Nesters might find this geocache tag, as a great place to store an egg.
From this spot look up the hill, to see the stone from Kibbe’s Mill.
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An 1800-pound mill stone, located at the top of the Lower Cincinnatus Cemetery, is the grave marker of true eccentric Lee G. Kibbe. Mr. Kibbe owned the land around Solon Pond and built a sawmill and gristmill there. The memorial stone is proudly inscribed, "Solon Pond Miller." After his death, a four part series of his life and legend were written up in the Cortland Standard.
The Kibbe Millstone is not the only stone of interest in Cincinnatus. If one drives up Piety Hill Road, coordinates 42° 31.967 N, 075° 55.094 W, you will discover the Great Wall of Cincy, so named by this author. Landowner and friend of surrounding farmers, Raymond Kneer, has searched adjacent tilled fields for rock to build his meandering walls and pyramids.
Each picked stone in this 15-year quest was dug and loaded by hand, and hauled in from nearby fields by wheelbarrow or snow sled. The land sculpture has taken 15,600 loads to date (Ray keeps a journal). “I’d say 90% is getting the stone, 10% is building.”
“It took me a while to know the work was more than the wall,” he pondered of his Zen-like quest. Ray said the skill of stone placement is an art learned over time. “Sometimes the stones dictate to you. Listen to the stones, they know where to go.”
Viewers are asked to enjoy this top-of-the-valley view from the road and honor the Kneer home’s private space.
- SC