Wellesley Island

 July 23, 2021

Swan Bay Resort, Alexandria Bay, NY

And they are off once again....this time taking the big bridge over the St. Lawrence Seaway/River to Wellesley Island, one of the larger in the chain of 1,864 islands.  The mission is to locate Hart House.

Hart House, which has recently served as a historic B & B on Wellesley Island, was actually built on Hart Island in 1871.

Here's a mind boggling thought.  Put yourself back in time 121 years ago, during the winter, when the St. Lawrence River was frozen under a thick layer of ice.  Then picture yourself as a very rich, self made millionaire who just purchased Hart Island with a house on it that was in the way of the Castle that you wanted to erect for the love of your life.  Solution:  Move the house to a nearby island on a another piece of property that you own.  Yes, George Boldt dragged Hart House from Hart Island to Wellesley Island across the frozen St. Lawrence. Hard to picture that 8 bedroom house with all those chimneys being moved in the cold winter months without collapsing.

Locating the next 1890's Victorian mansion wasn't as rewarding.  In May of 2021 it was puchased for $3.6 million and is a private residence with an entrance gate.

George Boldt's grand daughter inherited the 9,444 sq foot home from her mother, Clover and lived in it until her death in 1963.  

And then there was the Post Office that was never located.  The GPS announced,  'You have arrived!'  But there was no blue PO box hung on the trees as far as we could see.  No problem, we knew where the Post Office is located in Alexandria Bay.  Back over the bridge and no GPS guidance needed to send the mail.  

I was delighted to see everyone return for noon playtime!!  They didn't even attempt to cross the last bridge into Canada.  The signage said 'essential travel only' and Dad thoughts were that it is ESSENTIAL to zip into a Canadian Walmart for a big bag of Robin Hood multigrain bread flour that is not sold ...or even shipped...to the US.  Uncle Steve told him he really didn't think that would go over at the customs crossing so no multigrain bread flour on this excursion.  

They didn't hang around the campsite for the whole afternoon as they had to fit in a visit to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton before departing tomorrow.

What beautiful woodwork and craftmanship.

Once fiberaglass became available, the wooden boats were forgotten.  

But volunteers and enthusiasts have brought numerous wooden crafts back to life.  They were polished to a rich, glowing shine!!  I think Dad enjoyed checking out the old motors as much as the grain in the wood!!

And of course no trip to the St. Lawrence would be complete without a toe dunking for Aunt Carol.  Are the fish biting?

I'm Chloe