The West House sits where the original farm house from the late 19th Century was built. It was known as the Furman farm, taking its name from the family that operated the dairy farm here.
This spot was probably chosen because of the spring that still runs out of the ground a few yards uphill.
Old TImers who grew up here have periodically dropped by to revisit the scene of their youth and to share stories. 
One of our favorites centers around The Great Depression of the 1930's.  There were villages down below before the reservoir covered them up in 1941. And during those hard economic times the Furmans maintained large potato fields up here and would feed potato stew to every hungry soul who came up the hill from the villages below.
When we bought the property in 1969, however, the old farm house had most recently been used by a hunt club who, in their ballistic zeal, had shot it full of holes.  So we had to tear it down and we built the simple structure that is there now.
Over the years, we have rented The West House to various tenants for periods ranging from 2 years to almost 30! We often find ourselves tinkering with it and improving it.

The living room of The West House has a high ceiling and many large windows on three walls that let in light and afford plenty of views.
The fireplace in the photo can accommodate a log fire or a wood stove that comes with the house. The stairway leads up to a large loft that isn't tall enough to stand up in, although our son slept there while a young teen and guests of average agility could be comfortable there for an overnight stay of a few days.
There is a dining alcove behind the person who took this photo.

There is a full basement with washer and dryer hook-ups. And the pure, clean spring water for the house actually comes from a cistern in the basement floor itself.
Alongside the West House is an herb garden and an extensive organic vegetable garden that has never seen any chemical fertilizers.