Small Town Living In North Lawrence, NY - Part 3

I was nearing the end of my driving tour of tiny, scenic North Lawrence, New York (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously). This small home seemed typical of the hamlet:

An enclosed front porch and a carriage house:

Back on Route 11C, a big Protestant Church:


I turned onto Factory Street and drove past this home with a front porch:


And this home with a windmill and solar panels:

And another home for sale, though when I searched for the listing online, it was gone. Maybe it had been already sold:

A lovely colonial home:

And across the road from the last four houses was this huge yogurt factory. I still remember how shocked I was when I first saw it as it seemed so out of place in this tiny hamlet:

This is North Country Dairy, a larger yogurt manufacturer. It was closed when I first moved to the area, then taken over by a farm cooperative and now it's making and selling yogurt once again under a variety of labels:

I heard on the radio that North Country Dairy just signed a contract with a big, national yogurt label and that would bring more new jobs to this small town. The name of the yogurt brand, however, had not yet been published:

I headed back to the center of town and passed by the Grapevine restaurant. I've never been in it, but they often have banners out front which advertise catfish dinners:

And across the street, "The Jug," a tavern:

The North Lawrence Post Office:

And the North Lawrence Supermarket with the yogurt factory in the background. I have been in there and found nearly empty shelves:

And the last photo of my driving tour was the Pit Stop Restaurant. I have eaten there and fondly remember their maple cream pie, made with local maple syrup:

The Hamlet Of North Lawrence, New York - Part 1

I had a lot of spring chores to do but was in no mood to do them. Instead, I drove to nearby North Lawrence, NY and took pictures, starting with the Maple Grove Cemetery:

I turned onto the narrow dirt lane which circled the perimeter of the cemetery and drove around, taking in the sights. The big tombstone in the foreground was for Leon and Orma, but their last name must have been on another side. They lived from 1874 to 1891, and from 1888 to 1905. I wondered how the cemetery crew had maneuvered such a big chunk of stone without big, modern equipment:

My next stop was a handsome log home with a barn out back. The barn had a sign saying "Deer River Livestock." North Lawrence is indeed on the Deer River:


This historic looking house and barn added some color to the landscape:

A modern (or modernized) home on the outskirts:

And a brick home with a brand new addition on the back and an old fashioned, red barn:

And then I arrived in "town," at the North Lawrence Supermarket. It appeared to be a busy place, with lot of people coming and going:
 

The Pit Stop, a friendly restaurant where I once had Maple Pie, a particular favorite of mine. This is, after all, real maple syrup country:

A colorful home in the main part of town:

And the North Lawrence Post Office. Both North Lawrence and Lawrenceville are hamlets within the township of Lawrence, but North Lawrence is the bigger of the two. I checked the internet for population, but all I could find was that the entire township of Lawrence had only 1545 people, or 584 households. This is rural America:

The Grapevine store and cafe, one of two restaurants in North Lawrence. I've never been in this one, though some day I may want to try their Bullhead dinner:

Although the sign read "North Lawrence Vol. Fire Dept. Ladies Auxiliary," this must have been the main fire department, for I saw no other:

I turned onto a county highway which could have taken me into Franklin County, and stopped to photograph this handsome house with its welcoming front porch:

But the main reason I turned was to photograph the one and only big industry in town, The North Country Dairy, a major producer of yogurt:

I turned back toward town at this handsome home:

And passed by the North Country Dairy once again, snapping a picture of another section of it. This really is a major plant, impressive in its size (especially for such a small town). But there was still much more to see in North Lawrence, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Moira-North Lawrence Road - Part 2

I was taking a driving tour (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) on the Moira-North Lawrence Road. It was Franklin County Route 6 at first, but became St. Lawrence County Route 52 at the county line. I passed by parts of the Brasher State Forest, though what I saw was pretty brushy, without many big trees:

A small, neat and tidy home, nestled in the pines:

A large farm house:

The homes began to change from farm house to village house style as I entered North Lawrence. I especially liked this small home, dressed up with Adirondack style log paneling, posts and railings:

A comfy looking home with a sheltered porch and nice Spruce for wind and sun protection:

Then I rounded the bend and saw this surreal scene - a large factory in the middle of all this rural and small town charm. I've seen it before and wasn't surprised, but I remember the first time I chanced onto it a number of years ago. It was then a closed Yogurt factory. It's since been reopened and modernized under new ownership:

If you've ever eaten Upstate Farms yogurt, it was likely produced here in tiny, scenic North Lawrence, New York. If you are interested, you can also check out these links to a Public Radio Story or this website About North Country Dairy:

I continued on past the yogurt plant and entered the little village of North Lawrence:

The homes, like most in the area, sported a lot of old fashioned front porches. I think that visiting with neighbors and seeing the scenery are popular in the north country, and even new homes often have large, comfortable porches:

I remember from a summertime view that this home had solar panels, though they didn't appear to be very useful with so much snow cover:

I crossed the scenic Deer River into the heart of North Lawrence, where I intended to end my driving tour: