John Brown Farm State Historic Site - North Elba, NY
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 44° 15.123 W 073° 58.278
18T E 582125 N 4900382
John Brown purchased this property and became a conductor in the Underground Railroad, actively assisting and teaching black families to farm before he went on to, first Kansas, then Harper's Ferry - and is now buried here.
Waymark Code: WMTMV9
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 12/13/2016
Views: 8
In North Elba, south of the Lake Placid Airport, is the John Brown Farm State Historic Site, preserved as a monument to the abolitionist John Brown and to its connection to the Underground Railroad.
The site is located off New York Route 73. From the village of Lake Placid, take Route 73 east, then take a right at a fork in the road with John Brown Road. Follow this road south, crossing Old Military Road, and follow this road to the end at a cul-de-sac. Park anywhere along the road.
The site has the Brown homestead, a barn, a dammed pond, a small cemetery, and a statue of John Brown, plus several acres of land. There is a modest cost to get a tour of the house.
The house is a modest wooden structure with a peaked roof. Inside, the house is simply built and furnished. The tour guide had stated that the structure is original but had been modified over time. The furniture was from the era, but not from the family. Part of the reason was that when John Brown was hanged in 1859, his family soon afterward moved to California.
The barn is also a wooden structure with a peaked roof. The bottom portion was open where there was a video and exhibit there about the Underground Railroad in the New York area.
The pond is shallow and the earthworks aren't that high, so there is no opportunity to run a mill.
The cemetery is lined with an iron fence and has a large boulder in it, with plaques embedded in it. There are grave markers as well. Fourteen bodies are buried here: John Brown, his grandfather, John Brown, and 12 of John Brown's (the younger) followers who led an ill-fated raid on the armory at Harper's Ferry, Virginia (then).
John Brown originated in Springfield, MA. He bought the property and moved his family here. He became a conductor along the Underground Railroad, where he taught black families to farm. Unfortunately, the area was not well suited for farming, and many of his followers moved on. He eventually went to Kansas to help his sons in the battles to make Kansas a free-state, then later to Harper's Ferry, where he was captured and hanged for his actions there. His body was returned to the farm and is still there, now.
Historic Site Web Site:
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visit link)