Page 9 - Old Abandoned Buildings of Northern New York

Taken on 05/26/06

Old farm and farmhouse on County Route 11, of Depauville
Possibly also called Underbluff Road, Sylvia Street, or Bluff Road on some maps. This house has burned down. Click photos below.

Burned late '06 or early '07, anyone have exact date? Fire photos courtesy of Clayton Fire Department.

Taken on 01/11/07, the charred remains

Raymond Lowe, the fire chief of Clayton FD says: "It was a grand old house and was fully engulfed by the time we arrived. As a side note, there was a tree in the center of the house that was growing when she caught on fire."
From TaylorBell (via Flickr.com): "Wow, that house has some serious character."
From Virgi French (via Flickr.com): "oh my!! you could huff and puff and this beauty might tumble down. ;-)"
From bud_0000000 (via Flickr.com): "Your Image Truly Is Wonderful"
From keenturtle (via Flickr.com): "This is amazing. Excellent find. It lives on!!"
From ford2n2003 (via Flickr.com): "Awesome!!!"
From prissy_tom_boy (via Flickr.com): "just gorgeous!!! "old and beautiful" group thanks for sharing it!"
From annahLa (chronically backlogged) (via Flickr.com): "So sad it's gone! But this is a wonderful photo-- glad you captured it!
Seen in "old and Beautiful" group."
From JJKDC (via Flickr.com): "Wow. Just a gorgeous old house...."
From lelyha (via Flickr.com): "Your Image Truly Is Wonderful"
From mm.northwoods (via Flickr.com): "~Wow Esta es una Foto Impresionante! La v en"
From WebSphinx (via Flickr.com): "spooky"
From erotocrat (via Flickr.com): "Tis thee ashame that that such beauty was taken off this earth."
From R_Cleland (via Flickr.com): "This is a fantastic find and capture!
Instant fave..."
From r.knoblich studio (via Flickr.com): "Must have really been something once."
From bettymbg (via Flickr.com): "Wish the old houses could write a book and tell about all who lived there and what they were like. I love these old homes. This is a great find."
From sage112000 (via Flickr.com): "good find"
From Equinox27 (via Flickr.com): "Wow, this is just amazing!"

Taken on 05/26/06
Another shot, slightly different angle

Webmaster note - the artist Tom Straub has used multiple shots of this house and other photos from this site in his haunted artwork - check it out at this link.

From Miz_Duke (via Flickr.com): "i love the lilacs, the setting of the is just beautiful"

From JJKDC (via Flickr.com): "[referring to the top windows] I love these weird little windows. That is what they are, right...windows?"

From brilliant_girl (via Flickr.com): "Old homes like this always make me wonder what kind of history took place there. Were they all happy times, or were they tragedies?"

Taken on 05/26/06
Rear of house

Taken on 05/26/06
Shot of interior taken through window with telephoto lens
Please note, some of these pictures were taken at a later time then the next Scannerman pics, of the same farm.

Taken on 05/12/05, picture courtesy of ScannerMan
Close-up of the roof-line trim

Taken on 05/12/05, picture courtesy of ScannerMan
More of the farm

Taken on 05/12/05, picture courtesy of ScannerMan
More

From comac1103 (via Flickr.com): "Such a shame they have to go like this."

Taken on 05/30/06
Part of old ruins at Madison Barracks
Also see Page 2 for more pics and page 27. You can find more info on the history of Madison Barracks at this page.

Taken on 05/30/06
Grand old barn on Route 3 between Sackets Harbor and Henderson area

Eileen P. writes - "This is the Ramsey Farm I believe the name is. The house is across the road....On the Henderson side is near Ben's Cove and the Watertown side is near The Willow's campground that was owned by Walt Roof."

Matthew F. writes - "This farm was at one point in the 1960s owned or worked by a family named Eveleigh (sp?). I worked on this farm in the summer of 1964 or 65, taking in hay that ended up in the barn shown here."

GC M. writes - "Went past this barn short time ago and someone is working on it."

Taken on 05/30/06
The other side of previous barn

Taken on 05/30/06
Old Lookout Restaurant, looked like a lighthouse. Route 3, between Sackets Harbor and Henderson, on hill. Lookout spot nearby

Tim L. says that the plaque at this location "indicates the French explorers used the hill as a lookout way back in the 1600's." He also writes "The Tower seen in the photograph was part of a restaurant and gift shop for tourists who stopped at a state rest area along Route 3 overlooking the lake. At one time it was very quaint but it had the look of a tourist trap of the 40's and 50's. While I don't know exactly when it was built, it's not there in aerial photos taken during the 1930's. It was probably built shortly after World War II. During the 60's and 70's it was called Vercillo's Lookout Restaurant and Gift Shop."

Kevin H. of Boynton Beach, FL; "In the not too distant past, (15-20 years or so) it was a popular restaurant called 'The Lookout'".

Florence S. of Indiana says "An Italian family later bought it and had a fabulous restaurant there. Absolutely, the greatest food and great scenery with dinner I had there on various occasions."

From andre.govia (via Flickr.com): "Another cool shot and a great find ! www.missionabandoned.com"

From Jennifer G; "Vercillo's Lookout Tower. Thank you to whoever posted this picture and whoever posted the comments. My grandparents were the Tony and Ann Vercillo that owned and operated The Lookout for about 24 years until they sold it in 1984. I have many fond memories of spending my summer days working in the restaurant and of the customers that became extended family. I look at the picture and remember how as a little girl I was terrified to walk up the steep stairs to the "tower" but occasionally I would muster up the courage to have the joy of putting my quarter in the binoculars to look at the boats out in the harbor and when it came time to go back down again I would sometimes have to go down on my behind.
Thank You,
Tony and Ann's Granddaughter"

Mike G.: "I too spent many awesome summers at the Lookout Tower! Uncle Tony, Aunt Ann and Uncle Peter ran the restaurant, I was 10 - 13 years old back then. One of my duties was to put the decals on all the gift shop items that were sold. That was a pretty important thing for me at 11 years old :)"

On 8/9/12 Bob Allen writes "Wow...I used to photograph this house almost annually starting in the early 1970s. For some reason it has always fascinated me. I took a trip up north just last November after having been away from the area for some time, only to find the burned down remains of the house and outbuildings. One day, in the late 70s/early 80s (can't recall specifically!) I was bold enough to knock on the door. I had heard two spinster sisters lived there all their lives, which was the case. They were known as the Reff sisters I believe. Both are buried in the Rossiere cemetary. (No one answered the door, but i did see a curtain move in the window!)"

On 12/9/13 Aaron writes "My favorite place coming home from camp!!!
We had a camp up near Cape Vincent years ago. When it was time to come home at summer's end, my parents would take us here. I had a mini pepperoni pizza, sis had a small bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. I miss that place, I pass it occasionally coming from my folks house at the Cape back to Syracuse.
I'd love to find out who owns it these days and if there are any plans for it (or the property). If anyone has information, email me at mfp_maniac @ yahoo.com. Just put Lookout Tower in the subject and I'll be sure to get it. Thank you!"

On 6/25/15 Rick writes "Remember coming up here as a kid with my family from Rochester, NY, in June and August of 1980 and June 1982. Great food from Tony Verzillo on scenic Route 3! He had everyone's business card on a HUGE bulletin board on the way up to the tower!
And, we had a great view of Association Island, Stony Island and the huge tree - lined cliff down to the lake from his tower. Dad always said this spot was the start of the 1000 Islands!

On 10/29/15 Wayne Shepard writes "My folks had a boat that they kept at the 1000 Islands, and we used to always stop at the Lookout Lunch on the way back to our home near Syracuse. I remember getting the hotdog and drink and looking out of the binoculars at the top of the building. In fact, I just found an old photo taken around 1962 of my mother and I in front of the building. Great memories!

On 10/21/20 Rich J. writes "Talk about a blast from the past, I remember stopping here for lunch on a drive with my parents sometime during the early 1960's, and I vaguely remember climbing the tower during that visit. The next time I stopped here was in the mid-1990's during a weekend roadside photo outing in the mid-1990's. More recently, I made a quick stop here to shoot some fresh photos during a drive along Route 3 in August 2020. Looking back now, this place seems almost mystical and timeless in that it's still standing after 80 years, and it doesn't seem to have changed much during the past 25 years."

Taken on 05/30/06
Harbor Road, Henderson Harbor

Florence S. of Indiana believes "that in the 1950s this farm house once belonged to Dr. Bickley. He was a surgeon from NYC and came to the Henderson area and bought several farms in that general area. His largest farm was on Route 3. Florence's father worked on one of the other farms south of the large farm and on the road at the next left hand turn. The farm house in the picture was across the road from the main Dr. Bickel residence. His son built a new residence there."

Tim L. writes "The farmhouse on Harbor Road was owned for years by Dr. Paul Read. He was likely the Physician to which the writer from Indiana refers. This property was originally part of the Rice family guesthouse for sunbathers and boaters in the early 1900's. It was quite a place with bathhouses, boats for rent and rooms in the main house. Read's son Paul Jr. owned the estate after his father died. The son, who now lives in Florida, may still own the farmhouse in the picture. Before he moved, he sold off much of the original estate land and you can now see the new houses built on the property overlooking the lake. The son also owned and operated with his wife, The Cherry Tree Inn at Route 3 and Military Road. Recently the old Rice estate was bought, subdivided, and now, the original estate house is up for sale again. You can find the listing at www.nnymls.com. Look under Town of Henderson, Waterfront. Along with the Robert Wehle (Genesee Beer) estate on Stony Point, this is the last of the grand (with homes) properties along Henderson Bay-Stony Point."

Rosalind K. B. writes "This house was for a hired hand when it was the Rice Farms Estate. The Rices owned and operated the truss and corset factory in Adams. After Dr. Bickley bought the farms the house was occupied by the Charles Madgwick family. Charlie, as he was called, was the chauffeur and gardener when the Bickleys were in residence in the big house across the road. His wife Helen was the housekeeper. They were full time caretakers.
Dr. and Mrs. Bickley had one daughter Georgia Belle married to Dr. Read. After Dr. Bickley's death, Dr. Read retired from his NYC area practice He and his wife made the estate house their home. Dr. Read continued to practice medicine as an emergency room physician at the House of the Good Samaritan in Watertown NY.
Son Paul Read, his first wife and children lived in the library.
Paul Reed operated a duck decoy business and was an assessor for the Town of Henderson.
Paul married 2ndly a restaurant business woman Ginger Spinacci-spelling?-who operated the Cherry Tree Restaurant in the old Aspinwall Corners Hotel.
My husband was born 89 years ago in the hired man's house on the farm referred to by Florence. As a young man, he worked on that farm in 1947 for Dr. Bickley."

Taken on 08/15/06
Erie Canal Road, near B elfort. Remains of a very old building, probably a barn, there were also some other nearly ground level foundations

Thanks to Lida for the name correction.

Jack S. writes: "The foundations on the Erie Canal Road were of a farm, across the road was another set of buildings. There was a page wire fence along the road with cast iron maple leaves on each upright."

Taken on 08/15/06
Another angle of previous