|
make the journey: otter spring and
sawmills | waukesha springs
| national registry
The Otter Spring House is a small log structure located over a natural
spring adjacent to Otter Spring in the Town of Lincoln, Forest County.
Built by a local Civilian Conservation Corps camp in 1933, the Spring
House is a structure of high significance to the local populace, particularly
members of the Potowatomi community, due to its historic role in the
practical and cultural life of the community.
 |
| Herrling Sawmill, on the grounds of historic Wade
House in Greenbush, Wisconsin. Visiting information for Wade
House is available on the WHS
Web site. |
Herrling
Sawmill
Located on the grounds at Wade
House historic site in Greenbush, the new Herrling Sawmill stands
on what was its original site from 1854 to 1910. The Sawmill was originally
run by Charles Robinson, and then by Theodor Herrling. The new mill
was dedicated and opened to the public on June 16, 2001, becoming one
of a rare few working water-powered sawmills of its kind in North America.
The turbine-powered sawmill draws energy from a reconstructed mill pond,
fed by the Mullet River, to saw lumber daily as a historic demonstration
for mill visitors.
How-Beckman Mill
The Beckman Mill is located in Beckman Mill Park 5 miles west of Beloit
on County Road H. It is approximately 1 mile south of State Highway
81. The park encompasses 50 acres and is owned by Rock County. Guided
tours of the mill are from 1-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from May through
October.
The mill is registered in the Wisconsin State and National Register
(see below).
Waukesha Springs
Little is known of the early history of the early history of Hobo Spring,
located in Waukesha's Frame Park near the Fox River. Improved sometime
between 1880 and 1892, Hobo Spring was named for the travelers who came
in search of fresh water after hitching a ride on the nearby Soo Line
Railroad. Hobo Spring's early visitors stood out in clear contrast to
those who visited other Waukesha spring sites and resorts. By the late
1920s, the city of Waukesha had aquired the land for Frame Park and
Hobo Spring became a spot frequented by local residents. After years
of neglect through the 1970s and 1980s, Hobo Spring was the recipient
of a massive preservation project in 1997. The clear spring water flows
from an inner basin into a stepped wading pool, appearing as it did
more than 100 year ago.
Located in Waukesha Springs Park, Silurian Spring's octagonal spring
house remains as one of the only intact spring houses in Waukesha. Silurian
water was first advertised in 1874. In the years that followed, the
water was bottled for commercial sale, and the site was improved to
include reading rooms, bathing rooms, room for a band and eventually
a large theater. The existing springhouse was constructed around 1920.
It features eight tile panels painted with scenes from Waukesha's springs
era. Inside, the spring water still bubbles in a beautiful marble basin.
Located in Bethesda Park, it is the location where Col. Richard Dunbar
first took of the "miraculous" water and was healed, leading to a resort
and tourist industry that forever changed the course of development
in Waukesha. That era lasted until about 1915, when modern medicine
had debunked the claims of the healing powers of the water and the personal
automobile had led to changes in the way that Americans vacationed.
Bethesda water continued to be bottled until the late 1990s. At Bethesda
Park, a simple brick srtucture covers the still-flowing spring. The
trees planted to line the carriage paths of Dunbar's park beautification
plan remain as visual reminders of Bethesda's past.
 |
The Solarium, Moor (Mud
Baths)
515 Moreland Blvd., Waukesha, Waukesha County |
The Moor (Mud) Baths health resort was established by the Weber Family
in 1911. The early success of the resort led to the establishment of
one of the naturally flowing springs on the property to supply the water
needs of the resort. Drinking 6 to 8 glasses a day of the spring water
was an important component of the regimen at the resort. The formed-concrete
springhouse built over the spring was completed in 1915. That same year,
a clubhouse and golf course were added to the resort, at the time being
one of the earliest golf courses in Wisconsin. The resort operated until
1959. The resort property remains largely intact with the resort building
housing the Waukesha County Health and Human Services Department. The
golf course, club house and spring house all remain on the site of the
county-owned Moor Downs Golf Course.
http://www.shsw.wisc.edu/histbuild/index.html
The National Register of Historic Places is the official Federal list
of properties significant in American history, architecture, engineering
and archaeology. The following site provides some of the historic flavor
of The Power of Water.
 |
| Main Building and Parks of the Moor (Mud) Baths
share the Grand View Health Resort's grounds in Waukesha, Waukesha
County. |
The discovery of "curative" springs in the Waukesha area in 1868 resulted
in the development of a resort and spa industry in the city. Large hotels
were built to accommodate the thousands of visitors who came to Waukesha
each year during the peak of the "Spring Era" of the late nineteenth
century.
The Grand View Health Resort is a late example of resorts developed during
this period. The Grand View was known for its use of the local mud as
a therapeutic treatment. A visitor discovered dark, rich mud on the property
in 1907. The mud was found to be similar to the mud used in famous German
spas; the owner of the Waukesha property, John Weber, capitalized on the
discovery. When Weberís resort first opened in 1911, it had only 30 guestrooms,
as well as dining facilities and the bathing rooms. As it prospered, the
resort grew to 200 rooms with major additions in 1921 and 1927. The resulting
resort building is a large, H-shaped block, with a large wing extending
to the rear. A colonnaded portico (now enclosed) joins the two hyphens.
Also located on the grounds are the Moor Baths Spring House, located over
the original spring on the property, and the Moor Downs Golf Course. All
of the elements worked together to create a complete health and relaxation
facility for the visitor.
After the resort closed in the early 1960s, the main building was first
converted for use as a seminary. It later became a county office building.
As a result much of the interior of the building was remodeled.
The How-Beckman Mill is a rectangular, vernacular, timber-frame building.
The structural timbers are hewn white pine. The mill is three-stories
tall and approximately 34í by 42í. It rests on a full limestone basement
that is partially exposed on the sides and fully exposed in the rear.
Under the basement, to the rear, is a turbine pit with two horizontal
turbines. The building and its turbines have been meticulously restored
and are fully operational.
The How-Beckman Mill is a significant vestige of 19th century water power and
rural industry. It is the last operating example of what were once a
great number of grist and saw mills in Rock County. Charles Goodhue,
Jr. built the mill in 1858 to replace one that had been destroyed by
fire. In 1868, the mill passed into the ownership of William How and
he converted the structure into a flouring mill. In 1882, Catherine
Beckman was deeded the mill. The mill was operated continuously by the
Beckman family from 1882 until 1954. Their peak years of production
were during World War I, when the mill operated night and day. The mill
operated until the 1950s when it closed. By 1990, the mill was in poor
condition and on the verge of collapse. At this time, the Friends
of Beckman Mill, Inc. was formed to preserve and restore the building.
The building is open to the public seasonally from May through October.
|
