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Twin Lakes Historical CollectionWe're getting geared up to prepare a CD-ROM about Twin Lakes, CT. Traditionally viewed by the Lakeville/Salisbury gentry as nothing short of a howling wilderness inhabited by quaint rustics and wild animals, and a best-kept secret of residents of nearby Canaan a century ago, this area -- where we happen to live and have our business -- has just now been "discovered", according to the Lakeville Journal. What being "discovered" means, in the local vernacular, is that real estate prices are in the process of going through the roof and much of the shabby charm that made this place appealing to us is vanishing -- fast -- and being replaced with some pretty flashy stuff. Actually, we've been seeing the old traditional Twin Lakes cabins (the ones that began to replace tent platforms around 1880) disappearing, one by one, over the years, almost always to be replaced by an elegant second home for a wealthy New York attorney or businessman. However, this is really only a stage in a cyclical process, and someday the new mansions will be history, too. Some call it progress, some don't, but it's worthwhile to get a snapshot of where we are right now, in 2006. And there is indeed still something left of the history of Twin Lakes to be captured. We have started recording what's here right now. We're in the process of preparing a photographic record of what's here now, seen both from the roads and the lake. We will make it as exhaustive as time permits -- and not necessarily pleasing to the eye. Much of our photography will be done before the leaves are on the trees (people are pretty efficient about using vegetation to screen their houses around here). The area is not at its loveliest when the snow has gone and not yet been replaced by the summer vegetation. Our first trip out photographing, this time a circuit of the small road called "Cedar Crest" was February 23. We'll be making more trips soon. Remember that this is intended as documentation, not as art. We hope you will understand. We'll try to document where the old Central New England Railroad ran through the Twin Lakes -- quite literally! -- including the three stations: Chapinville/Taconic, Twin Lakes, and Blake's Summit/Washining, although the fans of the CNE have already done a wonderful job in this regard. We have a listing of the old Chapinville Cemetery (located near the junction of Between the Lakes Road and Twin lakes Road) from the Historical Collections of The Salisbury Association, Volume I (1913). Chapinville, of course, was the old name for Taconic. The listing will go in, as will some photos of the cemetery itself. We've a few very nice items from the historic Scoville estates (thanks to Phil Cutting and his mom for these) that we'll include. We have been collecting old post cards of the area for a while. We'll include those. We'll scout around for some other history -- we suspect there is some extant that is out of copyright by now that we can include. And, we'll keep our eyes and ears open for what else belongs here. Who knows? However, now that the area has been "discovered", we do recognize that we will need to move fast on this one. With every demolition container we see go past our home and place of business on Between the Lakes Road (formerly called simply "Lakes Road"), we're reminded that the history of this place is vanishing before our eyes. Check back soon. We'll have more specifics for you. We hope to complete the photographic sorties on the roads sometime in April, depending on the weather. The sorties on the lake will take place after it's warm enough to put the boat in. |
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