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Plymouth Reservoir...Anyone remember?

Okay, some of you old timers, I need help remembering where this was located. My Grandfather had a piece of land there with a little tar paper camp built on site. I can remember the lake  was full of stumps and very hard to navagate. It was great perch and bullhead fishing and can remember many cookouts with pans of fresh caught fish.

I can recall that the camp sat quite a ways back in off a muddy dirt road. We had to open a gate to get to the camp. We had a loft with a ladder to reach a large bed. Once in a while we would make it an over night trip. Of course the old outhouse was a large part of the camp.

I thought I might take a trip down there this summer, but cannot remember how to get there. Any help appreciated.  Pappy

 

 


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16 comments on this topic:

patmlaw says:
February 7th, 2008 at 1:12 am
According to Google Earth, take Route 23 out of Norwich toward Plymouth. Go past the turn (Route 16) to Plymouth and stay on 23. Turn left on Chad Aldrich Road. Go until you come to Reservoir Hill Road and turn right. This will take you to Plymouth Reservoir.

Perhaps someone else will have a shortcut?
hsmith says:
February 7th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Plymouth Reservoir will always be a fond memory for me. My Aunt had several camps on the East side of the reservoir. My dad and some of my uncles used to go up there and fish all the time. She rented boats so we had plenty of them to use. My earliest memories were of taking a row boat out with nothing but a pole. There was some many stumps you could almost walk across the pond. But, the fishing was fantastic. I have a picture of my dad and uncle with a string of pickeral (sp) with none of them under about two foot. We spent many a night in one of the camps. We would fish half the night and most all day long.
In later years my sister bought a place on the other side of the reservoir. They expanded it and ended up living there year around. The hardest part was getting there because they never paved or improved the road into the camps on that side. You could tear up a car just getting in to the camp. We had many family gatherings up there over the years. Some times you could go out fishing and get caught in a quick storm. You would hear the thunder and never get back to shore in time. I loved going to sleep while listening to the many bull frogs. More than once my mom made a nice plate of fried frog legs from the reservoir.
Hey Pappy, keep those memories coming.
pappy says:
February 7th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Thanks all...I did Google Earth the reservoir and lo and behold, I got a beautiful picture. Where are the woods? There are camps all around the lake now and it is nothing like I remember. Okay, so it was 55 years ago. My Grandfathers camp was the last one out on a very rough and muddy road. Right in the middle of the woods. There wasn't any camps across the lake at that time. HSmith hit the nail right on the head. We were night fishing one night and got hung up on a stump. Water starts coming in back of the boat and it scared the .... out of me. Someone heard me yelling and rowed out to give us a hand. On Google, it looks like the stumps have been removed. Would like to hear from someone who has a camp up there. Someone told me a tornado went through there awhile back and tore up the woods pretty bad.
jiggie91829 says:
February 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Dear Pappy of Plymouth reservoir Past--Iwould like your e mail adresss - mine is rjh29@frontiernet.net;All the real old pr info people are gone - Elmer Harris -Floyd Cookhouse-Charlie Shorter Sr's father -Chan Cobb - Sheldon Abraham -If i knew who your grandfather was i probably get you close enough so you could wee-wee in the old outhouse.Margaret Cobb used to fry bullheads in butter batter and craker crums and it would melt in your mouth.
says:
February 10th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I currently live at Plymouth Reservoir on Elmer Harris Road. The Plymouth Reservoir Lot Owners Association (PRLOA) sends a newsletter to all of the current property owners. We have been trying to create a scrap book of the reservior. Any information PHOTOS any of you might have would be greatly appreciated. My e-mail address is tanseysauto@frontiernet.net Don't take Chan Aldrich Road stay on Route 23 and take the next left Reservoir Hill Road This will take you to the reservoir. Lets hear from all of you.
pappy says:
February 11th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Good to here from you George.... I will look through my old pictures and see what I can come up with. I do have some on old 35mm film that my Grandmother took. I have some of inside our camp if you wish to see them. Think I might have a couple of our dock and stumps. Have stumps been removed?
george says:
February 14th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Also good to hear from you. My search for older pictures has been quite a strugle. Most of the stumps have been removed but there are still some there and they are just below the surface so extreme care must be taken. We do have activities at the reservoir during the summer. If you would like a copy of our latest newsletter send me your address and I will send you one. I would like to see any pictures or slides you have.
Len says:
February 14th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Len says:
February 14th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Pappy--When I was dating my wife in Minnesota in 1962, I told her that my rich Grandfather had a lodge on the lake, much like you would see in Switzerland...Should have seen her face, after we married in 1964, when I brought her to New York and she got to see the tar paper camp at the Reservoir....Your brother and I spent a lot of time there and would not trade the times we had with any lodge in Switzerland....Thanks for the memories...Len
pappy says:
February 14th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Len...LMAO..You are amazing...The 'Lodge" was afun place. Me and my buddies loved to go up there. One time I left a pound of hamburg on the table. A couple weeks later I went back up and found a very disgusting mess there. I have only 1 or 2 pictures that I am going to send to George. One is my wife and Chuck in the boat and shows a lot of stumps in the background. Good stuff. Keep it coming......
Mary lou bromley says:
February 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Hi all, I remember Plymouth Resevior very well. AS A child, I helped my parents when they built a tar paper camp on the road by Yhe gate you used to open to go in. I remember Mr. Sisson, who owned the poperty, before it was sold off into lots. he had a farm down the road. mlbromley@ Yahoo.com
pappy says:
February 15th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Hi Mary Lou. That is the same way we went to my Grandfathers camp. Had to open a gate and close it on way in to camp. At the very end of "road" was our tar paper shack. Probably the same Sisson's that owned Sisson's Dairy Bar on Rt. 12.
Mary lou bromley says:
February 15th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Hi Pappy, I do not think that was the same Sission family that owned the dairy bar. Think they were from Plymouth and ran Sission's dairy. While we are remembering, can you tell me what ever happened to Hillcrest Coversation park, up by the stone quarry? When I was in high school we planted many trees up there. The names I remember up at the Resevior in the old days were Beadle amd McBurnie
pappy says:
February 18th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Sorry Mary lou...The names do not ring a bell. We are talking, in my case, about 50-55 years ago. Class of 56. Spent many days in Quarry but do not know of Hillcrest, but I'll bet someone here does.
Daytona says:
February 18th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Hi all. My family used to have a camp at the reservoir from the 1960's till sometime in the 1980's. It was the first one on the left after passing through the gate many have mentioned. Haven't been up there since, so I don't know if our old camp is still standing. I remember the stumps, the cow pies left by the diary cattle in our yard, the way the lake would look like a mirror around sunset, and lots of fishing. Caught many bass, perch, pickerel, sunfish, and bullhead there. George, I may have a couple photos for you. I also know another family that has many photos of the stump removal and burning. If you would like, I can contact them for you. Will the scrapbook be online? I would be interested in seeing it.
George says:
February 26th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Daytona I would like to have any photos you or anyone else has. When I first bought a camp at the reservoir we were still taking out stumps along the shoreline. We hauled them into the woods. I guess the tornado took care of them because I have not seen many of them since. If we get enough for a scrapbook I think it would be a good idea to have it online. We will be having breakfasts during the summer May 25, June 15, July 6, August 3, Sept 7. These are open to the public. Come on up and look around and enjoy an outdoor breakfast too.
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