John Brown Farm State Historic Site

Visited for the eclipse but was just as engaged by the fascinating and significant history of this almost sacred place. John Brown, who is buried here with much of his family and supporters, was centuries ahead of his time in terms of race relations and truly realizing the lofty promises set forth in our founding documents. And this museum captures the essence of his efforts with concise, straightforward exhibits that visually engage and contextualize the events that immortalized John Brown in the annals of U.S. history.

The guide was great, very informative. You could tell he loves history and wants to share. We are who we are because of history, John Brown was a man to be honored.

Went there outside the opening hours just to hang out and see :) there's plenty of information available outside the buildings and that is a must in the region.

That is great even for the kids and teenagers.

I love the park and the little hikes that are available. Wow.

One of the most important and beautiful historic site's I have have ever been too. The John Brown Farm State Historic Site is surrounded by the serene Adirondack Mountains. John Brown lived at the farm and was later buried here. The site includes the farmhouse where he lived, his gravesite, a memorial, a barn, hiking trails, and a visitor center.
Brown lived at the house for less than a year, and it was actually his family who lived at the farm. Brown moved to the area because he was broke and needed a place where his family would be safe. Gerrit Smith was an abolitionist who was giving away land to blacks in the Adirondacks agreed to give John Brown 40 acres and this became Brown's farm in the Adirondacks. Brown knew that he would not spend much time here was in Kansas fighting against slavery in the 1850's.
The house does have artifacts from John Brown's time there. The floorboards in the house are original. Other parts of it have been renovated for historic preservation. In the barn, there is an exhibit about Timbuctoo, the community of freed slaves that John Brown's house was a part of.
Tours of the house are given at the top of the hour. The hiking trails in the area are scenic and the visitor center has trail maps for them. You can visit the grounds for free and donations are accepted.
A very important site that should be viewed by all.

A beautiful place and a part of American history. Bitter and difficult as it may be, it is a place all should visit. I've visited many times over the years, most recently during February 2023, when the park and buildings themselves are not open. It has a character all its own in winter. It reminds one how tough the Adirondacks must have been to live in during the winter in the 1850s.

While vacationing in the area, we decided to stop at the historical John Brown Farm. When you first pull up to the site, you notice the bronze statue of Brown with an African American boy. Memorial Field has many cards posted with various instances of injustice that have taken place over time to people and it just made me so said to read some of them. It made me stop and think that at any time, no matter the situation, that that could have been me. As you walk down the path that takes you to the house, the small cemetary of where Brown is buried is to the left. A large bolder with two bronze placards tells of who all is buried with Brown. Across from the bolder are other grave markers, those of his children. Upon entering the house, the parlor is to your right. The room is modestly furnished and the only two pieces that actually belong to Brown and his wife are the wooden desk and bookcase. The other pieces allow you to get a sense of, what the furnishing may have looked like during that time. If time permits, I would love to take another tour of the house and barn before we leave the area to go back home, mostly to take more photos of inside the home and barn. If you love history then you definitely want to stop and check it out. Definetly worth stopping. Operate on donations from the public.

Wow. Thank you for those who chose to donate such a gift to recognize a man who stood up. I will be back. Peaceful, powerful and well preserved.

A moving and very informative historic site. Its small size makes it very easy to see and appreciate its history with just a short visit. The touchscreen displays are really worth exploring.

An amazing piece of history in a beautiful setting. The tribute to Black Lives Matter was stirring regardless of your politics. His soul goes marching on!

Great, well maintained trails and impactful history. This place is worth the stop!

What a great historical location. I learned more about John Brown today than I did in K-12. It's ridiculous we don't have more monuments to him.

Highly recommend making a stop here while in the area. The history of this place is so important.

I came for the striking, sublime overground beauty, but the coincidence of the underground beauty and MLK day was too ♥ to ignore, and stopping by this amazing historic stop was an experience I recommend with 5 stars.

This was an interesting stop. Chance to learn some important history. The app to listen to audio guide was helpful. The in-person guide was a good story teller. He got you into it. Lots of knowledge. He appeared to enjoy his job. We came few minutes late for the hourly tour. He welcomed us to his tour that was already started and then offered to go over what we missed. Very kind. Def recommend. Thanks for being open in off season too. ;)

Very nice RV park on the Ausable River. Great tent ⛺ sites. Gravelled level RV sites with wooded picnic and 🔥 fire pit area behind each site.

This park's tranquil and well maintained setting made for a very enjoyable visit. In addition, the tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about Brown's life and involvement in the Abolitionist movement.

A moving and lovely place. The Timbuktu exhibit is eye-opening and really well put together. Would recommend to anyone visiting Lake Placid!

Great historical grounds to visit outside of the village. Put this on your list if in town.

John Brown did nothing wrong, except perhaps for not gathering and training a large enough liberation force. His soul goes marching on. ✊

This was a real gem - mostly because of the physical space. The info about John Brown and seeing the graves was very moving. They had had a Juneteenth celebration with some very moving and meaningful signs. Regardless, we really enjoyed walking around the beautiful grounds - those can be a really added bonus to your trip to a moving and very meaningful historic site.