Tag Archives: old house

The Spooky Spirits of McCollum House

McCollum House Circa 1910

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I’d share some of the spookier tales we have uncovered about the property. Whether it is the Carveth Estate, McCollum Orchards or Grandma Josie’s house, this place has had many names over 180 years. However you remember it, the farm’s legacy and its stately buildings have become an almost endless source of lore. You would not believe how many people we talk to end the conversation saying, “Oh, by the way, I hear it’s haunted.”

When we first moved in last year, we were greeted with a tale of a ghost sighting in the kitchen. Just a couple years before, the family hired a lady to help clean the house. All was going well until she started on the kitchen. The next moment, she ran out of the house to her car, face gone ashen white. Scared out of her wits, she said she saw a ghost. “There is a woman in the corner of the kitchen!” Needless to say, she never came back. Later, we found out that great-grandmother Josephine Carveth was bedridden in the kitchen for a long time and passed away there. Could it have been her?

We have heard about rumors of secret passageways that were used during the underground railroad, buried treasure, and even unmarked graves on the property. Many people might find these kinds of stories unnerving, but I have heard them all my life.

Music in the Basement

Growing up, I spent parts of my summers on the farm alone in the house with just my grandmother. In a big, old house like this, things do not merely go bump in the night. Colds winds suddenly ripped down the hallway, doorknobs turned by themselves, figures were seen in the windows. You swore you heard the faint sound of music coming from the basement or a whiff of perfume as you passed an old portrait. This is on top of the usual squeaks and creaks that you might expect. My grandmother always chalked it up to “the spooks” (whom she also blamed for misplacing her things). At night, when the whole house would echo with the sound of shutters banging in the wind, it was enough to keep a young boy with an active imagination hiding under the covers.

Words Entwined

We have found that the more we fix up the farm and buildings, the warmer and more inviting it becomes. The chaos that much of the farm was in made it feel, well, creepy. It is amazing what cleaning, organizing, and applying a fresh coat of paint can do to make it feel homey again. But there is one mystery we cannot seem to solve. In the process of organizing the house, we kept finding stacks of books bound by twine. Some stacks of books would be standing up, some would be on their side. There appeared to be no rhyme or reason to their grouping, with the occasional library, school or phone book thrown in. We learned that one of my great-aunts, who lived in the house in her later years, would compulsively tie books together with twine, like a nervous tic. We did what most people would do and untied the books. We cut the twine and organized them again. The strange thing is that we are never done. No matter how many books we set free, we keep finding more stacks. It is as if someone goes through and binds them up again. It became somewhat frustrating, so we just stopped trying and let the house spirits have that one.

Some of the many books bundled with twine

The love and loss that this house has witnessed cannot be summarized in a single post. Many people have asked us if we have seen a ghost here. Even though we sometimes catch ourselves looking over our shoulder, I honestly have to say no. This house holds memories of generations who called it home. Their memory is felt in their portraits, books, photos and letters that remain. If there are ghosts here, they are my family, right? So, the next time you drive by the house and you think you glimpse a figure peeking out from an upstairs window, just smile and wave. It might be a relative, stepping out of their place in time to check our progress.

Happy Halloween from all of us!

Farming in the City: Variances Approved

In the springtime

We are very happy to report that all of our variance applications were approved on Tuesday by the city zoning board! This is a huge step in our efforts toward trying to save this family farm property. The meeting proceedings even made it into the local news, in the Lockport Union Sun & Journal and the Buffalo News.

The Process

We found out last month that the whole 100-acre property, that has always been farmland, was zoned residential. In order to operate it as a farm, we needed to apply for variances for land use, retail to sell in the barn, some signs and a place for people to park. Notices were sent to all our neighbors. Well, since we are located in a city, that totaled about 60 residences around the perimeter of the property. The process included a zoning board meeting that is open to the public. About 40 people attended and were able to hear our proposed plans and voice their concerns and opinions. We were able to address them with further clarifications. In the end, the board passed each of the variances unanimously.

Next, the plans go through the County Planning Board for recommendations. This is because our property line touches the town border. After that, they will go through the City Planning Board. These address more technical issues, such as size of the parking lot. For this, we will have to hire a landscape architect because all the plans need to be drawn up to scale.

This was an unexpected process to do this Spring. But, just like healthy soil for plants, we realized that it is a necessary step to make sure our farm business is on a solid foundation. Fortunately, the process has been well laid out and people have been very helpful, even though it is uncommon for the city to see this kind of business start up. We’ve come to find out that it is not all that uncommon anymore. More and more farms are being tilled in private and vacant lots in cities around the country.

Barn & sheds, view from the yard

We’re Not Alone

To prepare for the meeting and for our own knowledge, we reached out to friends who knew about the urban agriculture movement and to pretty much anyone who might be able to provide information or share experiences. We got a lot of responses. A school friend active in Louisville’s local food movement was even willing to help go through ordinances with us. It is not just farmer’s markets anymore. People are moving the farming right into the cities.

We were surprised and thrilled with what is occurring across the country. In February, the Boston mayor kicked off a zoning process to encourage community farming, as it beautifies the city and widens access to fresh, healthy food to people who can’t usually get it. In 2010, Cleveland passed a very progressive recoding policy to make it as easy as possible to start farming in the city limits because it attracts and keeps residents. One of Milwaukee’s two booming urban farms, Growing Power, is hosting the 2012 Urban & Small Farm Conference: Growing the Good Food Revolution. In Buffalo, there are four gardens/farms that we learned of who are growing fresh produce within the city limits: Wilson Street Urban Farm, Queen City Farm, and Cold Spring Coop, and the Massachusetts Avenue Project aquaponics project. Right here in Lockport, Hall Apple Farm is a historic farm that is in both Lockport the city and the town.

So far, we have mostly thought of our efforts as preserving this special house and property that has somehow remained intact and in the family by making it our home and restarting the farm. This week, we realized how much bigger it is than just our little corner. It is connected to the neighborhood, the city, and even to a trend that is taking a many people back to their roots and to the roots. We may have many more meetings to attend and rows to hoe, but we are more committed to offering fresh locally grown produce from our barn doors. Thank you to all those who have encouraged us along the way.

Sunset over the fence

Quick Fixes #2

Before: A jumble of mossy rocks

In several places on the property, it is obvious that something used to be there. Mounds of cut stones lie where buildings and walls used to stand. Broken glass, ceramics and coal mark old dump sites. Raised ground is remnant of long forgotten roads. Ditches reveal old wells and broken clay drainage tile. Nothing excites me more, as a one-time archaeologist, than a little exploring to dig up the past. For safety and the protection of expensive farm equipment, it is also good to know where these piles and holes are located and what lies beneath.

We have matched some rubble piles to historic photos and maps, but others are a mystery. A jumble of rocks in front of the barn had me baffled. So, I took a shovel to it. I discovered a 15×4 foot retaining wall. Years of erosion and tree growth had toppled and covered it. Being in a fix-it mood, and highly caffeinated that morning, I decided to rebuild it with the help of my brother-in-law.

It was much easier than rebuilding the old fieldstone wall that we fixed earlier in the year. At least these stones were in some kind of order. The key to rebuilding a retaining wall without mortar is to have a solid foundation and to lean the wall slightly back against the higher ground for strength. We pulled out the stones, staked out the area and evened out the foundation. Then, we stacked layers of interlocking flat stones row by row. Last, we packed the soil down behind it. My wife even planted some spring daffodils around. Good as new!

Gradually restoring the farm to how it used to be is challenging, but also a lot of fun. When we don’t have old photos to go by, we’re stuck with reasoning things out. What was this pile of rocks? What had that been? Sometimes, it is just a pile of rocks. But sometimes it is another trace of the farm’s long history.

After: A great-looking retaining wall!

Quick Fixes #1

This 180-year-old house underwent major renovations in the 1930’s and 1950’s. Probably the biggest fundamental shift to the house (well, besides indoor plumbing and electricity) was when they moved the driveway from the front of the house to the back. Horses and carriages used to ride up a semi-circle arc on the south lawn. But, after cars were invented, they moved the driveway to the back of the house, on the north. The problem with a north-facing entrance is that it is always damp. Over 80 years of constant moisture on the stones created a thick coating of slippery brown moss and algae that made that side of the house perilous and ugly. It was the perfect excuse to break out the power washer!

Like a dentist with a super-charged water pick, I blasted every nook and cranny, peeling layers of slime off the stones. Three hours and two soaking feet later, the walkways in the front were clean and several shades lighter. This also allowed the ornate stonework on the facades to stand out once again.

Continuing with “quick fixes” like these has made the biggest difference for me personally, in terms of turning the look and feel of the property back into a lived-in home. Of course, the minute we cross one off the list, another one goes on it. So, there are many more to come. But, we’re getting there!

Flash Back – Cobwebs in the Attic

A dusty box of papers in the attic revealed some amazing insights about life on this family farm back in the late 1800’s. For years, dozens of post-Civil War Era receipts and contracts from my great-great-grandfather, Silas Wright McCollum, and local businesses sat collecting cobwebs. It wasn’t until our “Big Clean” that some of these documents came to light. They give us a rare glimpse at the business of the historic farm. They also paint a vivid picture of this bustling town on the banks of the Erie Canal.

An invoice for seeds dated February 1883 from James Vick (of Rochester, NY) show what my family planned to plant and sell that year. It also gives a hint at what grew best on the farm and what produce was in highest demand during that time. Beans, peas, potatoes, cabbages and onions were among the many vegetables ordered. Near the bottom, you’ll see an order for a plant called Salsify, an oyster-flavored root vegetable. I guess our tastes have changed.

With the farm being situated next to the Erie Canal and a railway, it is possible this produce was shipped out West, along the Atlantic Seaboard and even out of the county.

A Memorandum of Agreement dated March 1884 was signed between my great-great-grandfather and the Niagara Preserving Company. In this, S. W. McCollum agreed to plant fifteen acres of “the best variety of tomatoes” and sell them only to the Niagara Preserving Company in exchange for a pre-negotiated selling price of $8 dollars per ton.

Besides needing to feed his own family, Silas also had to feed his workers and care for a wide range of farm animals. This bill from Arnold & Little, merchants from a Lockport city mill, shows a balance of $180.89 for the purchases of flour, feed & grain between October 1883 and March 1884.

Just like today, advertising your products and services is a key part of doing business. At a time before radio, television and the internet, printed word was your best option to reach the masses. In this receipt from October, 1884, Silas paid $23.50 in advertising expenses to the Union Printing and Publishing Co., owners of the Lockport Daily Union and the Niagara Democrat, the “best advertising mediums in Western New York.” In that spirit, we want to say, “Silas, welcome to Google.”