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Published: October 16th 2016
I awakened on September 7, 2016 and immediately began humming my country version of an uncountry song, “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Roof!” The rain continued while I had my morning coffee. I tore down in the rain. I drove in the rain. The drone of the windshield wipers was not really aggravating; it was more hypnotic. I was glad the drive to Mud Lake Park in Dubuque IA from Hononegah Forest Preserve in Rockton IL was only a little over 2 hours. Fortunately, as I reached the outskirts of Dubuque the rain diminished and then quit. Except for a few soggy spots in the grass where the rainwater had pooled, set-up went without a hitch. My wet feet and I set in for a catch-up session on the trusty old computer with all its nooks and crannies that I hadn’t see for, in some cases, weeks.
Normally, I set out on any specific chapter of
The Great Adventure with about two months of research and planning completed before I depart my winter retreat. Then, as time in the evenings or on rainy days allows, I plan for that third month, fourth month, etc. Those who read my last blog
know that my plans to visit West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana on the way to Rockford IL for my 50
th high school reunion were abruptly abandoned when my sister became “nearing the end stage” of her terminal illness. My early September arrival suddenly became a mid-July arrival, and my time in Rockford was spent being a brother and an uncle, not a travel planner. I, therefore, had no “homework” completed on the Dubuque area and, therefore, took Friday and Saturday, September 8 and 9, 2016 to get caught up.
That having been said, I set out on Saturday, September 10, 2016 to visit four local community museums, to get some photographs of three historic round barns and, then, to complete the day with a leisurely, scenic drive on the Great River Road which is found on both banks of the Mississippi River. Of the four museums, two are open each Saturday and two are open only on the 2
nd Saturday of the month. All are within 25-30 miles of each other, are open from three to five hours each and have varied hours of operation (two with a 9 AM opening and one with a 4 PM closing)
so getting them to align was not a major problem. I guess timing is everything! Since it opens at 9 AM, my first stop was the
Stockton Heritage Museum in Stockton IL. As I walked in the door, I was greeted by an elderly man. Yup, Uncle Larry called someone else elderly, but, when he saw my “Vietnam Veteran” ball cap, he noted that he was a Korean War vet. He had grown up in Stockton and was in town to visit family and friends. The museum has a nice presentation of local interest but nothing spectacular for the out-of-towner.
By 10 AM, that was pretty much it for the museums for the day. The
Winslow Historical Society Museum hours lasted only until Labor Day (I must have missed that on the web site) and both the
McConnell Area Historical Society Museum and the
Lena Area Historical Museum didn’t open until 1 PM (and their hours might have been valid only through Labor Day as well). So, boys and girls, let’s visit the three round barns and set out on the scenic drive a little earlier than planned! Irene, my GPS, took me to the
Dennis Otte Round Barn and the
Gerald Harbach Round Barn both in Eleroy IL and the
Chris Jensen Round Barn in Winslow IL.
Along
the way, mixed in somewhere between two of the round barns, Irene took me down a gravel road. I was relaxing and enjoying the scenery when I spotted two flagpoles – one with the American Flag and one with the POW/MIA flag. That was somewhat rare but not insanely unusual. I slowed and found a small veterans’ memorial someone had erected – the flagpoles, three-foot tall statues of military figures (some in combat gear and others in dress uniforms) and an angel – all positioned amidst a flowerbed. When I stopped, a dog immediately began doing its job, and a man appeared from the barn. I drove up to meet him at the end of the driveway as he noticeably limped towards the road. His gray hair and ponytail gave him away – he was an Army airborne veteran of Vietnam. We chatted for a few minutes, and I thanked him for the effort he put forth to memorialize our compadres out on a farm in the middle of nowhere. He said he had done it to help himself heal. We bid farewell, and I continued my journey to the next round barn.
All three round barns are poor
photographic candidates, so I did a slow drive by to appreciate them as much as I could but didn’t stop. Only after I had directed Irene to take me to Hanover IL, where I would begin my southern pass on the east bank of the Mighty Mississippi, did I realize I had failed to back up to take some photographs of the small memorial I had discovered on a gravel road out in the middle of nowhere while I explored America on
The Great Adventure.
“Surprise, surprise Sgt. Carter,” Gomer might have said had they entered Hanover as did I, “look there at that veterans’ memorial!” Thank you Richard Reed and all the others who gave all so we could have so much, and “Thank You” to Hanover for making the effort to remember them. I oftentimes wonder what percentage of a city’s populace has been to “The Wall” in Washington DC but has never paused at THEIR OWN LOCAL veterans’ memorial to pay tribute to THEIR OWN HOMETOWN heroes. I completed the day with the aforementioned scenic drive south on IL 84, the
Great River Road, to US 30 where I crossed the Old Man River to Clinton IA and
then returned to Dubuque on the western side of the river.
On September 11, 2016, the 15
th anniversary of the most destructive terrorist attack in history, I headed north and west to check out some more Iowa scenery and made a knee-jerk stop at
Effigy Mounds National Monument near Harpers Ferry IA. I find the story of the Native peoples, as formulated by archaeologists, to be fascinating (and therefore watched the movie) and talked with the park ranger about the trails, but, because of my ambitious agenda, decided to forego the trails. The area does look like an inviting location for a walk – particularly when the leaves are in color.
My next stop was
Froelich Village Museum in McGregor IA. Actually, the museum is located in the small settlement of Froelich, which no longer has a post office but remains on the Rand-McNally map. Froelich was settled in the early 1870s where the narrow gauge Iowa Eastern Railroad crossed the Old Military Trail, which ran from Fort Crawford WI to Fort Atkinson IA. As a result of that intersection, many businesses developed. Today, the once thriving community has long since waned; however, the Village Museum consists of the original 1891 general store
and post office, an 1866 one room school, a 1903 vintage barn as well as a railroad depot, a warehouse and a blacksmith shop. The tour guide provided an interesting history of Froelich, and we engaged in an interesting dialogue about several of the artifacts housed in the general store, as well as throughout the complex. The Village Museum is a worthy stop unto itself, but THAT is not what brought Uncle Larry to Froelich.
Froelich was the home of
John Froelich (1849-1933) who, in 1892, was the inventor of the first gasoline-powered tractor to propel itself both forward and backward! At the end of the 19th century, Froelich operated a grain elevator and mobile threshing service. Every year at harvest time, Froelich dragged a crew of hired hands and a heavy steam-powered thresher through Iowa and the Dakotas while threshing farmers’ crops for a fee. His machine was bulky, hard to transport, expensive to use – and dangerous. One spark from the boiler stack could, on a windy day, set the whole prairie on fire.
So in 1890, Froelich decided to try something new. He and his blacksmith mounted a one-cylinder gasoline engine on his steam engine’s running
gear and set off for a nearby field to see if it worked. It did! Froelich’s traction motor chugged along safely at three miles per hour, but the real test came when Froelich and his team took their new machine out on their annual threshing tour. It was a success there, as well. Using just 26 gallons of gasoline, they threshed more than a thousand bushels of grain every day (72,000 bushels in all). What’s more, they did it without starting a single fire. Froelich and eight investors formed the
Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company. Briefly, a really cool snippet – originally called “traction motors,” the name was shortened. The last four letters of the first word were dropped, and the first two letters of the second word were dropped. Walla – tractor!
In 1894, Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company built four prototype tractors and sold two of them, although both were soon returned. To make money, the company branched out into stationary engines, but Froelich, who was more interested in farm equipment than engines, left the company in 1895. Waterloo kept working on its tractor designs, but had sold just 20 tractors between 1896 and 1914. Later that year, the company introduced
Quite An Elegant Lady
Montauk Mansion - Clermont IAits first Waterloo Boy Model “R” single-speed tractor, which sold very well – 118 sold in 1914 alone. The next year, its two-speed Model “N” was even more successful. In 1918, a plow-manufacturing company created by a fella named John Deere bought Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company for $2,350,000. The Waterloo Tractor Works is still owned by John Deere and is one of the largest tractor factories in the United States. Oh, yes, the tour also includes a replica of John Froelich's first tractor. None of the original four tractors are known to exist. Highly recommended for history buffs and farmers alike!
My next stop was the
Montauk Mansion Historical Site in Clermont IA. Anna Larrabee's first home was built along a river, but Anna had concerns that dampness and low-lying fog might jeopardize her family’s health with sicknesses, such as malaria. Her dream was for a house on the hill. So, in 1874, William Larrabee, Anna’s husband and Iowa’s 12th governor, built this Italianate mansion of brick and native limestone for about $20,000. Montauk, an imposing 14 room brick and stone house, sits on a grassy island on a hill about 200 feet higher than the town of Clermont (about a
mile to the south) and is surrounded by about 100,000 trees planted by Larrabee. Montauk was named by Anna Larrabee in honor of her father, a whaling ship captain, who often told her about the lighthouse that seamen depended on at Montauk Point, Long Island, NY. Larrabee commissioned 4 bronze likenesses that surround the front yard of the house - Generals Grant, Sherman and Dodge and Admiral Farragut.
Anna lived in the house until she died in 1965 at the age of 96. The family opened the house to the public in the fall of 1967 but maintained ownership until 1976 when the contents and 40 acres were deeded to the state of Iowa as an historical site. As such, the house includes original furnishings and many notable pieces of art by such artists as Mme. Lebrun, J. G. Brown, William Bradford and the Italian sculptor Vichi. The oldest work is "Stormy Weather" by Pieter Molyn (ca. 1670). There are family portraits by the Iowa artist David John Cue (ca. 1891) and French Sevres vases. The site is a worthy stop for those of such interest or those passing through, but I cannot place it on my “must see”
list. Thus, I began my meandering, scenic return to Dubuque with drives through several small towns. Of course, being an “entertainment of bygone days” aficionado, I felt compelled to make a stop in Postville IA to examine the
Ringling Circus Parade Mural.
Another fine Iowa day, actually September 14, 2016, I took another drive on the east side of the Mississippi on the Great River Road to Prairie du Chien WI where I happened onto the very nicely done
Prairie du Chien Veterans Memorial. After lunch, I headed east on a “Rand-McNally-designated” scenic drive to Spring Green WI and then southwest back to Dubuque. With my scenic drive appetite satisfied, I returned to that same general area (but the portion closer to Dubuque) to visit several attractions. First was the
Mining Museum & Rollo Jamison Museum in Platteville WI. The mission of the City of Platteville Museum Department is to, “… be a custodian of the past; to interpret the rich lead and zinc mining heritage of the region, as well as to preserve, interpret, and display the artifacts that define Southwest Wisconsin.” Sounds like a page that belongs in
The Great Adventure to me!
The Museum Department was established in 1964, acquired the historic 1863 Rock School in 1966
and began the development of exhibits and public programs. In 1972, museum staff located the long-closed Bevans Lead Mine just south of the Museum. A city referendum approved funding the excavation of the mine and, in 1976, the mine and headframe were opened to the public. The Platteville Optimists raised funds to acquire a 1931 mine locomotive which they donated to the museum. The train and passenger cars were rebuilt, and aboveground train rides became a part of the mine tour in 1978. Unfortunately, there were no train rides on the day of my “off season” visit.
My first stop was the Rollo Jamison Museum which began in Beetown WI as the private collection of, ta dah, Rollo Jamison. Jamison’s childhood ambition was to create a museum, and he collected artifacts of Southwest Wisconsin history for over 70 years. No longer able to care for his collection due to his age, Jamison offered it to the City. In 1980, Platteville’s City Council accepted the collection. The Rollo Jamison Museum is located in Platteville’s first high school, built in 1905, and opened to the public in 1981. Since then additional artifacts have been donated by area citizens eager to see
that local history is preserved.
Jamison, as Mike Wolfe, creator and star of the TV show
American Pickers, would say, “Had the eye.” His collection includes artifacts I have never or have rarely seen and, through the excellent documentation, chronicles the history of Southwest Wisconsin. The farming exhibit explains the differences between a breaking plow and a walking plow and explains the use of artifacts such as a horse-drawn seeder, a flail, a cradle scythe, a fanning mill and a corn sled. Placards explain how land sales shifted from ownership by a transient mining populace to a more settled agricultural populace, the perils of farming on the frontier and the evolution of farming as Wisconsin transplants invented machines that made farming less labor-intensive, such as George Easterly (harvester), Jerome I. Case (thresher) and John Appleby (twine knotter).
The “Dairying in Wisconsin” exhibit is augmented by vintage cream separators, a square butter churn and a bull halter-controller (which I have never before seen) as well as placards explaining the evolution of the industry. The General Store has a little bit of well-documented everything while the breweries exhibit offers a timeline of a dozen or so local breweries – some
here today, some gone yesterday – along with some antique brewery hardware.
The educators exhibit highlights a handful of local notables and explains that the “normal” school system was developed in the United States such that “educators in training” would receive a course of instruction that would provide them with the “normal” curriculum such that they, as teachers, could pass along a “normal” education to their students. “Gee whiz, Sergeant Carter, I never knew that!” The music exhibit not only has eight music makers, such as a Regina Corona Automatic Disk Changer Music Box, a Peter Pan Gramophone and an Edison Fireside Cylinder Record Player, but has an interactive control panel whereby the visitor can play a selection recorded from each of the eight devices. This is one of the best local, small town history museums I have encountered.
When I had finished my self-guided tour of the Jamison Museum, a young man accompanied me on a tour of the Bevans Lead Mine. He related the discovery of galena and zinc and the differences between them as related to where the ores are found, talked about the evolution of the mining operations and provided some interesting anecdotes about
life as a miner. When the tour started, he was much like a tape recorder but as I interjected comments and “easy” questions, he became much more comfortable and less “programmed.” The tour is interesting, and the differences in galena and zinc mining from other kinds of mining tours I have taken made it worthwhile for me. I would recommend it for those who have never taken a mine tour or to those with a keen interest is mining, but for the average tourist your time might be better spent elsewhere. The adjacent mining museum, on the other hand, is very interesting; and since it is self-guided it will take only as long as you allow. One learns, for example, that the lead and zinc ores are here because this “Driftless Area” was never covered by Ice Age glaciers and, therefore, never had its bounty “scraped away” and deposited to the south. I would allow a couple of hours for both museums and three hours if the mine tour is included.
My next stop was the
First Capitol State Historic Site in Belmont WI. After returning home and rechecking the attraction web site, I have no explanation as to why it was secured
Small Town America Tends To Be Very Patriotic
Shullsburg Area Veterans Memorial - Shullsburg WI as tightly as Fort Knox. Moving on to the
Shullsburg Badger Mine and Museum in Shullsburg WI, I discovered that the hours posting at the museum entrance notes the hours are valid from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There’s another reminder to “double-check the operating hours info around those two pivotal holidays.” I did, however, find the
Shullsburg Area Veterans Memorial right next door to the museum. All was not lost! This is a very nicely done memorial to those who “Gave Some” and to those who “Gave All.” Thank you, Gerald Brines and Lloyd Wiegel. My final stop of the day was at the
National Brewery Museum in Potosi WI. Again, I ask, “Just WHAT makes a
national museum of anything?” I met a gal once who claimed … - never mind. There is a limited number of nice artifacts on display, and there are some placards outlining the brewing process; however, I can hardly endorse this small museum as the definitive museum about brewing beer.
I took an entire day to visit the attractions in Galena IL. My first stop was the
Old Market House Welcome Center. Don’t let the facility name mislead you, this is a Ulysses S. Grant museum that happens to have a visitor center function as
part of its purpose. The Old Market House has an interesting history and architecture unto itself but the “must see” component is the collection of Grant memorabilia. From Boy Scout shoulder patches commemorating numerous Annual U.S. Grant Pilgrimages to coffee mugs to shoulder patches of many of the sheriff’s offices of the 15 counties named “Grant,” Grant memorabilia abounds. Along with 40
Curries and Ives prints depicting significant battles of the Civil War, there are paintings of the children and grandchildren of Ulysses and Julia Grant and photos and short biographies of the nine; count them, NINE, Civil War generals with ties to Galena –
Augustus Louis Chetlain,
John Oliver Duerr,
Ulysses Simpson Grant,
Jasper Adalmorn Maltby,
Ely Samuel Parker,
John Aaron Rawlins,
William Rueben Rowley,
John Corson Smith and
John Eugene Smith. If visitors can’t find something of interest in this collection, then they just plain ain’t looking!
My second stop was the
Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site, also in Galena. Grant came to Galena in the spring of 1860 to work as a clerk in the store owned by his father and managed by his younger brothers, Simpson and Orvil. Grant and his wife, Julia, rented a modest brick home on the west side of the river for approximately $100.00 a year. Grant was a store clerk in name
Outside, Julia Dent Grant Looks Over Galena …
Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site - Galena IL only; as he spent considerable time away from the store travelling through the little towns in southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, and northeast Iowa to service customers. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Grant left Galena to rejoin the U.S. Army, ending a seven-year hiatus from the military. He was commissioned colonel of the 21
st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and subsequently was promoted to progressively more significant commands of Union forces. In March 1864, Grant was appointed lieutenant general and commanded the Union army to war's end. On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops to Grant at Appomattox Court House, and Grant's image as a war hero was complete.
On August 18, 1865, the citizens of Galena greeted the return of its victorious General with a grand celebration. The brick home, which had been purchased by Thomas B. Hughlett on behalf of a small group of local Republicans for $2,500 in June 1865, was presented to Grant. Following his election as President in 1868, he visited only occasionally but commented that "although it is probable I will never live much time among you, but in the future be only a visitor as
… While The Grant Home Watches Over Julia
Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site - Galena IL I am at present, . . . I hope to retain my residence here . . . I expect to cast my vote here always." The house was maintained by caretakers in anticipation of the President's visits. Before his death in 1885, Grant made his final visit to his Galena home in 1880. In 1904, Grant's children gave the house to the City of Galena "with the understanding that this property is to be kept as a memorial to the late General Ulysses S. Grant, and for no other purpose." However, maintaining the Grant's home proved too costly for the city and the Grant Home Association, so in 1931 the city deeded the house to the State of Illinois. It immediately was converted to a brothel by the first in a long line of corrupt Illinois governors – No, No, No!
Fortunately, much of the furniture used by Grant and his family remained in the house which gives the visitor a sense of the presence of the 18
th President – he sat in that chair, he ate at that table. Throughout the house, there are placards giving brief biographies of both parents and each child as well as placards
with snippets of information about the furnishings in each of the rooms. Outside, there is a statue of Julia Dent Grant along with a more detailed timeline of her life. The Grant Home stands above many because of the authentic furnishings.
My next stop was the
Elihu Benjamin Washburne House also in Galena. Washburne was a member of the Washburn family of Maine, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the Republican Party. After working for newspapers in Maine and studying law, Washburne passed the bar and moved to Galena where he became a partner in a successful law firm and where he and Grant became acquainted. He served in the House of Representatives from 1853 to 1869, which included the Civil War and the first part of Reconstruction. While advocating Lincoln's war policy, Washburne was Grant's advocate in Congress throughout the war, was responsible for Grant's promotions in the Union Army and protected him from critics in Washington and in the field. Their friendship and association lasted through Grant's two terms as president. The attraction is nice but lacks the historic allure of the Grant Home; however, if there is time ….
My final stop of the
day was at
Galena History Museum in, you betcha, Galena. The museum is pretty much what I expected and includes exhibits about mining, life along the Mississippi (i.e., river commerce and flooding) and Ulysses S. Grant. There is a nice display highlighting the Grant Leather Store and several historically significant artifacts, including the first Union flag raised over the courthouse in Vicksburg MS after the siege had ended on July 4, 1863 and the original 9′ x 12′ oil painting “Peace in Union” which depicts Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomatox in 1865. The museum provides a nice overview of the history of the Galena area and has a nice selection of historic artifacts to help “tell the story.” Galena has a distinctive history, a nice historic downtown and enough worthy attractions to justify a full day or more.
I took a schoolless Saturday to visit the
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and the
William M. Black, a steam-powered dredge, both in Dubuque. Outside, Paddlewheel Plaza touts the starboard paddlewheel from the
William M. Black which was removed to allow access through the floodwall gates. The estimated weight of the 25’ diameter paddlewheel is 32 tons. Inside, the Fred W. Woodward Riverboat Museum examines the invention and
development of the steamboat, displays several interesting artifacts, presents dioramas and cutaway models to explain steamboat operations of the day and finishes with a boat-maker’s shop where an artisan was at work. Just outside the shop, the steam towboat
Logsdon gives the visitor the opportunity to examine life aboard a small steam-powered vessel and several artifacts highlight the heyday of Iowa Iron Works and Dubuque Boat and Boiler Works. Back inside, at the aquarium, staff were busy giving youngsters the opportunity to touch critters such as snakes, and folks could watch native species swim in glass aquaria.
Meanwhile, over at the
William M. Black, the park ranger provided an interesting introduction and overview of the National Historic Landmark before I embarked on the self-guided tour. The gadgets, gizmos and whatchamacallits are all well documented and interesting. The use of steam to generate power is explained in layman’s terms, and many anticipated questions, such as “Where does the dredged sand go?” are addressed. I found both the dredging component and the steam-powered component of the attraction very interesting, but, quite honestly, many tourists – probably not so much. Even though the attraction is very well done, you’ll have to call
this one based on your own personal interests.
I next headed for Dyersville IA and the
National Farm Toy Museum. Again, I ask, “What constitutes a NATIONAL museum of anything?” This is a nice collection of (mostly farm) toys, but the museum part has me baffled. For me, museum denotes old, while dictionary.com has more style – “a building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed.” Indeed, there are
some old farm toys, including numerous tractors as well as horse-drawn and steam-powered equipment. Most of the old toys are cast toys, but there are some tin specimens. HOWEVER, boys and girls, the bulk of the display consists of 8-wheel drive (or more) monstrosities that belong in a collection vs. a museum. For the average tourist who happens to be driving past on U.S. 20, the attraction is worth a brief stop. For the toy collector, it probably is worth the 30-minute drive from Dubuque. There, indeed, are some really cool toys. I’ll try to showcase them in the accompanying photos.
Since the
Veterans Memorial Plaza in Dubuque is open from dawn until dusk, I saved it for last. I happened upon the
memorial several days earlier as I was accessing a freeway via an on-ramp (good idea, Uncle Larry) and had a general idea of the location of the attraction but had no notion of the route I needed to travel to reach it. I searched a bit before I spotted it and the reward was worth the effort. The memorial was the brainchild of former Marine and Dubuque resident Louis Kartman, who survived the “Frozen Chosin” during the Korean War. Kartman thought if communities as small as Cuba City WI, Ryan IA and Park Rapids MN each had a veterans’ memorial, why not Dubuque? It took a while to “git ‘er done,” but well done it is. The memorial is backed by a curved, etched black granite wall dedicated to the branches of service. In the center, there is a 6-ton granite globe, 5-feet in diameter. The memorial is sitting among pavers and benches sold to raise money for the project. Congratulations to Louis Kartman and the City of Davenport.
Mining, agriculture and the Mighty Mississippi River! That’s northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin in a nutshell, and I selected Dubuque as the hub of my wheel. Since there
were few attractions on my list that were “in town,” I didn’t do a lot of driving in the city and found myself taking mostly the same routes to access the area’s major highways; however, Dubuque’s centralized location made it a very good choice. The weather cooperated for the most part, and I had a very enjoyable two weeks. I got a refresher course in “update the hours of operation after Labor Day,” but still had some very enjoyable scenic drives through the rolling countryside. One doesn’t get to see much of the Mississippi on the Great River Road, but it does pass through some interesting communities. One never knows what one will find when travelling the road less travelled!
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