A Morning Walk

Hopewell Furnace has within its boundaries, Bethesda Church which is about a mile and 1/2 from the other main buildings.  I decided early one morning to take a walk there; just me and my dog, Bernie.  It was a beautiful morning and a great day for a walk  We first walked through the apple orchard and past the Bluebird Trail which is an Eagle Scout project of one local young man, who has made and installed birdhouses for bluebirds along a mile long trail.  I also walked past the gatekeepers house and storage building. I really don't know what the building is/was used for, but I love the ancient building techniques and the fact that it has been able to last so long.

                                              Apple orchard.

                                             Gate keeper's house.

                                                         Storage house?

Old construction.

                                                                       Bluebird trail.

                                                          Mark Bird Lane.

As I walked down the lane and through some woods, I saw the remains of an old structure.  I suspect that they were once a house for a woodcutter's family or a collier's (charcol maker) family, but I don't really know.  It leaves me with curiosity about generations ago as I stand in what used to be a house.  Who lived here?  What were they like?  How many children were raised here?

                                                   Mark Bird Lane.

   As I neared the church, I passed through a field with some brilliant yellow trees.  They were mezmerizing!

  

I came around a corner and could see the old church down the hill.   It is small and white and the parking lot has a lean-to for horses and carriages to wait while their families attend church.  The church is surrounded by a rock wall and inside the wall are many graves.  The oldest I found was dated 1807, but others were too worn to read the dates.  There were several marked as the graves of civil war veterans, and many children.  Lots of women died in their twenties and early thirties.  I assume of childbirth.    The oldest person buried was 81 years old.  Life was different then.  I don't know if I could withstand the death of one of my children, but I also understand that it was more expected at that time.  I think that this is the first time I have been in a graveyard too old for the large numbers of flu deaths of the 1918s to be an overwhelming presence.  I don't know anything about epidemics of the 1800s.

                                                              Front view of the church.

                                                                 Looking over the back wall.

                                                  Side yard.

                                                      Buggy parking.

                                                                   Old worn gravestone.

                                                            The children's graves are sobering.

                                                          There are several civil war veteran graves.

                                                         Oldest datable grave.

Even churches needed outhouses!

Home sweet home!

In Washington State, where I am from, very old historical remains are seldom more than 100 years old.  I am not used to seeing things that are 300 years old or older.  It is very moving and helps me to understand how hard people worked to create our wonderful country.  I am proud to be American most of the time!