Fairhaven Treasures will have second Peace Garden in Orleans County

Photo by Tom Rivers – The front lawn at Fairhaven Treasures will soon be transformed into an international peace garden.

GAINES – A historic homestead that was renovated and reopened as an art gallery and high-end co-op late last year will soon have an International Peace Garden in its front lawn.

Fairhaven Treasures, at the southeast corner of routes 98 and 104, will have a garden, three flag poles and a stone wall that says “Fairhaven.” That is the name John Proctor gave for the hamlet when he lived there more than 200 years ago.

Proctor is known as the Paul Revere of Ridge Road because he rode along the Ridge warning settlers that the British were coming during the War of 1812. He had a log cabin at the corner of 98 and 104 before the large brick house was built in 1834.

File photo by Tom Rivers – The creek that runs by the Cobblestone Society Museum on Route 98, just south of Route 104, is named for John Proctor. The creek is called “Proctor Brook.”

Ray Burke and his wife Linda now own the property and they worked most of last year upgrading the site. There will be a grand opening for Fairhaven Treasures on May 3-4.

Gaines Town Supervisor Carol Culhane assisted with the renovation providing some of the manual labor. She also connected with the International Peace Garden Foundation about having a site in Gaines at Proctor’s former property.

“It’s a great tourist possibility,” she said.

Fairhaven will be the second peace garden in the county. Brown’s Berry Patch dedicated the first one last year.

File photo by Tom Rivers – Bob and Deborah Brown dedicated a peace garden at Brown’s Berry Patch last October. They were joined by Paula Savage, right, of Batavia who is founder of the Peace Garden Foundation.

The garden locations need to have a historical connection to the War of 1812. At the Browns, family matriarch Bathshua Brown settled in the area in 1804 when the trees were so dense in Carlton the area was known as the Black North. She helped fight off the British in the war and took one of their captains captive.

Bathshua and her pioneering spirit also is noted on a historical marker in front of Brown’s Berry Patch.

The Fairhaven garden will include flag poles for the American, Canadian and Peace Garden flags. Culhane said it will enhance the historic district along the Ridge, which includes the Cobblestone Society Museum.