Apples & Architecture in Peru
Thursday, September 5, 2024
Bordering the Blue Line of the Adirondack Park, the Champlain Valley community of Peru has featured farming and agriculture as a mainstay for over two hundred years. Today, it remains one of New York State’s largest producers of apples. Guided by experts and passionate residents, this outing takes us to a variety of private and public buildings that explore Peru’s history at every level. We will start the day exploring Peru’s downtown buildings featuring numerous architectural styles and historic structures. These include the 1830s Gothic Revival-style Peru Community Church, the Peru Hardware store housed in an 1856 commercial building, the quaint Colonial Revival-style Peru Free Library designed by Plattsburgh architect Alvin Inman, and we gain special access to the iconic 1836 Heyworth/Mason sandstone industrial building along the Little Ausable River. Experience Peru’s deep connection to the Champlain Valley’s apple industry with a stroll around Forrence Orchard, established in 1956 and operated by third and fourth generations of the Forrence family. Lastly, we visit Mother Cabrini’s Shrine and St. Patrick’s Oratory, a shrine dedicated to the first canonized saint with American citizenship and an accompanying Irish-built, 19th century church, both of which tell a memorable story about the role of immigration in the story of our region and nation.
This tour is led by Peru Town Historian Helen Allen Nerska, Peru resident Christine Mullen, and several passionate home and business owners. The tour begins at 10 AM and ends around 4 PM.
The fee is $55 for AARCH members and $70 for non-members.
Please note that this outing includes a mile of walking over a mix of flat terrain, pavement, and dirt trails.