Here comes the sun

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The sun sets Wednesday in this photo of a line of trees in a field along Gaines Basin Road, just south of the Erie Canal (across from PAWS Animal Shelter).

The temperatures will be on the rise the next few days and the sun will be out after the recent cold spell with snow. Today is forecast for a high of 52, followed by a high of 57 on Friday, 61 on Saturday and 68 on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. All four days are forecast to be sunny.

This is the swing next to the former cobblestone schoolhouse on Gaines Basin Road during last night’s sunset.

The former cobblestone schoolhouse was built in 1832, making it one of the oldest cobblestone buildings in the area. The building has been the focus of preservation efforts beginning last year after being largely abandoned since 1944. Last year it got a new roof. Boards were removed from windows and sashes restored. Junk was cleared out.

Members of the Orleans County Historical Association also put up a historical marker for the school. The marker notes that Caroline Phipps taught at the school. She went on to be a distinguished educator and ran the Phipps Union Seminary in Albion from 1837 to 1875. That spot later became the County Clerk’s Building.

The sun reflects in the windows of the former schoolhouse. The Orleans County Historical Association this year plans repairs to the floor, and the building will be rewired and ceiling and walls plastered. Some missing sections of cobblestones will be replaced with appropriate soft lime mortar.

The Historical Association wants to use the building as a meeting house and display area.