terryplace and the picnic grove

The location at Topsmead which everyone referred to as “Terryplace” was part of three parcels of land purchased from Frank Turkington in 1923 that comprised about 65 acres. The property included both sides of Jefferson Hill Road South. The smaller of the three pieces, about 8 acres, was on the east side of the road and bordered land to the north and east owned until 1925 by Philip and George Buell.


The two pieces of land on the west side of the road totaled about 58 acres. The northern piece of about 11 acres bordered the area where the wildlife viewing shed, and the butterfly garden now stand. (This piece of property would later be acquired by Miss Edith from Martin Beirne in 1926.) On the southern parcel, there was an entrance from Jefferson Hill Road South which still exists.


About 500 feet from the entrance, along an unpaved field road, was an old barn. It had a stone foundation, with a dugout entrance which was used to store a “stone boat”. This was a big flat platform on skids used to haul the stones for building the walls around Topsmead. On the main floor of the barn, small equipment was stored, because the ceiling was only about 6 feet high. Above this was a mezzanine area that housed the buggy and the one-horse sleigh and was reached by a set of open stairs. The beams in the barn were huge and the frame was constructed with wooden pegs. Later, Miss Edith had another barn built attached to this one, but it was much taller to accommodate the hay loader which was about 12 to 15 feet high. Most of the other haying equipment was also stored there including the hay wagon, the hay rake and the windrow rake. Hay, along with apples, were the two primary farm crops grown at Topsmead.

THE PICNIC AREA
On the south side of the entrance from Jefferson Hill Road South, a picnic area was established.  A stone fireplace/barbeque was built, the remains of which still stand today. A three-sided shed adjacent to the stone barbeque held a picnic table, benches, and equipment as well as firewood. I believe that the shed was expanded later. A bit further past the barn on an unpaved field road, a hand-pumped well supplied the area with water. Also, to the south and west was a grove of trees which provided a shady spot.
​
Miss Edith enjoyed hosting family and friends at Terryplace for informal picnics. Sometimes she did the cooking! Employees at Topsmead were also welcome to hold their own picnics there. Our family hosted a picnic there each year. One year it would be my mother’s side of the family, the other year, my father’s family. We all parked our cars across the field road and would periodically run a car back to our house near the barns if needed.


A SAD ENDING
In the mid to late 1970s, after the state had acquired the property as a State Forest, they used the barns at Terryplace to store equipment. The barns were burglarized by thieves, and then they set fire to the barns, to cover their tracks. Both barns burned to the ground due to the lack of a water supply in the area.  I believe that the thieves were eventually caught.