Hike to the Black Burial Ground
April 15, Saturday
Bement-Billings Farmstead 9am, Oakley Corners State Forest 10 am

The Oakley Corners State Forest is a tract of 1,042 acres mostly in the northern part of the Town of Owego. It was created by the purchase of two farms by New York State in 1933. Sixty years prior to becoming a state forest, a farmer by the name of Madison Livermore had turned his property into one of the most productive farms in the area. It was during this period of time, the 1870's, that Livermore employed black field hands all of whom had been born in Virginia. According to local lore, there was a cemetery for them. It now lies deep within the woods.

The significance of the site has been noted and application has been made for listing on the National Register. Officials of New York State have indicated that the site is worthy of consideration.

Tour is conducted by Ed Nizalowski. Meet at the Farmstead for orientation to the burial ground and for some background information on Black history in Tioga County. $2 donation.

The Natural World of the Farmstead
April 29, Saturday,
Bement-Billings Farmstead
1 pm - Woodlot Management
3 pm - Creekside habitat

Help the Society celebrate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day and the 125th anniversary of Arbor Day. Ken Paros, a forester with Mountain Top Hardwoods, will talk on woodlot management. Part of his philosophy includes leaving certain prize trees to reseed areas cut over and to leave a number of the old decaying trees for wildlife. He will also show how board feet is determined when surveying a timber stand and also show the process by which a tree is nominated for the Big Tree Registry. This will be done with the Farmstead's champion shagbark hickory, a "dinosaur" from an earlier age with a diameter of 51 inches.

Later in the afternoon Sheila Robble of Grandmother Moon's Herbal Emporium will show us the variety of plants and flowers that bloom along the East Branch of the Owego Creek. This will end at the site of a saw mill and grist mill that existed on the property back in the 1790's. Some evidence of the mill and its dam still exist. $2 donation.

A Hike to the Farmstead Woods

May 6, Saturday, Bement-Billings Farmstead
9 am - Environmental History Talk
10 am - Woods Hike

The attitudes toward the environment and the changes that occurred in the last 200 years on the Farmstead land will be given treatment by Ed Nizalowski. The woods hike will take the participant past our champion shagbark hickory and a maple grove that was the setting for the Northern Tioga County Fair from 1880-1916. Although the 30 or so acres of wooded hillside on the Farmstead property is of fairly recent origin, many of the trees near the top of the hill along the line fence may date from the early to mid-

1800's. The size and character of the trees can give the hiker a glimpse of the primeval wilderness that existed a mere 200 years ago. $2 donation.