Marc Goldberg Photography
Spirits, Water, and Power
Beardslee Mausoleum, Town of Manheim, New York
April 2008
The mausoleum is hidden in the woods off a seasonal road not far from Beardslee Castle and "Beardslee Falls" in the East Canada Creek. It was built by Augustus Beardslee and stands on private land. The crypt and nearby area is rumored to be haunted. Unfortunately, many years ago the mausoleum was vandalized and some of the bodies inside were desecrated. The metal gates are gone and all that remains now is the stone structure. The contents were moved to a cemetery somewhere in the nearby City of Little Falls as far as I understand. It does not seem to be maintained in any way.
I have been to the crypt a number of times now and have taken numerous photos of it; I am hardly the first to do this. I hesitated to actually put one on up on Flickr because I felt as if it's not entirely appropriate; it's not in a public cemetery and is on private land. In the end, however, I have decided that it's a very unique location that should be shared.
It is also one of the few remaining makers for a community that once existed in this area called "Beardslee's Mills" or "Beardslee's City."
It represents a bygone era when the Beardslee family lived on East Creek in Manheim and helped bring prosperity to the area. John Beardslee was the pioneer of the family to first settle East Creek. Born in 1759 in Sharon, Conn., he moved to the Mohawk Valley where he undertook many building projects including mills in the Utica-Whitestown area and a number of bridges in the Little Falls and Fort Plain area. He liked the area and in 1794 purchased a 100-acre tract on which he built a home and mills along the creek in the town of Manheim. A settlement grew up around his home called Beardslee's Mills or Beardslee's City. By 1800, the town consisted of two stores, two taverns, a blacksmith shop, nail factory, cooperage, a brewery, a sawmill and grist mill. When the Mohawk Turnpike and the Erie Canal came along, trade began to dwindle because of the lack of proximity to the two main thoroughfares and the village slowly declined. All that remains today is the old cemetery located near the Beardslee Mausoleum, hidden from view in the woods.
(from The Evening Telegram; Local, Saturday, September 2, 2000)
The cemetery is all but abandoned and only a few headstones are left. I often wonder how many people are buried here and if any listing of names exists.
More information about the Beardslee family, the castle, the East Canada Creek, and the general area (there is some overlap of info):
www.beardsleecastle.com/ghostpage.htm
www.beardsleecastle.com/historypage.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beardslee_Castle
www.darcisplace.com/darci/beargr.htm
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyhchs/townhistories/manheim.html
history.rays-place.com/ny/herk-menheim.htm
www.imoves.net/BeardsleeCastleHistory.html
www.romeobserver.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17366052
www.fortklock.com/tumbling.htm
www.fortklock.com/rockseastcreek.htm
www.threerivershms.com/eastcreekpower.htm
www.dupontcastle.com/castles/beardsle.htm
www.realhaunts.com/united-states/beardslee-manor-and-castle
www.cosmicsociety.com/beardsleymanor.htm
Spirits, Water, and Power
Beardslee Mausoleum, Town of Manheim, New York
April 2008
The mausoleum is hidden in the woods off a seasonal road not far from Beardslee Castle and "Beardslee Falls" in the East Canada Creek. It was built by Augustus Beardslee and stands on private land. The crypt and nearby area is rumored to be haunted. Unfortunately, many years ago the mausoleum was vandalized and some of the bodies inside were desecrated. The metal gates are gone and all that remains now is the stone structure. The contents were moved to a cemetery somewhere in the nearby City of Little Falls as far as I understand. It does not seem to be maintained in any way.
I have been to the crypt a number of times now and have taken numerous photos of it; I am hardly the first to do this. I hesitated to actually put one on up on Flickr because I felt as if it's not entirely appropriate; it's not in a public cemetery and is on private land. In the end, however, I have decided that it's a very unique location that should be shared.
It is also one of the few remaining makers for a community that once existed in this area called "Beardslee's Mills" or "Beardslee's City."
It represents a bygone era when the Beardslee family lived on East Creek in Manheim and helped bring prosperity to the area. John Beardslee was the pioneer of the family to first settle East Creek. Born in 1759 in Sharon, Conn., he moved to the Mohawk Valley where he undertook many building projects including mills in the Utica-Whitestown area and a number of bridges in the Little Falls and Fort Plain area. He liked the area and in 1794 purchased a 100-acre tract on which he built a home and mills along the creek in the town of Manheim. A settlement grew up around his home called Beardslee's Mills or Beardslee's City. By 1800, the town consisted of two stores, two taverns, a blacksmith shop, nail factory, cooperage, a brewery, a sawmill and grist mill. When the Mohawk Turnpike and the Erie Canal came along, trade began to dwindle because of the lack of proximity to the two main thoroughfares and the village slowly declined. All that remains today is the old cemetery located near the Beardslee Mausoleum, hidden from view in the woods.
(from The Evening Telegram; Local, Saturday, September 2, 2000)
The cemetery is all but abandoned and only a few headstones are left. I often wonder how many people are buried here and if any listing of names exists.
More information about the Beardslee family, the castle, the East Canada Creek, and the general area (there is some overlap of info):
www.beardsleecastle.com/ghostpage.htm
www.beardsleecastle.com/historypage.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beardslee_Castle
www.darcisplace.com/darci/beargr.htm
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyhchs/townhistories/manheim.html
history.rays-place.com/ny/herk-menheim.htm
www.imoves.net/BeardsleeCastleHistory.html
www.romeobserver.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17366052
www.fortklock.com/tumbling.htm
www.fortklock.com/rockseastcreek.htm
www.threerivershms.com/eastcreekpower.htm
www.dupontcastle.com/castles/beardsle.htm
www.realhaunts.com/united-states/beardslee-manor-and-castle
www.cosmicsociety.com/beardsleymanor.htm