BACON HILL FARM TOUR
Blanche's Caboose
The Trains of Bacon Hill [4.6 miles]
At the corner of Harris Road and West River Road sits an unlikely sight in the center
of a farm field – two train boxcars and a caboose. Blanche Zuckerman – an avid
world traveler, antique dealer and train enthusiast – brought the cars here,
renovating them for residential use. She used the train as a summer home and later as
rental property. "It’s like a train going through the country," she once
stated about her unusual home. "I like being able to observe cows grazing outside the
window." Today the cars sit abandoned and neglected – a dispirited end to a
rather unique abode.
View of the Hudson & Washington County
Harris Road [4.6 miles]
Turn right onto Harris Road.
This view provides the first glimpse of the Hudson River, that extends more than seventy
miles along the eastern border of Saratoga County. In the 1800s, Northumberland’s
location along the river helped the town become a major transportation point. Mules and
horses drew canal boats loaded with agricultural and forest products harvested in Bacon
Hill and vicinity to New York City. Today the Hudson River and Champlain Canal system are
used primarily for recreation.
Harris Home [mile 5.1]
on the left
Around 1830-1832 John Harris built a home, tavern, saw and gristmills on the Hudson River.
The construction of the Champlain Canal in 1823 contributed to the growth of the Harris
complex as a mercantile and farm center. This is also the site of the John Harris
outhouse. The "three-seater" outhouse, built to match the Greek Revival home,
features plastered and papered walls, columns and pediments. Just north of the property
are the ruins of early mills and a schoolhouse.
West River Road [Mile 5.4]
At the stop sign turn right onto West River Road.
Fort Miller Site Marker
[Mile 5.7] on the right
Fort Miller was built in 1755 by English Colonel Miller on a flat bend of the river, which
protected it on three sides from a possible attack by the French or Indians. The site
later grew into a village of approximately 150 to 200 residents, and the village took on
the fort’s name. Bacon Hill farmers who till these historic soils occasionally
uncover artifacts, such as arrowheads and cannon balls, from early warfare.
British Bake Ovens:
Up ahead, just beyond Austin Road, is the location of the British bake ovens built in
1777 for preparation of army breads.
Austin Road [Mile 6.2]
Turn left onto Austin Road.
Map2
