Two former Fort Drum nurses start retreat center in Sackets Harbor

Jul. 12—SACKETS HARBOR — For years, Nicole Best drove by a dilapidated barn with a "for sale" sign on it, never realizing that it would end up playing such a large role in her life.

Two years ago, the Sackets Harbor resident and her business partner, Kim Bauer, purchased the barn and nearly 30 acres at Dodge Avenue and Hess Road, property once owned by Dr. Samuel Guthrie. who invented chloroform.

The barn has since been completely restored and is now the home of Outskirts 1812, a community health and wellness retreat, the first of its kind for this quaint village.

"I just wanted a place for everyone to come together," Best said.

Outskirts 1812 has arranged for a series of practitioners to offer massage therapy and classes in yoga, reiki, Zumba, food nutrition and tai chi at the therapeutic garden and wellness retreat.

The two friends are on a mission, they said.

"It's about community," Bauer said. "We just want to have fun. Keep it fun."

The two women met working at the Wounded Warrior program at Fort Drum.

Bauer is a retired psychiatric nurse practitioner and veteran captain in the Army Reserves, while Best was a registered nurse and forensic nurse.

They met about 20 years ago at Fort Drum and became fast friends. "We always said that we do some kind of business together when we retired," Bauer said.

"She's still working but I'm retired now."

Since leaving Fort Drum, Best is now a nurse running her own program at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Watertown.

Outskirts 1812 "is a labor of love" for them, Bauer said.

Using chain saws and a Bobcat, they started the backbreaking work of removing overgrown trees during the dead of winter after purchasing the property in August 2021.

"It was hard work, but we were out there every night," Best said.

The retreat center is a place for people to come to relieve the stress of everyday life, get positive support and "have a mindful experience that is holistic, natural and fun.

"It is bringing tribes together," Best said.

The retreat center's nearly 30 acres of wooded land is surrounded by "a beautiful spiritual or nature path," she said.

It's lined with original stone walls, dating to the 1800s, and a section of well-placed walnut groves.

The property also has historic significance for Sackets Harbor, they said.

On a recent visit to the Jefferson County clerk's office, they found out that the property was originally owned by Elisha Camp, who moved to Sackets in 1804 and became and an important businessman by building a shipping industry and real estate empire.

He sold the property to Guthrie, a U.S. Army surgeon who treated soldiers in the War of 1812 and invented chloroform and a gun powder that made muskets obsolete.

The doctor moved to Sackets in 1817, where he practiced medicine. The brick home where he lived still stands just a short distance down the road from the center.

It doesn't appear that the old barn existed when Guthrie owned the property.

That area outside the village was a once thriving forgotten town, named Jewettville. A popular tavern was known to exist nearby. Many years later, the 30 acres became the McConnell Farm, which was abandoned in 1984.

The two women hope the retreat center will once again play an important role for Sackets Harbor.

Some goats — Hank, Whalen, Willey, Kenny, Billy, Dolly and Annie, all named after country music stars — hang out in a fenced-in barnyard to participate in goat yoga.

"It's just calming," Best said.

With the barn still under construction, the two women sold Christmas trees and wreaths during the holidays and then flowers this spring, resulting in some local residents believing that a florist shop was opening there.

The classes and retreat will be held both indoors and outdoors, and in rustic tribal tents. Some yoga classes started this week.

The two women plan to develop the retreat center in phases, starting with a retail store and welcome center in the restored barn and two greenhouses built for therapeutic greenery.

In 2024, they're planning to add high-end glamping for overnight retreats in the grassy area that once was farmland and create a gathering place.

Events will be held during the year.

Giving back to the community is important, as well as activities that promote fundraising for charities, they said. They also hope to bring on local businesses to cater their events and retreats.

With years of experience working with military and civilian medicine, the two women expressed their excitement to bring wellness, fun, hospitality and tourism into the village.

Especially because the restored barn sits on property that Guthrie owned and it played such an important role in the growth of Sackets Harbor, Best said.