Property,1906 to 2012

Holmes · December 31, 2012, 12:42:03 PM

This is a copy of a post card of my property from 1906, then a picture from the present.

Jeff · December 31, 2012, 12:55:22 PM

Where did the water go?

r.man · December 31, 2012, 01:20:56 PM

I read about the largest single pre-civil war collection a few years ago. A fascinating story that demonstrates how the world around us is not as steady and unchanging as most people think. Here is the link if anyone is interested. The first is the wiki description and the second is the website for the museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabia_(steamboat)

http://www.1856.com/

Holmes · December 31, 2012, 02:05:36 PM

The floods of 1936 took the dam and road out. Under the word mill is a man standing on the dam- bridge. Just past the large tree, center left in the 2nd picture, is a 30' wide stream.
There is 3 barns, 2 houses, 1 saw,turning mill, and a few sheds in the old picture

Holmes · December 31, 2012, 02:12:27 PM

The mill used to stand on the left

Raider Bill · December 31, 2012, 03:06:08 PM

Thanks pretty dang neat to be able to compare the old picture.

Holmes · December 31, 2012, 03:38:13 PM

Another picture closer to the house The area that was the pond I am trying to clean out the glossy buckthorn that had grown in.. gl

shelbycharger400 · December 31, 2012, 03:50:43 PM

Do they still consider that a "flood" plain?

Holmes · December 31, 2012, 03:53:48 PM

I believe the lower area is

thecfarm · December 31, 2012, 04:42:49 PM

Interesting. I have alot of old pictures of this place. But my grandparents was not taken pictures of the buildings or the landscape.they was taking pictures of the critters that they were proud of. Some pictures I can tell by the rocks where they was taken.
The flood of '36 affected you too.
By the way,did you just take them pictures? We have about a foot of snow here now.

Holmes · December 31, 2012, 06:02:32 PM

I took those pictures a couple of months ago. The original old picture is a post card dated 1906 and is titled Mill, Pond, and Residence Royalston, Mass. We have a second post card with numbers on it telling what each building is and which room the woman that wrote it lived in , in the house on the right. We found that on ebay 10 years ago, quite a find...

: 8)

WDH · January 01, 2013, 12:00:16 AM

That is very cool history.

SwampDonkey · January 01, 2013, 05:21:52 AM

Yes that is interesting to see the changes. If you go to your local heritage or museum buildings often times there are old photos in there that will open your eyes. Especially the amount of land the was cleared and farmed around the towns. Now many of them farms grown back to woods. One little village near here has a 100 acre field down on a flood plain (rarely flooded) and it was a huge switching yard for the trains. Trains all extinct in my area now. Farmed now. "Boss" Gibson would roll over in his grave. ;) And some towns were bigger and more prosperous then, than now. You take the town of Woodstock, our oldest town, it had more to offer 80 years ago then now. It has become a health care centre with fast food joints to hasten the process and service industries. If it wasn't for the farmers, and a saw mill or two you could say it doesn't produce a dang thing these days. :D

Axe Handle Hound · January 01, 2013, 11:06:10 AM

Really cool to be able to compare old to current like that. It shows you just how much a piece of land can change in a relatively short amount of time.

Holmes · January 01, 2013, 04:01:42 PM

Here is a picture looking at the back of the house from across the stream,that was part of the pond.

SwampDonkey · January 01, 2013, 04:16:32 PM

When we used to go to NH to uncle Percey's camp, the lake there was man made. I remember at the time he said it wasn't a mill pond. He was in his 80's and he'd ferry us around the lake on occasion. Never saw anything such as a mill dam on it that I recalled. It was a good sized lake because there was a public beach area and lots and lots of cottages all the way around.

jueston · January 03, 2013, 10:50:19 PM

Quote from: Holmes on December 31, 2012, 06:02:32 PM
We found that on ebay 10 years ago, quite a find... : 8)

that is amazing. how did you stumble upon it? i just can't imagine looking at ebay and finding a hundred year old picture of my house....

tyb525 · January 03, 2013, 10:56:24 PM

My mom has a picture of a low area in the woods with a lake, taken from the road. That was years ago, if you go by there now, you can actually tell the lake is lower and the contour of the land has changed somewhat.

Holmes · January 03, 2013, 11:30:39 PM

Quote from: jueston on January 03, 2013, 10:50:19 PM
Quote from: Holmes on December 31, 2012, 06:02:32 PM
We found that on ebay 10 years ago, quite a find... : 8)

that is amazing. how did you stumble upon it? i just can't imagine looking at ebay and finding a hundred year old picture of my house....

I will try to post pictures of other post card over the weekend. We would search ebay for Royalston stuff and my wife found a few post cards with writings on them. That one is special.
More to the story: last october FF member Chilterns from England sent me some pictures he had taken of our property In Royalston from the mid 90's. He happened to be visiting a forester in Royalston and took pictures of our property and the old collapsed barn and its joinery. It was really special to get a PM from England saying "I was in that house you have for your avatar"...

SwampDonkey · January 04, 2013, 05:12:26 AM

If I did an ebay search for post cards of Royalton, NB I would still be looking. :D That's gotta be what they call some kind of luck. But, lets just say, about like winning the lottery.

As to land changing, I know a spot along a river that is undermined limestone. A spot they planted trees on and it's sinking into a big hole. ;) There are houses around there, and have been for years, I wouldn't be living there, no how.