Easton
(chapter excerpt)
The Town of Easton is still mostly farm country. The flats along the Hudson, still prone to flooding despite the dams and locks, are rich, fertile loam, with hardly a stone in them. The adjacent hills are full of stones, but the sturdy farmers are accustomed to the hard work of pulling rocks out of fields. The picturesque stone walls represent centuries of such labor. In days past, draft animals or a tractor would pull a wooden raft called a “stone boat” over the field, and the rocks were pried up and rolled or heaved onto it, to be dragged to the nearest wall.
Many of the farms are still owned by the descendants of the first settlers. Job Wright purchased his farm along the Hudson shortly after the French and Indian War. His descendants have worked it ever since, although more recently the fields have been cultivated by another local farmer with a large-scale operation and modern equipment. From the Wright farm, you can look across the Hudson to the Great Redoubt of the British forces at Saratoga, where deer are browsing among the cannon on the battlefield. The place has a timeless feel. But for the paved road and utility poles, this could be 1907 or even 1807.
The Wright Farm
2006; gouache on canvas;
11 x 14 in.
The Wright family has owned and operated this farm for over
two hundred years. The farmhouse faces southwest and sits
near River Road, which winds along the Hudson to Albany.
On the opposite side of the river, one can see a portion of the
Saratoga Battlefield and Burgoyne’s redoubt.