Posts Tagged ‘history’

A sign that says “Help Bring The Bradford Bison Home” is still stuck to the wall outside the Tripp Memorial Museum in Sauk Prairie.  It’s now been over 5 years since Joshua Bradford, then age 7, discovered the partial skull and intact horns of an extinct Bison occidentalis (Buffalo to the rest of us..) estimated to be at least 5,000 years old. At the time, the horns were sent to Madison to be dated. It was assumed that they would then be returned to Sauk Prairie to be put on display for the whole community.

Of course once it was realized that the boy’s discovery had real value, the adults began to wrangle over ownership and other such “grown-up” issues.  From 2005 onward the artifact has rarely been seen by anyone.  A resolution of sorts came when there was a decision that Alliant Energy owned the horns because they own the dam on the Wisconsin river near where the artifact was discovered.  They then donated them back to the local historical society.

The Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society is now working to bring the Bradford Bison back to Sauk Prairie where it will finally made available to everyone.  The problem now?  Well, money of course.  The building housing the Tripp Memorial Museum in Sauk Prairie is over 100 years old and in need of some maintenance. According to their website, after discussions with Laura Halverson, a curator at the University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum, the museum needs to invest about $25,000 into repairs and upgrades before they will be able to bring the artifact back to the community in which it was found. Even when the money is available, it will take some time to get the work done before we actually see the return of the Bradford Bison. The sad part of all this,  is that the boy who made the historic find in the first place could practically be an adult by the time his find is returned. A great lesson in how the adult world works I suppose.

We’re not talking about massive sums of money here to protect Sauk Prairie’s history for everyone to share. They look like they are about half way so far, let’s hope that it won’t be another 5 years before those who can, come up with the rest.

• Tripp Memorial Museum – Learn More & Donate
• Boy, 7, Makes Stunning Archaeological Discovery - Wisconsin Historical Society
• Bradford Bison will return to Sauk Prairie – WN

Two Modern Day Buffalo on a farm near Baraboo, WI.

2011 will mark the centennial for Devil’s Lake State Park. This hundred year anniversary is not just a celebration of nature or conservation, but a reminder of the economic value of land left un-scarred by privatization, greed and self-interest. The Baraboo hills area is blessed with innumerable acres of public lands, protected natural areas and private conservation areas open to public use. In fact, Wisconsin’s first designated natural area, Parfrey’s Glen is just a couple miles east of Devil’s Lake. It’s fair to say that the Baraboo hills have long been recognized as a special place demanding thoughtful use with an eye toward preservation.

In our part of the state the land itself leads us toward an economy heavily supported by tourism and outdoor recreation. Although this should be obvious to everyone living within the walls of the Baraboo valley, it often is not. The idea that land is without value if it cannot be owned, paved,  taxed, plowed, or built upon, still has deep roots in the minds of many and will be hard to remove. There are no chasms between preservation and profit, but it does take a clear mind to envision the possibilities.  It is my hope that this centennial celebration will help to open a few more eyes to what should have always been terribly obvious. Devil’s Lake State Park is the anchor of our local economy. Not the factories, or some new office complex on the riverfront, and certainly not the leftovers of passersby on their way to Wisconsin Dells. No, what Baraboo is, is the center of a thriving outdoor recreational destination waiting almost 100 years for many in the business community to fully understand the potential. The Devil’s Lake State Park centennial offers an opportunity to bring this point home to everyone. The first planning meeting for the 2011 celebration will be held at the Devil’s Lake State Park office at 10 am on Jan 28th. 2 days from now.

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The Baraboo train station as it was.

There is nothing more amazing to me than the passing of time captured on a bit of old card. I’ve always found old post cards fascinating. I wonder at the power of a photograph back when photographs were not so common. When one oddly colored, low resolution image could arrive in the mail and capture the imagination for days on end.  A time when people take time to contemplate every detail and grasp for just a sense of what it would be like to be right there, inside that image.

Today old post cards, especially those that feature local landscapes, tell us about change.  We can compare the spot down through time. We can judge ourselves and our communities.  Have we improved things since then or have we just made a mess of it?  The answers are almost always as interesting as they are complex.

The Baraboo train station as it is.

The post card above features the old Baraboo Train Station located on the south side of town.  (Yes, we do have a “South Side” and an “Across the tracks”..)  This railway station in it’s day roared with the bustle of daily life. At that time the rail ruled the world.  Today, the rail is simply doing well to be maintained or converted to bike paths.  The Baraboo railway station  is simply a shell of it’s former self used as a warehouse.  The windows are blocked up. All the finery and woodwork have long be tossed out or rotted away.  Personally I always felt we would be wise to renovate the old beast and turn it into restaurants and shops, something many more visionary communities around the state and around the country have done with great results.  There’s always hope!

Here are a few more historic area postcards from Baraboo & Devil’s Lake State Park.  Enjoy.

See More Pictures of  the Historic Baraboo Railway Station on our Flickr. Click here.