Our Story
Glen Holler sits on sixty acres in the hamlet of Townsend, on County Road 16 in the Town of Dix, Watkins Glen - land that has been in the family for four generations.
This is a gathering place.
The Land
The hamlet of Townsend was first settled in 1823 by a small group of farming families who carved a community out of the rolling hills west of Watkins Glen. By 1833 they had built a Baptist church (the Grange). By 1840, the year our farmhouse was built, Townsend was a working agricultural hamlet with a general store, a blacksmith, and neighbors who knew one another.
The Townsend Grange became the social and civic center of this farming community. The Grange was where farmers organized, debated, celebrated, and looked out for each other. We recently purchased that building — the old Grange Hall at 2394 CR 16 — and we're in the middle of restoring it with the same care we brought to the farmhouse. Our great grandfather, Leon Mapes, was one of the founding members. The Meeting House, as we call it, will have a two-bedroom rental upstairs and a gathering space downstairs for all guests. The building has been a community gathering place for over a century. We intend to keep it that way.
The Farmhouse
We bought the family property in 2015 and started with the farmhouse — a complete renovation of a structure built in 1850, paying careful attention to the original hand-hewn timber framing that had held the place together for 165 years. Every beam, every joint, every knot in the wood is part of the story of this place.
From there we built the cabins — not as a business venture at first, but as a retreat. A place for our family and friends to hang out and spend time in the woods. The creek, the trails, the ravine, the fields — they were here long before us and they'll be here long after. We just want people to be able to use them.
The Neighborhood
Glen Holler is half a mile from Watkins Glen International, one of the most storied road courses in North America. Race weekends bring a lot of energy to this area, and you can hear the cars racing during the summer from our fields. We often host drivers, crews, and teams as we are close to the track and offer covered storage for cars and trailers if you need it.
The racetrack has been part of this community since 1948, but this corner of Schuyler County was drawing crowds long before that. The Townsend Grange (the building we now call the Meeting House, next door) was the civic and social center of this farming hamlet for generations.
And then there was July 28, 1973. An estimated 600,000 people came to Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway for Summer Jam. The Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers Band, and the Band, setting the Guinness World Record for the largest audience at a festival. People were camped in every corner of this property!
Glen Holler is a family affair.
John grew up hunting these hills on his grandfather's land. Since taking over the property in 2015 he has personally renovated the farmhouse, built the cabins, cut the trails, farmed the land, and rebuilt the barn. He is now restoring the Grange Hall (the Meeting House) with the same care he has brought to everything else here. When he is not on this property, John teaches engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology. His wife, Sarah, teaches at SUNY Oswego and shares John's love for this place. They spend most of their summer "break" at Glen Holler, tending to the land.
None of this could happen without the help of the family. John's sister, Kelly, (the sweetest and most fun-loving woman you'll ever meet) helps manage the property and keeps things running. John's parents, Peg and Lee, have been part of this place across all four generations. And then there's Uncle Ed, the unofficial Town of Dix Marshal, who we're pretty sure has driven past this driveway more times than anyone else. Ever.
We love this land. We love sharing it. We're glad you're here.
The Family
