How History Speaks to Us in the Thurman Fall Farm Tour

Chances are, you haven’t spent a lot of time in Thurman. You may have heard of it, but I suspect you can’t picture exactly where it is.

If I ask you to imagine Thurman, does any image come to mind?

Probably not. Which is a shame, because Thurman is the closest thing we have to Switzerland and it’s right in our own backyard. Together, Thurman, Stony Creek and part of Warrensburg form a distinct rural community on the southeast edge of Wilcox Lake State Forest, nestled between Crane Mountain and the Hudson River where Thomas Durant laid tracks for the Adirondack Railroad in the late 1860s.

On Saturday, October 12, we’ll have an exceptional opportunity to explore this area in the Thurman Fall Farm Tour. They’ve been doing this for 16 years and it just becomes bigger and better. This year they’ve organized 13 farms and other sustainable enterprises in an eclectic assemblage of points of interest.

For a historic perspective, here’s the route I suggest we follow.

Starting Out

Adirondack Railroad Depot, Saratoga Springs

Thurman was a stop on the Adirondack Railroad, which played a major role in the development and accessibility of the Adirondack region. To make our tour maximally educational, we should start at the depot that Thomas Durant built for the railroad’s Saratoga Springs terminus. We’ll find it at 117 Grand Avenue.

Durant opened what we today call the "First Wilderness Heritage Corridor," uniting New York's Upper Hudson River communities from Corinth to North Creek, rough terrain characterized by uncultivated meadows and reforested hillsides. The mighty Hudson and its two major tributaries, the Sacandaga and Schroon Rivers, still connect to the great forests of the north with the settled communities to the south.

When Durant started building the railroad in Saratoga Springs in 1864, The New York Times observed:

“To people in general, Adirondack is still a realm of mystery. Although the waters of the Hudson, which to-day mingle with those of the ocean in our harbor, yesterday rippled over its rocks, and though on all sides of it have grown up villages, and have been created busy thoroughfares, yet so little has this "wonderful wilderness" been penetrated by enterprise or art, that our community is practically ignorant of its enormous capacities, both for the imparting of pleasure and the increase of wealth.”

The Times continued:

“The gay denizens of Saratoga this season are excited by an occasional glimpse of a railroad grade running north from that town toward the Upper Hudson, and aiming directly at the heart of the wilderness. A thousand men are now cutting down and filling up and blasting and bridging ‘on this line;’ and before Winter twenty to thirty miles of the distance will daily be measured by the locomotive.”

As you drive north toward Thurman on Route 9N and then Stony Creek Road, note how many times you cross the tracks of the Adirondack Railroad, which the Delaware & Hudson Railroad acquired in the early 1900s. They'll be with you all the way up to our first stop at Revolution Rail’s Thurman Station.

Revolution Rail’s Thurman Station

By putting a stop at Thurman, Durant gave industry access to Warrensburg which, thanks to its strategic location at the intersection of the Hudson and Schroon Rivers, had become by 1871 a center for lumber production, commerce, and tourism. Lumber mills lined the riverbanks, processing the vast quantities of timber harvested from the surrounding forests, while businesses grew to support the booming industry. With the arrival of the Adirondack Railroad, Warrensburg became a gateway for tourists seeking to explore the scenic beauty of the Adirondacks, contributing to its growth as a vibrant and multifaceted community.

To get to the Thurman station, you’ll take the Warrensburg Road from Stony Creek, a route you’ll discover to be one of the most scenic in the Adirondacks, running right along the Hudson. Four miles out of Stony Creek, you’ll pass the storied 1000 Acre Resort, whlch thanks to the railroad became one of the most popular of the 40 or so dude ranches that took root in this area in the 1930s and achieved full flower in the 1950s.

While trains no longer run on these tracks, Revolution Rail’s rail cycles do. Their new Thurman run offers an eight-mile excursion to the 1000 Acre Ranch and back.

There’s no availability of seats on October 12, but reservations may be made for weekend rides between October 19 and November 2.

We’ll make just a quick stop at the station to take a look at the operation and pick up a printed Farm Tour map, which I’m told we’ll find to be a great aid in navigation.

Quilts at Town Hall

If we can see ourselves disembarking from one of Durant’s trains in the 1870s, it’s not a stretch to envision our automobile as a stagecoach being pulled up Athol Road by a team of horses to Thurman center. This is where we’ll find Town Hall, the center of civic life and hub for the town’s two major annual events, Thurman Maple Days in the spring and the Farm Tour on Columbus Day weekends. This is where the Thurman Quilt Group will exhibit the designs they’ve been developing for the last year, creating items both for sale and for local hospitals, children in crisis, and community shut-ins.

Town Hall is surrounded by historic sites, such as old farmhouses and the Thurman Cemetery. Also nearby will be the Adirondack Alchemist Vendor Show, offering an array of products used in holistic healing, such as salves, balms and crystals. There also will be a hot dog truck here.

Pancakes at Valley Road Maple Farm

This isn’t the season for making maple syrup and other maple products that we’ll find for sale in Valley Road Maple Farm’s gift shop, but they will show us their sugar shack and demonstrate the process. They’ll also serve pancakes and Oscar’s maple sausages with their premium syrup between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and so we’ll stop here both for breakfast and to hike the trails where they run their taplines. $10 for adults and $6 for children.

Sanctuary Animals at Nettle Meadow Farm

Especially if grand-children join us, we’ll make the Kemp Sanctuary at Nettle Meadow Farm our next stop. The farm will open at 10 for tours on the half hour that will include visits to horses, mini-horses, mini-donkeys, pot belly pigs, goats, sheep, peacocks, all sorts of farm fowl, llamas, and Scottish highland cows, as well as a smattering of barn cats. “All are friendly and look forward to visitors,” we’re told.

Beyond this, we’ll hope to hear from founders Sheila Flanagan and Lorraine Lambiase the whole story of how they established the farm in 2005 with a vision to create a humane and sustainable environment for raising goats and producing high-quality artisanal cheeses. Originally from Oakland, California, they left careers in law and finance to move to the Adirondacks and establish what has become a world-class cheese-making venture and establish a sanctuary for older or unwanted farm animals, providing them a safe place to live out their lives.

The Crane Mountain Fire Tower Cabin at Martin’s Lumber

On our way to Nettle Meadow Farm, we will have passed Martin’s Lumber. Now turning south, we’ll drive just a mile to stop there to enjoy its Woods Walks and Artisans Market, at which we’ll have the opportunity to meet many of the same craftspeople who showed their works at the spring version of this event.

We’ll also take the opportunity to again view the cab of the Crane Mountain Fire Tower, which a group of us just pulled out of a clearing on Clarence Russell Road and trailered to Martin’s Lumber.

A certified guide will lead walks focused on the fascinating world of wild mushrooms, discussing edible and medicinal species. An herbalist teacher will lead a tour that explores the medicinal properties of plants. Demonstrations of candle-making and a 40” Finnish Normalo Floor Loom will be offered, and Wini Martin will show how to spin paper beads. Chili, soup and mac and cheese will be offered by "Baked by Marlene"

Sustainablity and History at Candy Mountain Maple Farm

As you’ll find on the web site that proprietors Mike and Ingrid Richter maintain for Candy Maple Maple Farm, they have a keen sense of their property’s history and a commitment to sustainability. Old foundations, wagon-roads, pasture fences, and stone-rows give hints to the many ways the land has been used over the last 200 years. With 80 years of professional environmental experience, the Richters started developing their plan to convert forested acres of the property into a naturally diverse and sustainable maple syrup farm. They produced their first batches of sap in 2022.

“We believe that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) are key skills that today's children need to succeed,” the Richters write. “We hope to make a visit to Candy Mountain Maple Farm, a tasty, fun, enjoyable and educational experience for everyone.”

Cider-Making at Rustic Acres Farm

We’ll head east now, taking Valley Road to Parker Cross Road and then heading north on the Glen Athol Road to 107 Huber Road, where we’ll find Rustic Acres Farm. Todd and Flo Olden have created an impressive working farm using many homesteading techniques. They’ll be making fresh apple cider with an antique cider press and will be offer treats from their just-reopened bakery and free hot coffee and tea. They’ll also be offering a selection of handcrafted Adirondack items made on the farm.

Wood-Fired Pizza at Blackberry Hill Farm

As filling as those pancakes were at Valley Road Maple Farm, we’re pretty sure by this point we’re going to be hungry again and very much in the mood for the wood-fired pizza they’ll be serving at Blackberry Hill Farm, which Bob Barody established in 2014 following a successful career as a musician. Blackberry Hill is a diversified family farm that produces vegetables, herbs and meat. This appears to be the perfect place to stop for lunch, so we’ll aim to get there around noon. Bob suggests arriving earlier rather than later if you want to be sure they don’t run out.

To get there, we’ll take not the shortest route, which would be the Glen Athol Road, but the most scenic, which will be River Road, which runs for seven miles south along the Hudson. Head east on Huber Road to the River Road intersection and turn right. When you come to the Athol Road intersection, turn right. You’ll be at the farm at 15 Mud Street in minutes.

Maple Donuts and Marshmallows at Mud Street Maple

Following pizza, we may want dessert, which makes Mud Street Maple the natural next stop, being just minutes from Blackberry Hill Farm. One of Thurman’s newer maple operations, Mud St. Maple, is rapidly making a name for itself with such favorites as Bourbon maple syrup, maple-glazed walnuts, raspberry maple cream. and several infused maple syrups. With help from family and friends, Robin and Jeff Mahler have been tapping and boiling for about 10 years, and recently built this sugar house on Mud Street. It’s a family operation and a labor of love.

They’ll be serving fresh, hot maple donuts, maple marshmallows for s’mores, and complimentary maple coffee and hot chocolate. Activities for the kids will include leaf rubbings, a scavenger hunt, and a nature walk through part of the sugarbush.

Dude Ranch History at Whitefield’s Family Farm

This farm has a close connection with the Sun Canyon Dude Ranch, which was founded in 1937 as “Boulder Greens Dude Ranch.” Thurman’s largest dude ranch, It had massive log structures, a swimming pool, a large stone stable full of horses, and real wranglers from out west. We can learn more of this history from Don and Michelle Whitefield, who today use the property to raise cage=free, all-natural chickens, turkeys, and ducks. They use no chemical fertilizers or pesticides and no hormones or antibiotics in their feed. They sell ground turkey and chicken sausages and boneless turkey and chicken cuts.

“We love to show people our beautiful fieldstone barn and have them meet our many animals,” says Michelle. For kids they’ll offering pumpkin-painting.

Pumpkin-Chuckin’ at Toad Hill Maple Farm

One of the largest maple producers in Warren County, Toad Hill has been operated by the Galusha family for more than 50 years. Today, they manage nearly 900 acres of timberland and gathers sap from more than 3,000 sugar maple trees. In 2011, they opened their large new timber-frame sugar house, which includes a new energy-efficient process for producing pure maple syrup using a wood-fired evaporator, a reverse osmosis machine and large stainless steel tanks. In addition to pure maple syrup, Toad Hill makes bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup and rye barrel-aged maple syrup. Their specialty products include maple caramel corn, maple frosted nuts, maple pecan granola, maple cotton candy and such baked goods as warm donuts with maple dip.

They’ll be offering scenic 20-minute wagon rides that take us over a timber-frame covered bridge and out through the sugar bush. We’ll learn how they manage their forest, how they get the sap from the trees to the sugar house, and how they process the sap into pure maple syrup. They’ll also be demonstrating their large trebuchet for pumpkin-chuckin’.

At TEF Braids, Innovations in Textiles

Our final stop will not be a farm, but the remarkable micro-factory where textiles pioneer Brad Jamison blends traditional techniques with modern machinery, producing high-quality, complex lace. Using unconventional materials like synthetic fibers and metallic threads, he expands lace's applications beyond fashion. His adaptations of hand-lace patterns to automated braiding machines make delicate, artisanal designs achievable on an industrial scale. Collaborating with designers, Brad creates custom lace for fashion and home décor, continually pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in lace-making in a virtually zero-waste environment. On this tour of TEF Braids, we’ll see the process of fabric and product invention.

If You Go

Keep in mind you’re heading into a sparsely populated area that borders on wilderness. There are no gas stations here, so be sure to fill up and if your car is in need of a tune-up, you might want to do it in advance. Also, don’t plan on having cell service, though there are points along the way at which wi-fi will be available. Prepare for variable weather, whatever the forecast may be. And be sure to bring a cooler for any meats, poultry, or frozen items you might buy along the way.

Food will be available at four points along the way:

Pancakes between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Valley Road Maple Farm
Wood-fired pizza at Blackberry Hill Farm for lunch starting around noon
Chili, soup and mac and cheese offered at Martin’s Lumber by "Baked by Marlene"
Hot dogs from a truck at the and the Alchemist show will have a hot dog truck.

Printed maps will be available at all locations to help you make your way around, you may want to orient yourself in advancing with this interactive map.