Sauder Village...a walk through Black Swamp History

The village is basically arranged in concentric circles with a loop off to one side the holds the pioneer settlement and a Native American village.  There are barns and animals, in addition to original Fulton county buildings that have been moved to the site.  All very interesting to the humans.



Maple Grove School,Chesterfield Twp., Fulton Co., OH



The Maple Grove School was actually moved to Sauder Village from an area near the Ohio-Michigan border, north of the town of Wauseon.  It was used from 1898 to 1916.  After being used for 18 years, a new centralized school was built in 1916, and the time of one-room schoolhouses in Fulton County came to an end.   



Pioneer Home kitchen





The typical 1834 pioneer home in Fulton county looked much like this with the canvas from the wagon serving as the roof for the first summer.  As fall came, mud from the swamp was put between the logs to ready the building for the coming winter.  Nancy's ancestors, John and Jane Nobbs, spent part of their first winter in Fulton County in their wagon because they did not arrive until October of 1835.  They were finally able to build a house and move in by January, but not before losing an infant to the harsh living conditions.

Besides all the historic buildings there is also a great quilt shop (Nancy now has even more cloth!), ice cream store, candy shop, and working pottery, broom maker, basket weaver, tin smith, wood shop, and glass blower that all sell their products.

Short note from Sauder Village



First time for guests for dinner in the new camper!



Bobbi cooked a lovely breakfast for the humans (I wasn't invited!) and they were off to spend the day at the Village. The village depicted life in the Great Black Swamp in northwest Ohio from it's first settlement in 1834 to the turn of the century.  There must have been alot of walking because they were gone all day and they were really tired when they got back to the camper!  They went swimming and then came back to the campers and had supper at our camper.  I have lots of neat pictures to post and more to tell you, but the internet is very slow here and I'm having trouble uploading the pictures, so I will post them when we get home.



Pool--note the waterfall over rocks into pool



indoor eating area beside pool---yes that is a life-size tree!

(Both pictures above compliments of Sauder website: http://www.saudervillage.org/home/default.asp)

Archbold Ohio

Wow! I didn't think I'd have another adventure so soon. The humans grabbed me this morning and put me in the truck----I was sure that I was going to the vet and let them know that it wasn't time for my yearly check-up yet!  Soon I discovered that the camper was hooked up and it was apparently going to the vet with me---luckily we ended up in Archbold Ohio at Sauder Village Campground.

We have stayed here before, but today we met Ron's brother and his wife.  They just got a new camper and wanted to try it out.  It is a cold weekend and the furnace sure feels good.  Tomorrow the humans are going to the village while I catch up on my napping.  There is also an indoor pool---which I will not be using!!!!!

http://www.saudervillage.org/home/default.asp
I checked out Sauder's website and found out a little information:
This place is an historic village depicting the settlement of NW Ohio with demonstrations of daily rural life in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The craft buildings and studios are home to several nationally recognized craftsmen working with traditional crafts in both historic and modern interpretations.

In 1934, local farm boy Erie J. Sauder (1904-1997) with plenty of vision, determination and God-given mechanical ability, founded the Sauder Woodworking Company, today a world leader in ready-to-assemble furniture.

Although he was always a forward thinker, Erie was well aware that the past had paved the way. He was particularly partial to the stories of his ancestors who had been among those who settled NW Ohio's Great Black Swamp in the mid 1830s.  That's why, in the 1970s, he had dozens of structures, built by hand a century earlier, moved from locations throughout NW Ohio to create the Sauder Village.
Today, the third generation of his family oversees the Village, which includes a 350-seat restaurant; a bakery; a campground; a 98-room country inn and an exhibit/performance center, Founder's Hall.

Irish Hills, Michigan

Yep, we are home.  We got here late this afternoon. So I'll catch you all up on the past few days........

We got up early on Saturday and I thought we were on the road again, but the humans just packed up the camper, hooked up, put me in the truck and drove into town.  They parked by the river and left me to guard the truck and trailer while they went on a boat ride in the Wisconsin Dells.  (Wise decision to leave me in the truck----I hate boat rides).  They were gone a couple hours and they got to see some really impressive rock formations.  The wind was blowing pretty hard, so they also got to see white-caps on the river, which I guess is a little unusual.

We drove (or should I say, battled wind) to Elgin Illinois for the night.  We found a really neat campground in a forest preserve.  Huge sites and friendly neighbors.  Ron decided to take the freeway through Chicago instead of taking the toll-way.  He figured that since it was Sunday morning, it wouldn't be that busy. (Wrong!).  Anyway, we made it home safely.  The camper is unpacked and the dirty clothes are in the washer.  I've given myself a good licking--so most of the road dust is off me too. 

I'm going to say bye for now, check back (or subscribe to this blog)----there are more adventures to come!

Wisconsin Dells

Another trip in the truck today to another campground.  Tonight we are in Wisconsin Dells!  On the way we stopped to see a drinking fountain built for both horses and humans.  (Guess they forgot that cats need water too!)  Next we stopped at the Spam Museum in Ausin Minnesota.  I love Spam, but they didn't bring me out any samples :(  Along the way we saw a lot of wind farms.  The windmills are really huge and scary---I wonder what kind of seeds they grow from?  We finally made it to the KOA in Wisconsin Dells.  The humans went to check out the town, while I took a nap.  I hear it is wall to wall tourist traps---sorta a cross between Gatlinburg and Niagra Falls.  A person could go broke just going to all the things here.  They ended up at the Ho Chung casino for buffet supper and to play some slots. 

Welcome Minnesota

The past two days have been fun---I got to go sight-seeing with the humans!  I thought that we were just moving to a new campsite, but there were some really neat things to see along the way!  We traveled east from Rapid City and drove to Wall South Dakota, the home of Wall Drug Store.  R&N went in for a look-see and ate breakfast.  The place is a maze of areas selling lots of things from drug-store items to cowboy boots.  There was lots of information about the history of the area, an extensive collection of original western art, and of course, free water.

Praire Dogs

Next we drove through Badlands National Park.  The terrain was really different---it looked like rocks just popped out of the flat ground.  These geologic deposits contain one of the world's richest fossil beds. Ancient mammals such as the rhino, horse, and saber-toothed cat once roamed there. The park's 244,000 acres protect an expanse of mixed-grass prairie where bison, bighorn sheep, deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and black-footed ferrets live today.  We only saw swift fox, prairie dogs, and something with horns—maybe a pronghorn or a mule deer---it was a ways away.



Interior of Corn Palace

We stopped in Mitchell for the night and then toured the Corn Palace this morning.  The first Corn Palace was built in 1892.  By 1905 the town had outgrown the first one and a new one was built.  The one we saw today was built in 1921.  The Corn Palace is used for industrial exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms, graduations as well as district, regional and state basketball tournaments.  They were setting up for a banquet when we were there.  The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it “the agricultural show-place of the world”.  Currently they use 13 different colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace.  A different theme is chosen each year, and murals are designed to reflect that theme.   Ear by ear the corn is nailed to the Corn Palace to create a scene.  The decorating process usually starts in late May with the removal of the rye and dock.  The corn murals are stripped at the end of August and the new ones are completed by early fall.  They were working on the last two today.  It is sort of painting by corn.  The artist draws the picture on the wall and numbers the different areas of color, and then the correct color is nailed up.

Our next stop was Sioux Falls SD.  They have a beautiful city park around the falls.  The Big Sioux River was low, so the falls were a trickle.  But we did get to see the foundations of Queen Bee Mill, built in 1887 and a hydroelectric plant built in 1908.

Tonight we are in Welcome, Minnesota.  We had a rainstorm after we got here; followed by a beautiful double rainbow.

 

Black Hills--Deadwood and Lead

Pit Mine.  1/2 mile wide, 1200' deep

Last day in the Black hills for us.  I got to sleep in again today while the humans went sight-seeing.  Today they went to Deadwood, Lead, and Spearfish, with a side trip to Wyoming (just to say they have been there and so they can put the sticker on the map on the side of our camper).  While in Deadwood they decided to by-pass the casinos and restaurants and go a museum about the town then on to Lead to see an old open pit gold mine. 



Main Street Deadwood SD




Road to Spearfish



Spearfish Canyon

The actual Deadwood/Lead gold rush began in 1875 and ended in 1877.   But, the Homestake Mining Company continued mining gold there for 122 years. Before its closing in 2002, Homestake Gold Mine was the oldest, largest and deepest mine in the Western Hemisphere, reaching more than 8000 feet below the town of Lead.   Now I wish I would have gone along---Ron said that the best scenic drive they had driven on the trip so far, was the road between Lead and Spearfish.  Towering granite cliffs and massive lodge pole pines lines the road for several miles.  In the middle of Spearfish canyon was a peaceful trout stream.  Spearfish has a lovely city campground, which we checked out for future trips through the area.  It is closed for the season, so we couldn’t stay there this trip.  After driving into Wyoming and turning around, they headed back to the camper so I could have my afternoon treat on time (thank you very much!)

Tomorrow it is on to The Badlands, Wall Drug and points east………

Black Hills SD, October 10, 2011

Wow what a day!  The humans left me for over 12 hours.  I was not a happy camper when they got home, but treats, lots of pets and a little lap time made things ok again.  After looking over the pictures they took, I’m glad I stayed home.  They drove all over and saw a lot of different things.  They started out the morning by visiting Bear Country.  A drive through animal park with lots of animals that I think I would have been scared of.  (Click on the slide show in the upper left corner of the blog to see lots of pictures of them.)  The animals, like bear, elk, and wolves, where all running loose and they drove through in our truck.

Next they were on to Mt. Rushmore, where they saw the heads of four Presidents carved into the side of the rocks.  They watched a movie about the building of the statues and took lots of pictures.  (As they were leaving the monument a little girl and her mother were walking towards it.  The little girl said to her mom: “Look at the silly faces someone put on those rocks!”)



Crazy Horse Memorial (work was started in 1948)



This is what the carving will look like when finished

Later they stopped at the Crazy Horse Memorial, where they are carving a statue of Crazy Horse on his horse in the side of a mountain.  It was started in 1947 and has a long way to go to look like the model they have on the grounds.  There were native American artisans selling their products.  Nancy purchased a poncho that smells a lot like a lama.



The truck fit!



They checked out Sylvan Lake and then spent several hours driving the curvy roads and looking at the needle rocks in Custer State Park and Mt Rushmore National forest.  There were several tunnels on the road.  One of them was only 8’4” wide and 12’ high. Right  after they went through that very narrow tunnel, a class A motor home came down the road towards them----I wonder what happened to it.  It couldn’t fit through the hole, and I don’t think there was a large enough place for it to turn around!

They stopped in Keystone for supper and then went back to Mt. Rushmore to see it illuminated after dark.

  

Rapid City South Dakota

We spent most of the day in the car.  All we saw were a lot of farm fields, cattle and some strange looking bare hills.  It was cloudy and rainy, but cleared up by we got to our campsite here at Happy Holiday.  We had hoped to stay in a campground that Nancy's cousin stayed in this summer, but it was closed for the season, so we are here in Rapid City instead.  After we were set up, Ron and Nancy went to check out the town, while I watched our new neighbors.  (This campground has a common  shared gazebo between every two campsites.)  I was hoping that they would come over and bring me a treat---no luck.   It all worked out ok---when the humans came home we had mac and cheese and spam for supper----I love spam!

Tomorrow the humans are going to Mt Rushmore---so I will be able to take a nice long nap.



Storm over Nebraska Farmland



We moved to a new campsite today.  I had to laugh (or at least smile behind my whiskers); the only two times today when is really poured down rain is when Ron had to hook up/put away and unhook/set up the camper.  I helped by staying out of the way, under the bedspread.  The rest of the day it was just cloudy and sprinkling most of the time. 



Fly on flank of statue of horse



We traveled from Smith Center Kansas to Ogallala Nebraska.   Ogallala first gained fame as a terminus for cattle drives that traveled from Texas to the Union Pacific railhead located here.  It was also a stop on the Pony express.



The Trail Boss.  Bronze statue at Boot Hill in Ogallala Nebraska



 “Gomorrah of the cattle trail” That’s how one trail driver, Andy Adams described early Ogallala.  In his book, “Log of a Cowboy” Adams, who first came up the trail in 1875 said: “We finally scaled the last divide and there below in the valley of the South Platte, nestled Ogallala, the Gomorrah of the cattle trail.  From amongst its half hundred buildings, no church spire pointed upward, but instead three-fourths of its business houses were dance halls, gambling houses and saloons.”[1]

After getting settled at the Country View Campground, the humans went to check out the area.  They visited Boot Hill Cemetery and Lake McConaughy. 

The lake is Nebraska’s largest reservoir with more than 35,000 surface acres and 105 miles of shoreline.  The dam, which impounds the North Platte River, is 20 miles long, 4 miles wide and 142’ deep at the dam.  At 3.5 miles long, 162’ high and 1,100 feet thick at the base, it is the largest earthen dam in the United States.  The state’s largest hydro-electric plant is located at the dam.



Dam at Lake McConaughy



Tomorrow we head for the black hills.  Ron and Nancy both put on long pants and sweatshirts------glad I have my fur coat on!  It has been in the 80s and now we have the heater on.

[1] Lake McConaughy, Ogallala 2011 Area Tour and Travel Guide

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Smith County Kansas



Pretty sunny day today.  The humans were up and out early, so I had the camper to myself for the day.  They spent the day digging around the courthouses in Phillips and Smith Counties and then used the info they found to try to locate the properties that Nancy’s grandparents and great grandparents occupied.  They did pretty good for only having a day to look.  

While they were driving around they checked out Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), the first national wildlife refuge in Kansas. The primary purpose of Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge is to conserve, maintain, and manage wildlife and habitat for migratory birds. The 10,778 acre Kirwin NWR is located in the rolling hills and narrow valley of the North Fork of the Solomon River in north-central Kansas. The Refuge lies in an area where the tall grass prairies of the east meet the short grass plains of the west. 



Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge



It got windy here in the afternoon—so I spent quite a bit of time under the couch.  Tomorrow we are off to Nebraska.

Smith Center Kansas



Windfarm



Geezzz---where did all this wind come from?  Not only is it windy, dust is blowing everywhere.  I’m so dusty----I don’t think I have enough spit to get myself clean!   Apparently it is extra windy, because even the locals are complaining.  They are predicting 45 mph wind gusts tomorrow---glad we are not traveling.  We drove from Emporia to Smith Center today.  It was really gusty, but we took it slow and got here safely.

Getting in the crops

On the way we saw a lot of farmland---it seemed to go on forever.  I had hoped to see tumbleweed---and I did-just as it hit our truck!  It was a big one too, but didn’t do any damage.  I can’t figure how it could hit us; we were the only vehicle on the road for a couple miles each way!  I also got to see cowboys working cattle on horses.  Boy am I’m glad I’m not a horse, those saddles look uncomfortable, this stupid collar with the clinking bells is bad enough.



Ron with World's Largest ball of Twine



We stopped at Cawker City and saw the world’s largest ball of twine. Frank Stoeber started the World's Largest Ball of Twine in 1953. In just 4 years the giant ball of twine weighed 5,000 pounds and stood 8 feet high. Stoeber gave the ball of twine to Cawker City, Kansas in 1961. Today the ball weighs almost 9 tons.

After we got set up at the campground in Smith Center, the humans drove over to Kensington to look for a grave and try to find property owned by one of Nancy’s Great Uncles---they found both!  Afterwards they made a grocery run and brought me home eggs and sausage for supper.  Needless to say, they didn’t eat outside---just too windy.  We have great internet here, but no TV reception.  So while I caught up on my napping, they went to a movie (The Help).  Tomorrow they are off to court houses and libraries.