This weekend I drove out to Lowell and stopped by Fallasburg historic village, a historical district just north of Lowell on the Flat River.
The village was started by in the 1830’s by pioneer John Wesley Fallass. It was logging site. Went the railroad went to nearby Lowell, the village slowly declined. It had a one room school that served the residents until 1961. Today it is a cluster of houses with a nearby cemetery more than a functioning village. There no longer is a post office, school, or local store. Fallasburg is perhaps best known locally for its covered bridge and for the nearby park on the Flat River.
You can check out the website of the Fallasburg Historical Society, which owns and preserves much of the former village. The old school house is a museum now. The modern versions of several of the historic houses also are owned by the society.
I decided to photograph the house on the Tower Farm, which is undergoing renovations at the moment. Half of the house was build in 1850. In 1896, the owners took a nearby house and added it to the original building so that two sisters-in-law could live together with their families.
Here’s a few images that show the construction.
The rough and weathered wooden siding and windows captured most of my attention. Here’s a few images from the front and side of the house.
It’s not just the windows and siding but the glimpses of the curtains and what’s inside. More than that even, what drew my eye was how abstract the shapes look when they are taken of out context. Here’s a few more.
The village is “history” for most of us. But for a few people, even today, it’s still memory. They went to school there as a kids or grew up or married people who did. They’re in their late 60s, 70s, and 80s now.
A good place to get a sense of the history and the families who lived in the village is the cemetery north of the village. Finally, you can go to the Lowell Museum for some of the history of the village, Lowell, and the wider area.
No Ordinary Light 