I really enjoyed talking to the Town of Jerusalem Historical Society last night. The Branchport library was packed!

Back to Brink Hill

I finally met Madis Senner and his dog Pepper yesterday. Madis shares my interest in ancient stone structures and publishes his own blog at http://motherearthprayers.blogspot.com/

Madis focuses on the how these structures connect to mother earth and the energy that runs through them. He has some interesting ideas including using dowsing rods to detect energy. Although I have a different approach to my research I do appreciate his point of view and enjoyed walking through the woods on a beautiful November day. The hill we visited just off of Brink Hill Road, East of Naples, is a special place. There are hundreds of Native American stone piles in this area but this one hill side has the best preserved collection of them. They make a zig zag line up the hill. At the top of the hill is a very large three tiered rectangular cairn with a circular mound on the end. This is a larger version the the one in Clark Gully.

Anyone who has been to this spot with me has been convinced that these stone piles were not made by farmers. Unfortunately my camera malfunctioned and the photos I took didn't come out but I did take a few with my phone that I will post.
This is State land, part of the Hi-Tor preserve. It would be nice if the state recognized these structures and took steps to protect them. Unfortunately for whatever reason the DEC and Historical Preservation department don't have time or interest in examining these archeological treasures.

East Hill Naples

My wife and I went back to one of the first sites I found years ago. This area was once the site  of an Algonquin fort and lies directly across the valley from Clark Gulley (the birth place of the Seneca). If you think about the picture of the gulley in this post you will know why the Seneca viewed this spot as a birth place. From the valley floor you can even see legs. This hill also offers the farthest view of the head of Canandaigua lakes and the forts that were located there.

Introduction

Welcome to my blog. I started this blog to document the ancient stone structures located in the Hi-Tor recreational area near Naples. When I had documented all of the information on that area I began to expand the scope of this blog. It now includes information on stone structures located throughout Western New York. Blogger publishes post chronologically so some important post have gotten lost in past. I am including links to key past post in this introduction.

Italy Hill

Who created the cairns?

Stone Pile Cluster Video

Clark Gulley

Stone Pile Styles

Hi-Tor

Pioneer Accounts

Wesley Hill Summer Update

My wife and I went back to Wesley Hill Woods to take pictures of the Stone Piles we found last winter. At the time they were covered with snow so I thought I would go back when it was warm to see what was hidden under the snow. Well, the best laid plans went to naught. I waited to long. We have had such a wet spring that the woods have grown into a jungle. The undergrowth and mud made it hard too walk and obscured the pictures. The pile pictured above is quite large. 15 feet across and very long, 35 feet. It was in disarray but stacked areas are visible underneath the rubble.  This cairn was located on top of an active spring in the lowest part of the woods, below the cabin.

We found another pile by the road on the way out. Like many of these Native American stone cairns this one was topped with a quartz stone that glowed in the sunlight. My talented wife took this picture.

Wesley Hill

I haven't posted anything new in a while but that doesn't mean I haven't been looking for new area's. Last summer I was invited to walk through the Wesley woods area just up the hill from the South end of Canadice Lake. Low and behold three stone piles appeared just off the trail. I went back today and found a total of six piles marked on the map included. They have signs of stacking and i am sure they are of native American origin. If any readers have more information about stone piles in this area please contact me.

Clark Gully Revisited

View from the gullies edge.

First Pile Found

Stone Pile located on a Spring

I went for a hike yesterday not expecting to find any new discoveries. It was a beautiful winter Saturday. The temps were in the single digits but the sun was out, the ground was covered with a light dusting of snow and there was no wind. I had found twenty stone piles (with the help of David Robinson) on the South side of Clark gully many years ago but had never had any luck on the North side of the gully. There is a lot of rugged territory in this part of the Hi-Tor area and I had never explored this far North and West of the gully. My goal was to get a photo from a spot on the gully with a great view so I didn't have my GPS or my meter stick. I didn't get very far into the woods when three stone piles that were definitely of Native American origin found me. One was placed at the origin of a strong spring. A line of 10 piles going up the hill found me. I will be going back Monday to mark them with my GPS.