About

The People: We are Texans who came to love Vermont after serial vacationing there over a period of about 10 years. As city mice, we had spent decades in densely populated big cities living and raising children in suburbia. As country mice, we acquired relatively isolated rural property on a little mountain in the Green Mountain State that came with a long neglected camp. These accounts chronicle our efforts to save the camp and care for the land.

The Property: Across the years, parcels of land ebb and flow in size and ownership. This one is about an acre wide and 20 acres long, bounded to the north and east by a small year-round brook. The land was once part of a much larger parcel totaling several hundred acres. Logging is the common thread that runs through this parcel’s history, a history that involves farming, making maple syrup, and raising sheep. 

The House: Based on research to date, the existing two-story saltbox style house was built in 1895 by a brother and sister who unexpectedly inherited the property from their father. Use transitioned to a seasonal camp in the mid-1900s. It was last occupied in the early ’90s. Although each floor is about 600 square feet, only the ground floor was finished and three large wood stoves were used for heat and cooking. We were repeatedly encouraged to tear down the existing structure due to standing water in the cellar and associated foundation issues. We were totally conflicted over whether to tear down the farmhouse or try to save it (and how).