The dogs and I were exploring the old log village which was back in the forest, part of the former tourist attraction, Frontier Town:
The dogs stayed mostly in the open, so I had a good view of their meanderings:
And we occasionally pushed through the brush for a closer look at or inside other buildings:
But old Winky was waiting for us in the car and we had a long drive still ahead of us before we'd arrive at the farm. So I called the dogs and we began moving back toward our parked car:
But we first had to stop and check out the old fort. The adventure was spearheaded by Fergus and the three Papillons. There was what I guessed to be a log jail cell inside, but it was so dark that no pictures came out useable:
We left the fort behind and instead of returning past the church, we bore right for a walk past the old storefronts:
That building on the right was at one time, apparently, a concession stand:
We walked along the boardwalk in front of the storefronts and then back to our waiting car:
I got all the dogs loaded back up inside. Old Winky did not seem to have missed us one bit. In fact, he'd slept the whole time:
We drove past the storefronts one last time on our way out the rutted, overgrown lane:
And then, at the entrance, I couldn't resist a self portrait of myself inside the jail house. After that, we continued on our way toward the farm:
I remember Frontier Town. My brothers loved playing cowboys.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the memories of several family ventures to Frontier Town! It would be a very successful theme park today, if the right folks invested. The location is perfect!
ReplyDeleteI also recall Frontier Town. I went there as a child and remember the stagecoach being held up by bad guys. It was so exciting as a child to witness the old west!
ReplyDeleteAnyone associated with my old Adk summer camp for boys (founded 1904) has called the Blue Ridge Road exit of the Northway "Frontier Town" for decades. And that's even though the campers rarely or never actually visited the tourist attraction. I was on the actual Frontier Town property only once, to buy slices of pie for six ravenous backpackers at the FT cafeteria. (They wouldn't sell us a few whole pies.)
ReplyDeleteRegardless, it's just always been a fact of life that that's the exit's name. Indeed, I've always supposed that the locals would tell you likewise. The name will surely live on, at least among us, long after the last cabin's last log has rotted away.
It was my favorite attraction as a kid....still have my sheriffs badge engraved with my name.It was still open when I had my first two boys and it was a school trip in 2nd grade. Great memories.Can it ever be resurrected with some modern twists?
ReplyDeleteRight up the road from Frontier Town, about 7 miles north, was another Adirondack tourist attraction, the "New York Serpentarium" where there were shows featuring live alligator wrestling and rattlesnake milking demonstrations. This attraction was very popular and existed in the late 1950s to early 1960s prior to the days of the Northway. Does anyone remember the New York Serpentarium?
ReplyDeleteThat was before I moved to New York, but I did find a Montreal Gazette article from May 25, 1963 which touts both the New York Serpentarium and Frontier Town. It's the last paragraph of the first article on the page:
Deletehttp://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19630525&id=XcItAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eZ4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=7038,5185407