Tag Archives: 1900s

Frontier Scene, Pine Bluffs, Wyoming

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This image shows the small settlement of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming as it looked just after the start of the 20th century.
There is no description on the back of this card.
–The town is located on the border between Wyoming and Nebraska. Its growth was predicated on the presence of the railroad and the trailhead for cattle drives which ended here to allow transport of cattle to eastern markets. Even with this, the population today is just over 1100.
This image is noted on the card to date from the 1900s, though it was purchased and used on 14 July 1955.

San Fernando Tunnel, Newhall, California

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This image shows the southern opening of the San Fernando Tunnel, which was cut through the Newhall Pass to allow trains direct access north to south through the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles.

672 – Entrance to San Fernando Tunnel, Valley Line, S.P.R.R.


There is no description on the back of this card. The sky portion is obscured by the message from the sender, who continued writing here after nearly filling the back completely except for the address box.
The tunnel was originally constructed for the Southern Pacific Railroad, but is now owned by the Union Pacific after the merger. The red objects behind the sign are cut lumber for the locomotive to use as fuel. Another view of the same image, without colorization, is available here.
This image likely dates to the 1900s, and while used and postmarked 17 July, there is no year on the stamp.

The Davis Palmer, a Five Masted Schooner

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This image shows a fore-and-aft rigged five masted schooner a short distance from shore.
There is no description on the back.
Some searching turned up the name and brief history of the Davis Palmer. It indicates that the ship was built in 1905 and wrecked in 1909, placing the date of this image between those two dates.

U.B.A. Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan

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This colorized image shows a palatial building used as a public hospital in Grand Rapids at the beginning of the 20th century.
There is no description on the back of this card. The U.B.A. is the Union Benevolent Association, previously the Ladies’ Union Benevolent Association, and this organization built the hospital in 1886. Visible on the porch is at least one nurse and likely some additional staff. By this time the building was also used as a nursing school.
In 1915 this building was replaced with a more purpose-built structure named Blodgett Memorial Hospital, on a nearby location in the city. It was in this new Blodgett Hospital Maternity Ward that my mother was born in 1932.
This postcard was used and is dated 2 January 1907.

Logging Sled, Cadillac, Michigan

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This image shows the prodigious amount of logs that would be loaded onto a two-horse sled for transport to the nearest mill. Presumably the additional weight of the lumbermen and driver did not add a meaningful amount to the effort required by the horses.

Published by C. J. Shoff and Son, Cadillac, Mich.


The men appear to be equipped with a typical tool of the era called a Peavey, a pointed variation of the cant hook.
The card was used and is dated 23 July 1909.

City Hall, Saginaw, Michigan

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This is an image of the former city hall for the city of Saginaw, Michigan. It was built in 1891 after the merger of Saginaw and East Saginaw, and was on S. Washington Ave.

Published by A. C. Dietsche, Detroit, Mich. and Franfort, Germany.


The building was destroyed by fire on April 9, 1935, and replaced by the current City Hall structure on the same site.
This card was used and is dated 29 October 1909. The card is in poor condition, with tears and folds. The corners are not original, and were cut by the recipient.

Hackley Public Library, Muskegon, Michigan

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This card has an image of the Hackley Public Library building as it looked at the turn of the 20th Century. The building is much larger than it appears from the photo, enclosing over 27,000 square feet of space. It is still in use as a library.

The Rotograph Co., N. Y. City. (Germany)


There is no description on the back. As was common in the early days of postcards, there is a message on the front, but not the back, which has only the address, stamp and cancellation.
This card is dated 4 September 1909.
 

Monroe Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan

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This image is a view of Grand Rapids near the turn of the 20th century, as indicated by the clothing styles and transportation modes typical of that era.

A.C. Bosselman and Co., New York


The sideways caption reads:
Monroe St. Looking S.E., Grand Rapids Mich. 1369
The final number is the series identification. The landmark department store called Herpolsheimer’s is clearly visible in the center background due to the common habit of painting signs on the exposed sides of tall buildings. This building was left vacant by the company and another department store, Wurzburg’s, moved into the vacated space.
This card was used and is dated 10 August 1907.

Battle Creek Michigan Water Works

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This image, almost identical to the previous post, shows the pumping station for the Battle Creek Water Works and the main building more clearly on the left, omitting the boaters.

JV & Sons Famous Throughout The World


There is no description on the back of the card, only the mark of the publisher, noted above. There are faint cancellation marks across the sky, and a tear above the chimney at left.
The pumping station and water works no longer exist in this location. There are two women visible in the center of the image walking at the edge of the lake shore.
The postcard was used, and is dated 11 September 1910.

Tiguex House, Santa Fe, New Mexico

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This image is the oldest adobe residence still standing in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It and the church pictured earlier are both part of the Barrio de Analco Historic District. This house is quite small and dark inside, but the thick walls provide a respite from the summer heat.

St. Michael’s College, Santa Fe, N. M.


The description states:
OLDEST HOUSE
This was he residence of the Indian Chief of Tiguex, now Santa Fe, N. M. Coronado with 1,100 men in 1540, made this very old town his headquarters, until his return to Mexico in 1543, but only 100 men went with him. Those who remained formed the first settlement of Europeans in what is now the United States. Coronado and many other Governors occupied this house until the Old Palace was built in 1620, or shortly thereafter.
 
–It is likely much of this description is based on legend, as more recent scholarship contradicts some of the details. This photo cannot be precisely dated, but the card itself is dated 1908, so the picture is likely from the beginning of the 20th century.