Vanished

Out for a drive down some familiar and slightly less known country roads today in my old rattly car with no cell phone mind you, I decided to try to find my way to a special spot I knew of but rarely went to see. Just minutes off the main road, down a concession road a little ways and onto a single unpaved road this little place is the site of a long vanished community of about 100 Scottish origin farming folk. The charm of the place is that at one time it had two prosperous mills, a general store, school, church and post office. An enduring, perpetually moving stream twists under an old bridge with water bubbling noisily over the rocks. Deep, dark green wooded lots surround the deep bend in the narrow roadway and bridge. Further along, the road straightens out along immaculate established farms that bring the journeymen back into a less secluded  scene.

The little place, once succesful was flooded out several times due to land clearing and the community eventually moved on by the early 1900’s..  All that remains of the old days is a decrepit miller’s cabin, weatherbeaten grey and ready to shudder to the ground except for the dense trees growing all around it and somehow supporting it upright for the time being. Chunks of the old mill are visible by the bridge. The sensation of seeing the water dashing by under the bridge made me draw a quick gasp and then as I rounded the curve I saw a beautifully restored farmhouse and a pretty new build home nestled into the woods. Immediately I wondered how these folks managed to get out to the main road after a winter storm. It’s difficult to imagine even a snowplow going down the narrow twisting road. At the edge of these woods, the old ghost of the frame and log cabin stands in its frailty. Again, I gasped. How beautiful it is.

I was glad that I was drawn there for some reason and for a few moments the old days of the place mattered again. Fortunately two new families have found the beautiful lure of the place and enjoy it as their home. Oh, how I wish I lived there. I wonder if some of my local Scottish ancestors sometimes made visits there to conduct business or visit with friends. Somehow, the feeling I had today makes me feel a connection with the place.

Advertisement