“Steeple” – Reformed Church of Stone Arabia, NY

Here we are in May and with the profusion of wildflowers, I find myself lacking in any recent mono images. So, I’m back to the 2015 archives and an ancestry trip to the Mohawk Valley, in New York State, where my family originally settled after arriving from Germany in 1710. They came to America seeking a new life after escaping war and famine in the Palatine region of Germany.

When some of the natives of the Mohawk Valley saw the poor condition of the immigrants, they welcomed them to come to the Mohawk Valley to settle. The relationship between the Mohawks and the settlers was one of mutual trust and respect.

One of the first things these early settlers did was erect churches, few of which survive today because they were destroyed during the multiple wars and raids that occurred in this strategically valuable area.

When I arrived in Stone Arabia, searching for family roots, I came immediately across this church building, whose name I recognised from family records as being the church that was constructed by my ancestors and was their place of worship for many years. Despite wars like the French Indian War and the American Revolution, this building survived.

I made many images of it but this one of the steeple, with the churning clouds seemed to represent the history of this place the best.

Nikon D300
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G I AF-S VR Zoom @ 105mm
1/320 sec, f/9.0, ISO 250