and the cycle repeats.

The Grog Hollow monster was first made public when Bob McNitt broke the story in "The Evening Sun" on Halloween 1979. He reported what some reputable good old boys told him of their close encounters with this creature. Right after dusk, one duck hunter heard loud pounding noises that moved closer and closer. Although he was an experienced outdoors man, well accustomed to being in the woods at night, these sounds he had never heard before. Smart guy that he was, he exited. Dogs were afraid to enter the area. No signs of raccoons were evident. A large beast was seen, but was not a coyote, or a bear, and did not seem to be a panther.

To investigate this matter, Bob and two of his intrepid buddies spent an unforgettable night in the abysmal darkness of Grog Hollow. He related their experiences in another article on the following Halloween. These two articles are required reading for any seeker of local monsters.

Bob's investigation deduced that the monster may have been a bear. At least, that is what his group encountered. They heard noises at the far side of the pond and moving around to their location. Two days later, in daylight, Bob found black bear belly hair nearby. Upon my asking how he could identify belly hair, he reminded me that he is an experienced taxidermist who is familiar with the belly of the beast.

In his 1980 article, Bob uncharacteristically admits that his hair-raising experience may have not been due solely to a bear. He cautiously mentions "psychic phenomena" and "a spiritual presence", even a "murder victim's ghost".

I have to concur. I do a lot of wandering around in the woods alone and enjoy what is normally a pleasant experience. But there are some places where I become obsessed with a strong urge to depart swiftly. Grog Hollow is one of those places. It is very easy to become disoriented in there and the place can be downright spooky when the sun is suddenly blocked by a cloud. It can be a bright sunny day with no clouds in a deep blue sky, but go into Grog Hollow and a cloud somehow appears and hovers ominously overhead. Bob warns that Grog Hollow is prone to hip high fog, which makes it seem even spookier at night.

Should you ever dare to spend the night alone in Grog Hollow, you will probably not be able to sleep. The strange noises, punctuated by eerie silence, will keep you awake. But toward the long anticipated dawn you may doze off. When you do awake, the first rays of muffled light will illuminate the mysterious haze and you may not be able to see Groggy, but you will certainly feel groggy. And should you have imbibed a bit too much grog the evening before, you may awaken to a monster of a pounding headache.

Every year or so, we Bullthistle Hikers venture out onto the beaver meadow to search for Groggy. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we were not privileged to witness the monster. Perhaps Groggy departed with the beavers. Perhaps Groggy ate all the beavers. Perhaps Groggy has a craving for hikers, with a side order of bullthistles. Perhaps Groggy wants his order super-sized.

However, one time we did have a scary encounter with the Grog Hollow Monster. All's well that ends well. But for a moment, we thought we were doomed.

It was a glorious Easter morning, March 23, 2008. We had just finished a joyous sunrise service on the aptly named Gospel Hill Road. We were a small band of intrepid Bullthistle Hikers out to explore the notorious Grog Hollow. All of our previous searches were uneventful and we expected this one to be also. However, this year we hit the jackpot. Here are the harrowing details of our death-defying adventure.

As we cautiously approached the extensive beaver meadow that nestles in the Hollow, we marveled how spooky the dead trees looked, even in the bright early sunlight. The snow covering the wetland looked like white frosting on a cake. The trunks of the dead trees resembled candles. The previous day was my 74th birthday and I, proud of my status as an old geezer, was counting the "candles". My hiking buddies had paused for a refreshing slug of stale coffee and some yummy bunny-shaped sweetie cookies. We were enjoying the eerie silence of this mysterious plot of treacherous wilderness.

But then we heard a soft crunching sound on the forested edge of the frozen marsh. We all glanced in the direction of the ever louder crunches. Soon we heard the wheezing snorts of deep, heavy breathing. The unseen source was rapidly advancing towards us. Perhaps it was a bear... But then we remembered where we were and what it could be -- the dreaded Grog Hollow Monster!

I whipped out my trusty camera as we all stayed quiet, guardedly apprehensive but uncharacteristically silent. Then it appeared. It was indeed the fearsome monster. We were the luckiest, or the unluckiest, folks in the county, for we were the first people to ever witness this startling sight.

There it is in the photo. Note that it seems to be an animated outgrowth of the ominous swamp itself. Its long unruly hair seems lavishly festooned with aqueous vegetation. It reeked of marinated carrion. Although we could not see its eyes, we felt as if this fearsome beast was watching our every movement and glaring into our brazen souls.

Suddenly, the Monster pounced on one of our terrified hikers and was dragging her into the woods. I took a photo and yelled at it to let her go. To my astonishment, it did. But then it turned on me. I started running away.

When escaping from the clutches of a monster, you do not have to run faster than it -- just faster than the slower runners behind you. As I was photographing the monster, my fearful colleagues had already run away. I was the one behind. It was just the two of us, stalwart hiker versus rampaging monster. In dire situations I like to reflect on how I have gotten out of tougher jams than this, but alas, never have I ever been in such perilous danger.

I did not know what to do. So I said in a trembling voice, "Happy Easter". The monster stopped his lunging rush toward me, stood as erect as its hunched back would allow, inflated its massive hulk, and bellowed loudly, "Have a nice day".

We waved good-bye to each other and departed, I triumphantly back to my timid comrades and the monster amicably back to its wretched lair. All's well that ends well.

We have been returning to Grog Hollow every now and then, most recently on Sunday October 30, 2016. But alas, we have not seen Groggy again. We will keep looking.

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SMALL SHREW IN SHERBURNE

SMALL SHREW IN SHERBURNE

Donald A. Windsor

A small shrew was found dead by Al Marsters in his Hunts Mountain cabin on 15 October 2016.

It had a body length of 2 inches and a tail length of 1 3/8 inches. As per the table in the previous posting, it was either a Masked or a Pygmy Shrew. I could guess that it was a Pygmy because it did not have a black tip on its tail and it did have long hairs on that tip.

However, this is only a guess, not a positive identification.

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