Category: Postcards From Another Millennium

As mentioned in an earlier blog post, this is the cabin of the sole survivor of the Indian attack on a white settlement in Iowa, know as the Spirit Lake Massacre of 1857. The woman standing in front of the cabin is a re-enactor, providing interpretation of the event for visitors.

There is no description on the back of the card.
The cabin was extensively modified over the years once the original owner returned and used it as a tourist site. A new door and window were installed on the first floor, and a whole new second floor was added, as seen here.
Once the house was given to the state of Iowa as a historic site, the conservators decided to return it to the original appearance during the time of the massacre. The completed restoration is visible here.
The image likely dates from the 1930s.

This image shows a cave formed not by underground erosion, but by the movement of two uneven formations toward and against each other, in this case forming a triangular opening which decreases towards the rear. Thus, it is not a proper cave at all.
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Curiously, a search on the web shows that this is a popular description for narrow caves throughout the United States. Perhaps instead of cave this should be better labeled a rock shelter.
This image likely dates from the 1940’s.

This image shows a large formation which has the look of a constructed feature. The large boulder, deposited here and then extensively eroded, is not part of the formation it sits upon.
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The large sign affixed near the top of the boulder reads “Balanced Rock  –  Hands Off”. It is not clear what human hands alone could do to affect the boulder, so it can be presumed the hope is to discourage souvenir hunters from chipping away pieces with hammers and such.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.

This is a view of an external erosion feature, one of many in Maquoketa Caves State Park. The park is made up of heavily eroded geologic features which were formed during and after the last Ice Age, about 12-14000 years ago.
There is no description on the back of the card.
Such natural bridges are found throughout the United States wherever there is extensive erosion still present at the surface, including forests, deserts and even some oceanside bridges, such as the ones in Santa Cruz, California in Natural Bridges State Beach. The image shown in the link shows a collapsed bridge and only the remaining rocks.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.

This image shows a stone bench on the right, possibly used as a walkway, and on the left a dark rock outcrop that with some imagination can appear as a face. Above it there is a light colored formation which might also be construed as a face, though the characteristics are significantly more vague.
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The center of the picture appears to be a watercourse. This main cave passage is much more simple and underdeveloped than other such caves, without the obvious lighting, paths and handrails which were installed to more closely constrain visitor movement and increase safety.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.

This image follows on the previous one showing the same opening from the inside. The collapsed opening is also evident here, though it is too dark to tell if the water level is the same from this vantage point.
There is no description on the back of this card.
Such natural formations as this were extensively developed as tourist attractions in places throughout the United States where they were found. Many became well known, either because of the stature as high quality cave formations, or through aggressive advertising on the highways and freeways being built.
This picture likely dates from the 1940s.

This image shows the watery and collapsed opening to the cave named Dance Hall Cave. This feature is part of the much larger Maquoketa Caves State Park in Maquoketa, IA.
There is no description on the back of the card.
Caves such as these often were given imaginative names to encourage tourists to view them. It probably takes quite a bit of imagination to see a flooded cave such as this as a dance hall of any sort.
This image likely dates from the 1940s.

This image shows the road which passes the Iowa Training School for Boys, a reform school for what were then termed ‘juvenile delinquents’ located just west of Eldora, Iowa.
There is no description on the back of the card.
Such ‘reform schools’ were established throughout the country during this period, with the growth of social services and the development of therapeutic programs for children who had criminal records.
This image is likely from the 1930s.

This image shows a newly constructed roadway bridge which appears to replace an older dirt and gravel route shown in the foreground.
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Such construction was a matter of pride and prestige in the 1930’s due to the constraints of the Great Depression in the United States. Such bridges as this allowed much more convenient, safe and speedy travel in rural areas which were still largely served with gravel roads.
This picture likely dates to the 1930s.