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| Sir William Johnson's' home, Fort Johnson NY |
Today we went to
Fort Johnson and visited the house Sir William Johnson lived in when he came
over to America. Johnson came to America when he was 23 years old. He then
bought land near the Mohawk River near what is now a small village called Fort
Johnson. He built his own house on this property and developed a fur trade to
make money. He was very successful in
this industry. One unusual thing about Johnson is that he was very friendly
with the Natives around him. In his house many people including the Natives
would come and go as they please. The Native Americans needed Johnson just as
much as Johnson needed them. So many people would show up to the house and just
sleep on the floor. One morning Johnson even woke up to about 20 Natives
sleeping on the floor in his room! If I woke
up and saw so many people in my room I personally would be freaked out! I also
do not think I could stand living in this house during the winter. In the cold
months the house was below freezing because it was very hard to heat the house.
Personally I am cold when it is 50 degrees out I could not imaging being in a
house that is below zero. The picture above shows Johnson's house and how
beautiful it looks. I really like how the house is made up of stone. Although
this was a beautiful home, Johnson became more wealthy with his fur trading
business and soon moved to Johnstown and built a new house for his family which
is now known as Johnson Hall. He left his old home to his son John Johnson.
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| A house In Fort Johnson that used to belong to my Grandmother |
As a child I practically grew up in Fort Johnson because this is where my grandmother lived and I was at her house everyday before and after school. It is really cool to finally learn the history of a place I practically grew up in. After passing Sir William Johnson's house for years I finally learned the building was more than a pretty building that I passed on my way home. Being in Fort Johnson made me thing of the times I would play in the river as a kid and on the small playground down the road from my grandmother's house. It also made me think of all the times I would chase the ice cream truck and all the times my grandmother's basement would flood during rain storms because of the poor drainage. I would hear my grandma complain about the side walks and how she claimed there was not any flooding issues until they put in the side walks. It was really nice to be in one of the many areas that I call home.
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| Johnson Hall |
After visiting Sir William Johnson's first house in present day Fort Johnson we traveled to Johnstown to see the second house that he built. While building the second house, Johnson was a lot more wealthier because he had a well established fur trading business. Before going into the house I noticed and really liked the stone pathway. This was really pretty and is something I would consider putting on the property I will own. This house was a little different from the house in Fort Johnson. One main difference is when you walk into the house there is a huge room that you walk into. In the house in Fort Johnson, when you first walk in you are in a very small room that was probably a library. This huge room was used to accommodate those that arrived and many would wait in that area to speak with Johnson. Another difference is that Johnson's bedroom was located on the first floor instead of the second floor. This was because he had so many health issues and by this point in his age it was easier to stay on the first level of the house. Another difference is the attic in this house was used as storage space only while in the house located in Fort Johnson, the attic was used as a room for visitors and servants to sleep. At the new house, no servant was allowed to sleep in the house except for the butler who would sleep in the basement. Although there were many differences between the houses there were also so similarities. In both houses the kitchen was located in the basement. This is something that was very common during this time period. To me this was unusual because in today's society, most houses have the kitchen on the ground floor. Also there were still many visitors that came and went as they pleased. The last similarity I noticed was that the frames between rooms seemed lower in those houses then in modern day homes today. I think this could be because back during this time period people were a lot shorter than people are today.
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| A baby walker found in Johnson Hall |
I saw this baby walker and thought it was very interesting to see that something that is still very common with babies today was used back during this time period. They put babies in walkers as soon as they knew how to crawl because people during this time period thought it was bad for babies to crawl. They did not realize crawling was a typical developmental period for infants.
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| Mabee Farm House |
The last place we went today was to the Mabee Farm house. This house was really interesting to see because while touring the many houses that we have, they were all of the wealthier people. This house shows what life was like for the typical middle class people during this time period. The house has remained in the family from the time it was built up until 1999 when it became a historical site. The original border of the house was really small but that was common for people during this time period. They also had a dutch style fire place that made it easy to keep the smoke out of the house and cook food under the fire. This house was really nice to see and it was amazing how it was the same floor boards that we stepped on that was first placed down when the house was built. This farm is located along the Mohawk River so many people traveling in boats would need a place to stay. The family soon built an inn that was right near the house to allow people to sleep and make money. Many people would come stay at the inn and you often had to sleep in the same room and same bed with people you did not know. After we explored the area more we then walked down to the river and were able to ride in an old wooden boat that would be used for transporting goods during this time period. In the boat we had to use wooden oars to navigate the boat. This was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. The oar was so heavy and hard to hold. I also did not realize that you get most of your power from your back. This was definitely really cool to be in a boat just like people during this time period would be. Today was really interesting and fun! I learned so much that I did not know before and like usual after getting back from our daily trip I was exhausted!
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