Sitting outside in the #catskills reading about #archeology in the #adirondack
It's fascinating to learn about mining towns in the 1800s. Once #mining wasn't an option, the houses were turned into #hunting lodges. Many of these towns are now ghost towns and most of the buildings have collapsed.
There was a thriving town of 400 called Graphite where they #mined #Graphite in the late 1800s. The town was abandoned in 1920 when cheaper labor and other sources of #minerals were found elsewhere.
Civilian Conservation Corps #CCC started by #FDR during the #depression to provide work for unemployed men built 11 camps, roads, dams, fire towers, #trails and more. Most of the camps are now abandoned and buildings collapsed like this.
The #CCC built approximately 32 steel observation towers in the #Adirondack alone but they're also found in the #catskills. They're now more of a touristy thing and many trails lead to these relics. I visited one such tower in the catskills in 2019 😁
OMG #til There was a vacation retreat for female textile workers from Troy & Cohoes
Wiawaka Holiday House was formed in 1903 & that's where white, young, Christian, female textile workers at the southern end of #LakeGeorge who couldn't afford vacationing in Lake George!
These vacation houses were set up by middle class #women through #churches, private organization and even labor unions. Trash from this property was studied to understand their lifestyle
Rupal K