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Category Archives: Buildings

The Hotel Florance

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The Hotel Florence, a gem within Chicago’s Pullman Historic District, stands as a testament to the grandeur of the late 19th century. Built in 1881 by architect Solon Spencer Beman, it was commissioned by George Pullman, the founder of the Pullman Palace Car Company, to accommodate visiting businessmen and dignitaries. Named after Pullman’s eldest daughter, the hotel exudes an aura of Victorian elegance with its Queen Anne style architecture, featuring a wide wraparound veranda and intricate detailing. Inside, guests were treated to luxurious amenities, including a spacious dining room, a billiard room, and a saloon, all designed to impress and entertain.

Over the years, the Hotel Florence witnessed the rise and fall of the Pullman empire, surviving the tumultuous labor strikes of the 1890s and the eventual decline of the railroad industry. In 1975, the Historic Pullman Foundation stepped in to save the hotel from demolition, recognizing its historical significance. Today, it is owned by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which is currently overseeing a major renovation project. The goal is to restore the hotel to its former glory and reopen it to the public, allowing visitors to experience the opulence and charm of a bygone era.

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The Graue Mill

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Located in Oak Brook, Illinois, east of Chicago, stands a historic water mill, one of only two still operating in the Land of Lincoln. This remarkable structure is a testament to the ingenuity and perseverance of the Graue family.

Friedrich Graue, an immigrant from Germany, arrived in the United States in the late 1840s. He settled in Fullersburg, a burgeoning farming village and transportation hub. Recognizing the potential of the local clay-rich soil, Graue and his family diligently dug ditches to improve drainage and harvested the clay for brick production. Utilizing their own labor and locally sourced materials, they constructed a kiln on their farmstead and meticulously built the mill, complete with a waterwheel.

The mill began operation in the summer of 1852. Guided by their Pietist faith, the Graues, who opposed slavery, played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad, making their mill one of three confirmed stops in Illinois.

For approximately 60 years, the Graue Mill thrived under three generations of the family. However, advancements in milling technology, particularly the advent of steel rolling mills, eventually led to its decline.

In the 1930s, the derelict mill underwent a significant restoration effort by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Reopened to the public in 1951 as a working historic site, the Graue Mill now serves as a captivating museum, operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, offering visitors a glimpse into the past.

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The OId Jail in Hannibal

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Hannibal, Missouri, the birthplace of the legendary Mark Twain, is a charming town steeped in history. Its picturesque downtown, lined with quaint shops and inviting restaurants, warmly welcomes visitors arriving by riverboat. Just a short walk away, an intriguing sight catches the eye: a weathered building with barred windows, once the town’s police station and jail. One can’t help but wonder what secrets this old structure holds, what tales its walls could tell of bygone eras.

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The Soldiers Home and the Cemetery

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Near downtown Milwaukee near the baseball stadium is this magnificent old building. It was built in 1867 as a home for disabled veterans. In April of 1864 a group of local women created a temporary home in downtown Milwaukee to service Veterans with meals and medical care. The women raised $100,000 – a staggering amount of money in the 1860s – and obtained a state charter for construction of a permanent facility.  The group of local women turned over the funds they had raised to the federal government and the Milwaukee Soldiers Home was constructed and opened in 1867. It is one of only three remaining original VA facilities in the nation. It has been undergoing renovations for housing for homeless veterans.

Behind the Soldier’s Home is the Wood National Cemetery. It was started in 1871 and was used to bury the residents of the home that had died. Originally known only as Soldiers Home Cemetery, it wasn’t until 1937 the name was changed to honor Gen. George Wood, a longtime member of the Soldiers’ Home’s Board of Managers. It became a national cemetery in 1973.

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The Perry County Courthouse

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New Lexington Ohio sits about forty miles southeast of Columbus. It is there you will find this magnificent Richardsonian Romanesque style building. It is the Perry County Courthouse and it was built in 1887. It is a magnificent looking and historic building. They don’t build new buildings like it anymore.

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Fort King

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A couple miles east of downtown Ocala Florida is a wooden fort and blockhouse. It is a replica of Fort King named after Colonel William King, commander of Florida’s Fourth Infantry and the first governor of the provisional West Florida region. The original fort was built in 1827 during United States tensions with the Seminole It was originally established to serve as a buffer between new settlers and the Seminole and it was used by the United States Army during removal of the Seminole during the Seminole Wars.  The fort served as a courthouse in the region until the Marion County courthouse was built in 1844. Soon after Fort King was abandoned and local residents salvaged the timber for structures. The replica was constructed in 2017 and is now a National Historic Landmark.

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The Haunted Infirmary

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South of Winchester, Indiana along US-27 is a large brick building. Above the front door carved in stone are the words RANDOLPH CO. INFIRMARY. It was built in 1899 and served the citizens of Randolph County for over a century. The property started as the county poor farm in 1851, taking care of the mentally and physically disabled, elderly and orphans. The large 5000 square foot building that stands today cared for many people over the decades.

It has also seen its share of tragedy. It is believed that over two hundred people have died in the facility, many from tuberculosis and some to suicide and possibly murder. It is said that one man died after being pushed out a second story window. The infirmary contained up to 350 acres for farming and livestock, and it also has a cemetery with unmarked graves for the people who died under its care.

In the 1990s, it was used as a nursing home; it closed in 2008. The current owner, Dan Allen, purchased the historic old asylum in 2016 to save it from demolition. It is currently being used as a paranormal attraction for visitors to explore paranormal activity.

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The Clifton Mill

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In the heart of the Miami Valley in Ohio is the small town of Clifton. It is mostly known for the historic mill powered by the Little Miami River. Along with the mill, the town has many other old buildings and an interesting history. The river flowing for eons has cut through the earth, making a natural gorge and a perfect location for water powered mills. Col. Robert Patterson, an ancestor of the founder of National Cash Register in Dayton, John Patterson, chose the Little Miami River for the site of his woolen mill. It furnished material for the American army during the War of 1812. Soon after, five other mills sprang up along the river, including a woolen mill, saw mill, paper mill, barrel mill and a grist mill (used for grinding grains).

In 1802, Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman Owen Davis built the first mill in the Clifton Gorge. The village around the mills became known as Davis Mills. When the village was platted in the 1830s and given a post office, it was named Clifton for the surrounding cliffs in the gorge. The mill that Owen Davis built over two centuries ago is the Clifton Mill that still stands today and is one of the oldest mills in the United States. Clifton has many historic buildings, including an old blacksmith shop, service station and opera house that is still used by the community for public functions.

A wooden covered bridge crosses over the Little Miami River and is used as a pedestrian bridge. It was built in the 1990s to resemble bridges of the past. The Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve and John Bryan State Park are nearby and offer a chance to experience the natural surroundings of the gorge. The mill is privately owned and still grinds grain, using water power. Tours are available to see how it operates. It also has a restaurant and gift shop for visitors to get a bite to eat or take home a reminder of their visit. During the Christmas season, the old mill is decorated with four million lights and attracts visitors from far away to see the dazzling display. In 2021, it took third place on the USA Today’s list of the ten best holiday displays.

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The Two Story Outhouse

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Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “as dumb as a two-story outhouse.” Among the trees, in Cedar Lake, in central Michigan, is a tall historic two-story wooden outhouse. It is a replica of an historic outhouse that sat on the property but had collapsed a few years ago due to decay and neglect.

The original two-story privy and house were built by William Nelson, a wealthy lumber baron who had seven daughters. The girls lived upstairs and the lower part of the home served as Mr. Nelson’s office and a general store that was frequented by lumberjacks. The lumber baron wanted to keep his daughters separated from the men so he built the outhouse with a bridge (which collapsed in the 50s) to the second floor of the home.

The outhouse had four different size holes to match four different size derrieres. The holes on the top are off-set from the holes on the bottom. A wooden panel behind the bottom set of holes separates the waste from the occupants at the bottom, giving a whole new meaning to the term “poop chute”

It is funny to see the new outhouse standing with an upper door and floor but if you know the history of it, the unique privy makes sense.

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The Falls and the Power Plant

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The Kanawha River flows through the mountains of West Virginia and past the state capitol of Charleston. The river connects to the New River near the New River Gorge National Park. Route 60 winds its way along the Kanawha River and through the town of Glen Ferris. It is there that you will see the Kanawha Falls and and old power plant building next them. The hydroelectric plant was built in 1899 and produced electricity from until 2004, when one of its large generators failed. In 2010 the old plant was refurbished and began generating electricity in 2011. A park sits across from the falls and the plant and gives a spectacular view of the river powering the generators as you listen to the water falling over the the rocks.

P.S. Growing up in the flat lands of central Michigan, it is interesting driving down the winding mountain roads of West Virginia.

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