Contemplating.

Contemplating.
Wayzata, Minnesota

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Thematic Photographic - #157 - Rough - 2

To close out the "Rough" series for Carmi's Thematic Photographic I took a day trip to Historic Mantorville and Wasioja (an old frontier village complete with a Civil War Recruiting Station-still standing)

WHEN A PERSON IS LOOKING FOR "ROUGH" TRUST ME IT'S HERE



You can imagine how many items of food could cook here at the same time!
From inside of The Old Log Cabin House (museum) built in 1850...a whole lot of rough going on inside!

The greatest amount of "rough" both literally and figuratively was discovered inside the Restoration House built in 1856, and mostly in the basement where the first jail cell was located once the county of Dodge leased a portion of the house for the commissioners in 1858 to serve as their first court house as well.

Lime stone was plenty in Mantorville and all of Dodge County.  Inside floor of basement Jail! ...the entire floor was made of this.



Ceiling in basement of Restoration House and this view very near the one and only cell.
This house was acquired by the MRA and they restored it as a late 1880's residence, but of course you will see later additions for electricity and heat......because we just don't live so roughly anymore!


Inside the Jail....Restoration House basement....heat source and possibly where the prisoner's food cooked?



Working table inside the basement......



Well if it's a jail they needed a cell....how would you like to rest for a while in here?  Although during the hot summer one might be prone to get themselves locked up just for the coolness down here!



Ceiling again, because isn't it just cool how they just cut down a tree and used them for beams!
Just a quick stop a few miles north of Mantorville is the town Wasioja that was named after Indian Chief (Wazi-o-ju) who is believed to be buried near Devils' Staircase ...Wasioja means "River of Pines."  Much of this little hamlet of about 80 residents today still exists as it did at the turn of 19th century, except the Seminary as what is left is in ruins.




The Civil War Recruiting Station built of limestone by Colonel James George an original resident in 1855 for use of a bank and law office first, and 1862 the Union Army requested it's use.


Seminary Ruins it was established in 1858 with an enrollment of over 300 prior to the Civil War. Built with Wasioja limestone from nearby quarries. It was a fire in 1905 that destroyed the building and this is all that remains.  A Monument to the soldiers of the Civil War is here as well.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into two very charming towns...with a whole lot more of history than one can imagine.  If you stop here, don't forget to dine at the "Hubble House" built in 1854 as a single story log hotel and was replaced by a three story limestone structure and achieved world wide recognition as a fine restaurant (still operating) and you would be amazed by the who's who that all stayed or ate here!

If you want to add your own rough before the next theme go here

15 comments:

Bob Scotney said...

Stupendous! What a great post; amazing places to see - I'm very envious.

Karen S. said...

Bob S. Thanks so much! I really liked your rough water for Carmi's TP as well, but your Sepia Saturday post really rocked...if you haven't seen my comment anywhere...still don't understand why I can't comment on just a few blogs. But I say you win the prize on Sepia S. especially (folks check out ) his series all the way through!

Max Sartin said...

Way cool pictures. That limestone floor must have been a pain to clean. And talk about rough conditions, that bunk doesn't look all too comfortable and no privacy in the bathroom.

JJ said...

Great photos. It actually brings back memories. Our first home in New Hampshire was an 1869 school house we restored. We furnished it with a lot of the old stuff of the era. We had hooks very similar to the first picture.

Little Nell said...

That would be VERY rough and basic, but the photos are beautifully clear - not rough at all!

Karen S. said...

JJ That is so cool I can imagine it was a great place to live. If you have any photos you want to share I bet we'd all enjoy them....!

Max it sure would be tough to clean that floor but then it sure had enough cracks to brush the crumbs into! LOL!

Karen S. said...

Max it is a good question on the toilet too. I am really curious what era that was from. The tour guide that took us through had just graduated high school and was very new at taking people around....that's why I love going through places at different times. I've learned that every new tour guide has something new to offer!

Rathnashikamani said...

Amazing photography!

Karen S. said...

Rathnashikamani- Thanks it's a great place to shoot and I took a lot of photos...every time I visit that town, it has so much to offer!

Unknown said...

This is sooooo coool! I love this kind of stuff!
Thanks for sharing it!

Galen Pearl said...

Sometimes we look back at the good old days and think how lovely and peaceful and simple it all was...and then we look at some of these photos and go kiss our fridge! Rough indeed! Great post!

Karen S. said...

Galen- I know! and my soft carpet, and glass top stove....and so, so much more!

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

oh yeah...looks like pretty rough times...
((although even nowadays things aren't always smooooth!))
very cool ROUGH pictures...pretty rough on bare feet...ouch!

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

I love places like this, ones where you really do get a feel of how people used to live, kitchens in particular. Can you imagine having to cook in those conditions?

Jenny said...

What amazing texture you captured here. I love places like this.