We’ve really tried to make the most of our time here in Ithaca but even so there are many places we haven’t managed to visit. Two places at the top of my list to cram in before we left were The William Seward house and Harriet Tubman house. They are both in Auburn just 40 minutes from here. The tour Seward house was absolutely fascinating. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside unfortunately but it was lavishly decorated and everything was original. Our guide described the family as pack rats – but at least they hoarded some amazing stuff. Seward travelled extensively and had fabulous souvenirs including a bust from Pompeii and a table with a Roman mosaic. There were also many original paintings including an incredible landscape by Thomas Cole.
The man in the green polo was our docent and is a direct descendant of Seward so he felt very comfortable poking fun at some of the family portraits.
This is the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged that has been restored. They are working on restoring her personal home. There was very little left from Tubman’s original estate but it was still really cool just to see where she lived and think about her building the community here.
3 comments:
I loved visiting these two sites. It totally amazed me how extravagent the Seward House is/was and just across the street stands Harriet Tubman's humble abode. Crazy.
I'm glad you got a little vacation time in before your big move.
Holy cow, that docent looks like Seward!
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