Digital Images: Granville Library Historical Room]]>
The second story"shed" dormer and first floor wing are newer additions to the house. The chimney has also been reconfigured. Originally there was a large center chimney typical of 18th century houses.

The boot shown here was found by Ralph Roberts in 1928 inside a wall partition. "Concealed shoes" are an old English superstition dating back to the 1500's, possibly earlier. They were believed to ward off evil spirits and tend to be children's shoes, always worn out. Only one shoe or boot would be placed in the wall in the belief that an evil spirit would view a single shoe as being useless (as opposed to a pair) so not be tempted to steal it.

The Historical Room is looking for old photos of this house. If you have one and are able to loan or donate it please contact the Granville Library. Or you can drop it off in an envelope, we'll digitize it and let you know when it can be picked up. Thanks.]]>
2019 Boot Photo: Copyright Granville Library Historical Room, 2019
2006 Fall Photo: Paul Jensen]]>

Mrs. Holcomb's funeral was on 26 Dec 1911, at which a choir consisting of Mable Root, Fannie Hodge, L.F. Henry and Silas B. Root sang. She is buried in the Silver Street Cemetery.

Believed to have been taken by an itinerant photographer as there are several photos of other houses in the Historical Room collection with the same border and handwriting on the back indicating the name of the property owner. The surviving photos are all linked to the Miles Rose family in one way or another (Maria Case Holcomb was his sister-in-law).

This print is marked "very broken" on the back, a reference to the original glass plate negative which was broken before the print was made.]]>

Photo showing American flag taken June 20, 2022 (Juneteenth). The flag is on the site where, according to legend, the Granville Minutemen held drills before going to Ticonderoga during the Revolutionary War. Among them was Lemuel Haynes who grew up in West Granville and served as the first minister of the West Granville Church. He was the first ordained black Congregationalist minister in the country, a patriot dedicated to this country, and an outspoken abolitionist.

For Part One, photos and church history prior to 2000 please CLICK HERE.]]>
Giguere's Photography: Aerial photo, 10 Jan 2021
Martin Kulig: Snow photo taken 01 Feb 2021.]]>
10 Jan 2021 Aerial: Copyright Giguere's Photography
01 Feb 2021 Snow Photo: Copyright Martin Kulig.

Images used here with permission and may not be reproduced without permission of the photographer.]]>
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
⁠The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long;
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.]]>

George Lewis Oysler was born in Springfield, MA. in 1861 and died in Granville on 29 Jan 1939.]]>

Link to George Lewis Oysler house

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79345863/george-l-oysler]]>

In 1972 the Federated Church gave the Historical Room the various books and records for the Baptist Church, a list of which are provided here. These records are available to review in the Historical Room by appointment and are not loaned out.]]>

Ralph was quite an expert in old mill sites in the Granville area. You can listen to him speak on that and other Granville history topics at THIS LINK.

The Mill in the Meadow is one of Granville's most photographed scenes. The main photo shown here is copyrighted and was taken by J.G. Coleman Photography and is used with permission, courtesy of the photographer. You can order a print of this image and thousands of others by contacting the photographer via his web site at THIS LINK.

The second photo was taken by Paul Jensen on April 9, 2000 and is used here courtesy of the photographer.

The third photo was taken by Danny Nason and is used here with the permission of the photographer. https://dannynason.com/

Ralph Hiers also built a scale model version of the Mill In The Meadow, complete with working waterwheel, as shown in the additional pictures. The model is on display at the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation.

The next photo was taken on May 13, 2020, copyright Kris Bannish LeFebvre and is displayed here with permission.

The aerial photo was taken 27 Dec 2020 by Jason Guigere of Giguere's Photography (see "Rights" below) and is shown here with permission..]]>
THIS LINK if you wish to use the image.

Photo 2: Copyright Paul Jensen, used here with permission. May not be used further without the permission of the photographer.

Photo 3: Copyright Danny Nason, used here with permission. May not be used further without the permission of the photographer. https://dannynason.com/

Aerial Photo: Copyright 2020, Giguere's Photography. Used here with permission. May not be downloaded or used further without the consent of Giguere's Photography.]]>

He created the "Country Store" etching as a young man in 1929. His reference to the view from an upstairs window suggests he probably stayed at the Wilcox Hotel which was located directly across Granby Road from the store. To learn more about the Wilcox Hotel CLICK HERE.

It is also quite possible that his reference to occupied coffins in the basement is true since the Gibbons family owned the store and also served as the local undertakers.

To learn more about the fascinating life of Howard Cook CLICK HERE.

To learn more about the Granville Country Store and compare old photos to Howard Cook's etching CLICK HERE. Can you spot examples of artistic license?

The store depicted in Cook's 1929 etching was destroyed by fire in December 1934 and was replaced by the present, smaller structure. Photos of the destruction can be seen HERE.]]>

House photos:
* First picture is about 1890. Second is believed to be about 1910.

Other files:
* Insurance policy covering the house in the amount of $400 for the period 1849 to 1854.
* Various receipts in connection with the household.
* Demolition photos from the Jones/Hiers family (NCCHP collection).

The location of this house is currently marked by the cattle shelter with the metal roof, which was constructed on part of the foundation of the old house.

Community Remembrances:

Liz (Jones) Smith:

I remember spending time there helping dad put new shingles on the ell and holding the flashlight while he crawled through the foundation to check the sills for rot. He managed to trip on a small headstone in the NE corner of the cellar that he assumed was for a small child from the size of the depression.

I know mom did spend a lot of time peeling back layers of old wallpaper and got several large samples that she sent/took to someone…again, I was under 10 when they purchased the property at auction and wasn’t paying much attention to old houses.

Matt Jones:

The remains of the house, the Jeptha Rose homestead, are across from the white Granby road house that we grew up in at the corner of Silver street.

The Kimballs were the last to live there. I don't remember but Mom & Dad purchased the house & property in the late 50's or early 60's.

Recently the foundation of this house has had a lean-to frame added and a metal roof and is a cattle barn/shelter for Matt & Avola Berndt's herd of beef cattle.

The owners of the Scoop, Dick & Ethel Brown, Avola's parents, purchased the remains of the house and the ski area property from my Dad ten plus years ago.

Nice seeing the photo, the house did have nice lines although it was right on the road.
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MACRIS Content: See MACRIS copyright info on their site.]]>
2. Photos taken by Herbert A. Hiers, 1929 to 1932.
3. Southwoods Magazine article, March 1990.

MACRIS GRN.H and GRN.914 refer researchers to content specific to particular Cobble Mountain Reservoir structures and areas.

To view more content on this site related to the Reservoir please use the Search function by entering the term Cobble Mountain or just CLICK HERE.]]>
Article: 1990]]> Magazine Article: Southwoods Magazine, Carol and Buzz Caron, Copyright 1990]]>

A Methodist meeting house (the first west of the Connecticut River) was erected in the area in 1797. There is a small monument located where the meeting house once stood.

A toll road was proposed through the area in 1802, but was never funded. The construction of the Borden Brook reservoir (1909) flooded much of the farmland in the area.

Today the area is best known for known for:
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