June 17, Montour Falls, NY

Here we are at Montour Falls. This water fall is right behind the homes in town. We were told that this was a must see. We drive into the town following directions we had been given, but can't find the fall. We ask a couple who are out for their morning walk for directions, still can't find the fall and don't see any signage. We stop at a dry cleaners and the owner says, "Go to the end of this street and look up." By golly! there it is! The sign is back of the street which explains why we did not see it. We had not expected the fall to be right in the town.

While we are admiring and photographing the fall we see the owner of one of the houses nearest the fall working on the wood trim of the back of the garage and stop to talk to her. Her house was built in the early 1800's and is designated as an historical home, as are many other in the town. We ask her if the sound of the water fall was something she enjoys, finds annoying or has learned to ignore. She replies that it is pleasant except at the time of year the snow melts and then it is very loud. Her house is so close to the water fall that she is continually replacing the wood siding and corner molding on the back of the garage due to wood rot from the moisture.

As we like to do when meeting the local citizens of the towns we visit, we ask her to recommend a place to have lunch. She tells us that the restaurant at the Seneca Lake Marina has great food at a decent price. She also gives a brief history of her home.

When we go back to the van we notice that we are parked in front of this library and decide to go in. The librarian and her assistant tell us the history of this building, which still houses many of the original furniture and furnishings. They are proud of the building and we are impressed with it's beauty and wonderful preservation.

The building was originally a bank.

This area with it's beautiful leaded glass windows was an addition done some time prior to 1904 at which time the owner presented the building to the village for literary and historical purposes.

The Bear enjoys some reading with one of the books in this room of the library.