Play detective along the Byway. Discover clues to the past in
Rural Weston, once home to classic farms:
Big house, little house, outhouse, barn.
In this sparsely-populated town of several hundred, look for a few remaining farms perched amidst fields slowly returning to forest. Local settlers like the Gilpatricks ([photo]
at right) were a versatile, hardy lot, lumbering as well as working their farm fields.
[center inset photo caption reads]
Most of the Gilpatrick Farm buildings, once just up the hill behind you, burned in 1982
Look along the Byway for barns or sheds (or foundations) built close to a main farmhouse, or connected by an ell - for convenience in winter
Danforth Town once bustled with railroad, shipping, sawmills[,] several hotels and a stagecoach.
As lumbering, mills, tanning and farming thrived, the town's ornate architecture reflected 19th Century prosperity. The combination of the railroad and water powered mills from Baskahegan Stream helped businesses thrive.
[Border photos, clockwise from top left, read]
· Weston Church, Rt. 1 (1917)
· Brackett Farm, Rt. 1, Weston across from lakes scenic turnout. One of the few working farms remaining in 2009
· Route 1 heading North from Danforth. Imagine driving this road by horse and buggy
· Methodist Church, Danforth
· Turn south
on Rt. 169 in Danforth to see these elaborate buildings
· Sleigh in "Downtown" Danforth
· The Berry Home [Central Street] built in Danforth's boom years
· The Foss Hotel corner of Rt. 1 and Rt. 169, Danforth
· As Rt. 169 heads south in Danforth, it crosses Baskahegan Stream
· Corner of Rt. 1 in Danforth near Rt. 169
· Ornate Italianate mansion [right] Rt. 1 in Danforth near Rt. 169
· Baptist Church, Danforth
· Danforth Parade [1908]
· Even the Circus came here by train
· Trains shipped wood, leather and farm products from Danforth
· The coming of the Railroad in 1871 boosted Danforth's prosperity - Train station [1906]
· Union Hall, Danforth
· Rt. 1, Weston. The steep pitch of the Foss Farm's roof, designed for snowy winters
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