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| Fireplace room in Mabee home |
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| Johnson hall kitchen basment |
Today we visited Fort Johnson, a 1749 limestone house located and built on the north side bank of the Mohawk River. William Johnson was an Anglo-Irish colonist who came from Amsterdam. When we drove to the house, it seemed a little small to me and it looked like a normal modern house. But when we entered it, the house felt completely different. I don't if this makes sense, but you almost get that vibe that it's a 1700's house. One of the things that really intrigued me in the home was those two holes in the back of the house when we entered. He may have used them for aiming practice and shooting his weapons, but what I did not understand, is why he would need to do that in his home. Maybe he used it for target practice, or maybe he built that to protect himself if there were any danger or enemies outside his home. The home was very beautiful and I like how the majority of the furniture and antiques were original pieces to the home. He would use the living to play cards or Italian board games to entertain the guests. Or sometimes he would have them bring instruments over to play music for everyone.
The gun technology in Johnson's home was another thing that interested me. They were able to carry many bullets in this pocket-sized object and place it in their pants during battle. They also had long-ranged weapons, short pistols, and short-ranged shotguns. He would spend a great amount of time in his bedroom wounded from gunshots. I liked the story when he was sleeping one night and when he woke up in the morning he found Indians laying on the floor of his bedroom and they understood each other through communicating with body language which is quiet impressive.
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| Gun exhibit, Johnson's home |
After visiting his home, we wet to Johnson hall. The house was very large and beautiful. The first thing I saw when we walked in was the animal fur hanged up on the right wall, now, I am still not sure if it was actually real or not. Well, I hope it isn't. I like how he had rooms for specific purposes, like the 'blue room' was for entertaining guests and the beige room was for eating. He also had doors built in that room so he can easily access it without being seen, that made me chuckle. When we headed upstairs, I saw what was called a 'camera obscura.' The camera was so awesome, it created a reflection of the window across the room onto a sheet of paper and I was just in awe. It was one of the coolest things in that house.
So after visiting Johnson Hall State Historic Site, we went to Mabee farm and Bateau in Schenectady. This particular historic site was different and interesting. Because the home belonged to a normal, middle-class family. They were not famous or anything, so it was nice observing and learning how everyday citizens lived during the 1700's to 1800's. I also really liked our tour guide, she was fun and had a great personality. She was engaged with us and didn't just bombard us with so much information in a boring, monotone voice. Then we saw some sheep on the site, well, I should say some noisy sheep. I tried to pet the other one and it almost bit me, ouch! And the other kept 'baa-ing' at me, what a warm welcoming these sheep gave us. Then soon afterwards, we rode some canoes and I was so hesitant about doing that at first because boats make me feel nauseous, ugh! But I decided to just try it, it wasn't going to be so bad and it wasn't after all. I had fun, other than the fact that I struggled to move the heavy oar they gave us to roe.
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Johnson's bedroom - 2nd floor
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