Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Arts & Culture, Industry & Commerce, Site

Location

1293 NY-30, Wells, NY 12190, USA

Lat/Long

43.3875759, -74.288239

Grant Recipient

Wells Historical Society, Inc.

In April 1820, Barnadoes Bratt purchased this property for $150. The purchase included the, “…privileges and advantages of water, water courses, mills, mill seats [sites]…” and the right to raise the mill dam six inches higher than its current height. By 1873, the Report on the Topographical Survey of the Adirondack Wilderness of New York by Verplank Colvin shows not only the dam still remaining, but a tannery on the site. Photos in the collection of the Wells Historical Society show workers standing in front of the Hosley Tannery and the Wells Tannery in the late 1800s.

Along with tanneries, the site included the Adirondack Wood Products Co., a veneer and bobbin mill. A photo at the Wells Historical Society taken about 1890 shows the construction of a cast concrete building to be used for the veneer mill. Unfortunately, the building was consumed by fire in March 1917 and only the concrete shell remained. (Norwich Sun, March 9, 1917) In the 1920s, the Adirondack Lumber Co. opened on the site and ran a sawmill and lumber yard until 1976. (Leader-Herald, August 23, 1998) In 1987, artist John Van Alstine purchased the site and converted it to a sculpture park and studio. After 2000, sculptor Caroline Ramersdorfer joined him in maintaining the nine-acre site and garden, regularly opening it to the public for exhibitions and tours. As of 2021, the cast concrete building still stands as do the old mill dams and a number of buildings that speak to the former uses of the property.

Links

• John Van Alstine Studio
• Sculpture Garden
• Property History & Photos