Gallo Family Retreat

New York land with forest land, camp, pond, interior roads, streams and food plots for sale:  This large, versatile recreational property located on the Tug Hill Plateau has been the Gallo Family Retreat for over half a century. Most of the acreage was purchased in 1955 (65 years ago) as a timber investment. Hunting soon became a priority and a small hunting shack was built with very few amenities. Eleven years later a new shelter for the ‘Two Mile Buck Club’ was erected with additional comforts. The camp, built on piers, is ~1,000 square feet in size, has a gable, steel covered roof, stained clapboard wood siding, is insulated and wired for a generator (one comes with purchase). The showpiece of the camp is the field-stone fireplace (its chimney was refurbished just last year). It is the camps main source of heat. While the fire place is warming up, a single, wall mounted propane heater in the bunk room helps take the chill off. A 13-foot deep, dug well adjacent to the camp holds the “Best Tasting Water in NYS” (according to Art Gallo). An old fashioned, but reliable, pitcher pump near the kitchen sink draws water from the well for domestic use. There is a shower stall and indoor toilet both modified for use with water in buckets. A 1,000-gallon, plastic septic tank, with leach field was installed in 2008. When hot water is needed, the propane gas stove is the means by which water is heated. Adjacent to the camp a 20’ by 20’ pole barn, with shed roof addition, was erected for storage and maintenance of equipment, recreational vehicles and accessories. Cable phone services are not available, however cellular reception is found at various locations on the property.In the 50’s Tug Hill land was relatively cheap. Most of the northern hardwood forest found here was logged, but not cutover hard. A good portion of this property was last harvested approximately 25 years ago, in the 90’s. Shortly thereafter the Gallos enrolled in the NYS Section 480-a of the Forest Tax Law Program which would provide them with a Management Plan to help achieve investment goals, as well as reduce their assessment, resulting in lower taxes. Some ‘stands’ under the Plan’s work schedule have been harvested in the last 7 years. The majority of the remaining trees in those stands falls within the small pole to medium sawtimber size classes. The Management Plan Work Schedule calls for a series of commercial harvests over the next few years, providing the new owner with immediate cash flow from the timber resource. There is a significant timber value associated with this property that is directly related to the current asking price.  A copy of the 480-a Forest Management Plan and Treatment Schedule is available upon request.The Gallo family business was excavating and road, bridge and dam construction. Without a doubt, the property was destined to see the development of roughly 4.5 miles of professionally built roads and stream crossings. Tug Hill’s short-lived Glenfield and Western Railroad ran across the northern portion of the property creating the foundation for roads in that area. Other recreational improvements included the development of 15 food plots, building of 11 permanent hunting blinds, installation of over 50 tree stands and construction of one well stocked bass pond, ~1.4 acres in size. Most of the property was surveyed in the 60’s and boundary lines have all been re-flagged in the last two years.There are two major trout streams that traverse the property. Two Mile and Three Mile Creeks zig-zag their way across the terrain, and a third, Prince Brook, crosses the line briefly on the western boundary. The headwaters of One Mile Creek also originate on their ownership. One, Two, and Three Mile Creeks are all tributaries to Fall Brook. Both Fall and Prince Brooks eventually empty into the Salmon River, east of the Salmon River Reservoir in Redfield, just minutes from camp. The Salmon River, famous for its spawning Salmon runs, eventually empties into Lake Ontario.The predominant tree species found on the property include: sugar and red maple, black cherry, yellow birch, white ash, beech, basswood, aspen, red spruce, balsam fir and hemlock. Based on the abundance of food resources, (including Uncle Charlie’s apple orchard), water, cover, and physical evidence, whitetail deer, black bear, snowshoe rabbit, ruffed grouse, turkey and a mixed bag of waterfowl either live on, or frequent the property. Camp trophies are testimony to the many successful hunts of past seasons. In addition, trappers will find a variety of other fur bearers including; coyotes, fisher, bobcat, otter, mink, beaver, raccoon, muskrat and weasel to challenge their skill.Seasonal access to the property from the North Osceola Road requires the owner to pass through 3 gates and private lands with varying degrees of public access known as the ‘East Branch of Fish Creek Conservation Easement.’ As you leave the North Osceola Road you enter onto a 50-acre parcel also owned by the Gallo Family that is not for sale. For the most part, the main road from the first gate all the way to the property is maintained by the Gallo family. The general public is not allowed to use any portion of this road.The Tug Hill region is renowned for its bountiful snowfall which is the only major limiting factor to accessing the property during the winter months. In addition to the maintained gravel roads, skidding trails, created for timber harvesting, make excellent x-country skiing, snow-shoeing, hunting, hiking and ATV trails. Neither public snowmobile, or ATV trails cross the property. The ultimate scenario for privacy and seclusion.This well-developed recreational property is ~30 miles from Boonville, Rome and Lake Ontario, ~50 miles from the Syracuse Airport and ~80 miles from Canada. If you and your family long for a private camp and wild, remote lands you can call your own, you may have found one of the few properties left in the State that meet these criteria!