Welcome to Watertown!

I've been here nearly six whole months and I have yet to post any pictures of Watertown. I guess that might make it difficult for anybody to see what my new town is like, wouldn't it? Here are some pictures I took back in April on an unusually nice day.

These show the view from Thompson Park, an Olmsted Park built on a hill overlooking the city. Olmsted was the landscape architect who designed Central Park.

This picture is especially interesting. It's at least eight miles from Watertown to Sackets Harbor, the nearest town on Lake Ontario, but that has to be what this body of water is in the distance.

This church is on the public square. It would be more beautiful without all the street signs, but too many main roads converge at the square. For those of you who were at MSU before maybe 2005 (or even earlier???), think 5-points/malfunction junction, only bigger. If you don't know where you're going, you're in big big trouble.

This statue is at the top of a large (maybe 25' across) fountain in the center of the square. The fountain is lit up at night and is really very pretty.

There are two soldiers and a plaque on another large statue in the square.

The plaque reads "Mr. and Mrs. George Cooks Memorial - In grateful memory of the soldiers and sailors of Jefferson County who fought or fell in defense of the Union and the Freedom of Man". You don't see that in the South very much.

Stones are used to build just about everything - bridges, houses, fences, or tunnels.

The Black River is the water for which Watertown is named. The water powered factories and mills that paid to build the whole town. After industry collapsed several decades ago, the town was struggling to survive. Then in the 1980s the 10th Mountain Division of the Army was reactivated and located here at Ft. Drum, and that brought money and people here and the town started revitalization.

I'm debating going around to take pictures of houses in town. I don't want to be the creeper outside who looks like she's casing your house, but there are so many beautiful Victorian houses here I might just have to do it. I hope you enjoyed the brief tour!

~Shellaine~