The Clayton County Conservation Board recently received word we were awarded the Statewide Enhancement Grant for the trail connecting Pony Hollow Trail to Motor Mill. Additionally, the Conservation Board has hired an engineering firm to begin design work on the Motor Mill Bridge.Total estimated cost of the projects is $1.4 million, we have secured just over $1 million and will need to raise $350,000 in matching funds. We are ¾ the way there.
2011 Schedule
The Motor Mill Foundation has been busy at Motor Mill over the past year. The windows in the mill have been replaced, new flooring has been installed and the framework for the mill stone floor is nearly completed.
In addition, continued historical research on the mill and the many stories that surround the site are constantly being documented.
The Motor Mill will be open for tours two weekends a month May through September in 2011. The dates and times are on Saturday and Sundays from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM.
For May the dates are 14 and 15 and Memorial Day Weekend 28, 29 and 30th. Also on the weekend of May 21 and 22, the Civil War Living History Camp will be held at the mill. Most of the activities will occur on Saturday May 21.
The dates for the rest of the summer include June 11, 12, 25, 26 for July 9, 10, 23, 24 in August 6, 7, 20, 21 and September 3, 4, 5, 17 and 18th. For more information or to schedule a special group tour you may call the Osborne Center at 563-245-1516
Memories of Motor
“Memories of Motor”
Saturday, November 14th at 1:00 p.m.
Osborne Conservation Center
The Motor Mill Foundation is looking for people with “Memories of Motor.” This will be an event to reunite and gather former residents of the Motor Mill area and their family members to share memories and stories of Motor Mill.
“Memories of Motor” will be held November 14th at 1:00 p.m. at the Osborne Center located five miles south of Elkader, IA off Highway 13. Please bring stories, memories, photos, and other items of interest to share or display.
This event promises to be a fun and nostalgic visit down memory lane to remember Motor Mill’s past. The Motor Mill Foundation hopes you will come join us to share your own stories of Motor. If you know of anyone else with ties to Motor who should be there, please share this invitation with them. Please RSVP at 245-1516.
Osborne Nature Center is located on HWY 13 five miles south of Elkader. For more information on these events call 563-245-1516 or visit www.claytoncountyconservation.org.
Garlic Mustard Pull
VOLUNTEER WORK DAY : PLANT PRAIRIE PLUGS AND PULL GARLIC MUSTARD JUNE 8 1 PM – 4 PM
A volunteer work day has been scheduled to work on the Robert Grau Memorial Savanna at Motor Mill Park on Sunday June 8 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Motor Mill Cooperage and wear long pants, long sleeved shirt and a good pair of sturdy shoes. You may want a hat, sun screen, water bottle and bug repellant as well. If you cannot stay the entire time, please come down for any part of the day you have available, your help will be appreciated.
Two projects are planned for the afternoon. The first project will be to plant 1000 prairie plug plants on the Robert Grau Savanna. On April 20, as part of an Earth Day Celebration, 20 volunteers planted 1000 prairie plugs on the site. This planting was part of a 2000 plant order and the remaining 1000 plugs will be planted June 8 to finish the project. The plants were provided by the Grau family of Elkader.
The second planned project is to pull, bag and remove garlic mustard from the site. Garlic mustard is a biennial herb that invades practically any habitat but seems to dominate woodland and low woodland areas. This very aggressive plant will out compete native species for sunlight and will literally shade out native plants in an area.
The Clayton County Conservation Board has taken an active role in the management of the Motor Mill landscape. Since the beginning of the Robert Grau Memorial Savanna in 2005, the Conservation Board has conducted several pre-scribed burns, prairie plantings and weed control efforts to recreate what is believed the landscape looked like when the Motor Mill was in operation. Your volunteer efforts on June 8th will help toward those efforts.
If you are planning to attend these volunteer efforts at Motor Mill, please call the Osborne Office at 245-1516 so we can plan ahead for the day.
Civil War Re-Enactment May 15,16
The Motor Mill Foundation offers an opportunity to witness soldiers of the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Company “C” at the Motor Mill. The Motor Mill site has a campground and the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry will set up camp for R & R (rest and relaxation) with there families in a traditional setting similar to what was a standard practice during the Civil War.
The soldiers will be in uniform and perform traditional activities (guard duty, drills, etc.) and be open to discussion and answer questions Those people who are history buffs and have an interest in genealogy can view a list of the volunteers from the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Company “C” rooster with enlistments from 1861 and sign up for a copy to be available via email. Many of the volunteers were from the Northeast Iowa area. This information has been researched by Shane Christen, one of the members of the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Infantry Company “C”. Volunteers will be conducting tours of the Motor Mill that weekend from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 5 PM. Come and see all the work that has been accomplished at the Motor Mill Site since last year including new floors, roofs and learn of plans to replace the historical bridge.Preserving Motor Mill
T
he limestone walls of the historic 90-foot Motor Mill built in 1869, located along the Turkey River, are strong yet today. Many dedicated volunteers are restoring the roof and floor joists that were broken and in need of repair. Support from volunteers, merchants and grant programs have made it possible to strengthen the structure to preserve its history.
With a grant from the Clayton County Foundation for the Future, materials needed for the repairs were purchased and the structural integrity of this cultural treasure is being improved. This has been a critical and primary step in an overall plan to increase visitors to the mill. This stabilization project allows the Clayton County Conservation Board to reopen the mill to the public for tourism and education.
Volunteers have done most of the work inside the mill including replacement of floor joists, flooring and windows. Volunteers who have helped throughout the past year include Jon deNeui, John Nikolai, Lee Lenth, Rick Dengler, Steve Beaumont, Roger Buchholz, Fred Stroschein, Jerry Healy and Tom McGreal. Their time commitment has added up to hundreds of volunteer time which has been used to offset several grants.
A $1,000 grant, awarded in the spring of 2009, is an example of how the Clayton County Foundation for the Future Endowment is supporting tourism & education in the county. The endowment is funded by donors who have taken advantage of Endow Iowa 20% State Income Tax credits for gifts made through community foundations.
The Clayton County Foundation grant applications will be available December 1, 2009 to non-profit organizations that provide services within Clayton County that promote programs and projects for Health & Human Services, Education, Neighborhoods and Community Development, Environment, Children, Youth and Family services and Arts & Culture. Grant applicants must be 501(c)(3) or tax exempt designated organizations in order to be considered for funding.
Applications will be on line at www.claytoncountyiowa.com after December 1, 2009
For more information about Endow Iowa or the foundation’s grant cycle, contact the Clayton County Development Group at 245-2201 or by email: ccdg@alpinecom.net
Photo caption:
Clayton County Conservation Board and the Motor Mill Foundation working together to carry out a plan to restore the site as a tourism and education destination that will tell the story of Iowa’s historic mills, agricultural history and the craftsmanship of stone masonry. Clayton County Foundation for the Future is proud to be a part of preserving the mill.
Motor Mill Roof Repair Gets Big Boost
Tom Gifford and Florence Gifford
The Gifford family of Elkader has helped launch a major fund drive to repair the roof at Motor Mill.
When former Motor Mill Foundation member Brian Gifford died in February, his wife, Florence, along with their sons Tom, Marshall, and Andy, donated $500 as a memorial in Brian’s name. In addition to serving on the Foundation board, Brian had been an avid canoeist, trails advocate, and long time supporter of Motor Mill preservation. The Giffords’ contribution was earmarked for repair of the roof on the Mill.
Tom, who now heads the family insurance agency founded by his late grandfather, Glenn, succeeded his father on the Motor Mill Foundation. Gifford Insurance recently contributed another $1,000 to the roof repair fund.
That gift – plus other significant donations – will be needed to match a $55,400 grant the Foundation has received from the State Historical Society of Iowa to repair the roofs on the Mill and the Inn. The project also includes the replacement of two brick chimneys on the Mill. The Foundation must raise the matching money and complete the jobs by the end of this year. Plans are for the Mill roof to be covered with a metal material that will simulate the look of the original cedar shakes on the building, but will last much longer.
The Foundation has suggested that donors consider giving $200, which is the approximate cost of one square of roofing. Several other donors already have made that commitment. All donors at the $200 level or above will be recognized on a plaque to be posted at the Mill.
For information, call the Clayton County Conservation Board, at 563.245.1517, or Foundation secretary Larry Stone at 563.419.6742.
Brian & Nancy Gifford, 1961
Brian Gifford and his sister, Nancy, canoeing on the Turkey River near Motor Mill in 1961. Brian was an avid canoeist and former member of the Motor Mill Foundation.
Tom & Florence Gifford, Motor
The Gifford family of Elkader has kicked off a roof repair fund drive for Motor Mill. Florence Gifford and her 3 sons donated $500 in memory of Brian Gifford after he died in February. Tom Gifford, who now heads the family insurance agency, recently donated $1,000.
The Gifford family of Elkader has kicked off a roof repair fund drive for Motor Mill. Florence Gifford and her 3 sons donated $500 in memory of Brian Gifford after he died in February. Tom Gifford, who now heads the family insurance agency, recently donated $1,000.
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HISTORIC CLAYTON COUNTY HONORS MOTOR MILL AND CHIMNEY SWIFT TOWER
Motor Mill and the Althea Sherman Chimney Swift Tower – two prominent Clayton County historic sites – will host joint open houses on June 6. Programs at each site – Motor Mill is on Galaxy Road southeast of Elkader and the Swift Tower is at the National Cemetery north of Garnavillo – will showcase recent restoration work and explain the historical significance of the structures. At Motor, Rosie “Grandma Rosie” Nelson also will do grain grinding and bread making demonstrations.
The Motor Mill event is from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., with a picnic meal served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Visitors are then invited to travel to National for the Sherman Swift Tower ribbon cutting and program at 2 p.m.
Motor Mill was built along the Turkey River in 1869. The 90-foot limestone mill was the centerpiece of the town of Motor, but the community withered within a few decades, after insects destroyed the wheat crop and flood washed out the mill dam and proposed railroad. The Clayton County Conservation Board acquired the site from the Klink family in 1983 and 1992.
Along with the mill, four other buildings survived from the town’s heyday 140 years ago. The inn housed farmers waiting for their grain to be ground. It later was used as a farmhouse. Mill customers kept their horses in the stable, which was converted to a dairy barn. The original icehouse and cooperage (barrel-making shop) also have survived in relatively good condition.
The Motor Mill Foundation has begun restoring the buildings. Volunteers have replaced floor joists, flooring and some windows in the mill. The roofs on the mill and the inn will be replaced this year. The foundation is holding fund drives to pay for the roof and chimney work, as well as for new windows for the cooperage.
Althea Sherman built her original chimney swift tower in 1915. The tower, which was 28 feet tall and 9 feet square, included a center wooden chimney for the birds to nest. Windows and peepholes into the chimney and a wooden staircase around it allowed Althea and her guests to observe the birds.
An accomplished amateur ornithologist, Sherman studied chimney swifts and other birds for more than 20 years. She also was an accomplished painter, and wrote a number of articles about her bird observations. She died in 1943.
A group of Clayton County residents in 2006 formed the Friends of the Sherman Swift Tower to preserve Sherman’s legacy. After failing in their attempts to bring back the original tower, which now is owned by the Johnson County Songbird Project, the group decided to build a replica. The new tower was erected late last year in the National Cemetery, a short distance from Althea Sherman’s home site.
The tower will be open for guided tours on Saturday – but once chimney swifts begin to nest there, the building will be closed to avoid disturbing the birds.
Woodworker’s Talents to Benefit Motor Mill
A classic butternut pie safe could help put a new roof on Clayton County’s historic Motor Mill.
Elkader woodworker Jerry Healy has donated the custom-built pie safe to the Motor Mill Foundation to be used in by the group as a fund raiser for restoration work at the Mill. The Foundation will sell raffle tickets for the unique piece of furniture, then announce the winter at Heritage Days at Osborne Park Oct. 10-11.
Healy came up with idea after his wife, Audrey, heard a program about Motor given by Motor Mill Foundation member Betty Buchholz. Crafting a replica of a historic pie safe seemed like a natural way to promote the historic Mill.
Healy’s 50 years of woodworking experience are evident in the craftsmanship of his work. The solid butternut pie safe includes adjustable shelves, butterfly cabinet hinges, and replaceable punched panels. Healy loves working with butternut, which is becoming rare because of a disease that has killed most butternut trees. The bold grain and occasional worm holes give the wood a distinct character, he noted.
Healy estimated the value of the pie safe at more than $700.The Motor Mill Foundation should be able to raise at least $2-$3,000 by selling chances on it, he said.
The pie safe will be on display at the Elkader Opera House during the performances of “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” March 27-29 and April 2-4. After that, it will be displayed at the Osborne Conservation Center.
The money will be used in ongoing work to replace the roofs on the Mill and the Inn at the Motor Mill Historic Site, which is about five miles downstream from Elkader along the Turkey River. The Motor complex, which includes the six-story, limestone mill, an inn, a stable, an ice house, and a cooperage (barrel-making shop), was built in 1869.
NATIONAL TRUST LENDS SUPPORT TO CLAYTON COUNTY CONSERVATION BOARD
The Clayton County Conservation Board has been awarded a $1,500.00 grant by the National Trust for Historic Preservation from the Dr. Frank Henry Landes Preservation Fund for Iowa. The seed money is a matching grant for the Motor Mill Inn and Stable Building Assessment. These funds will be used for the documentation of current conditions of the Inn and Stable at the Motor Mill Historic Park, along with a recommended list of repairs.
The National Trust’s program for dispensing small grants for local projects is administered through its Preservation Fund (PF). The grants range from $500 to $5,000. They are awarded to nonprofit groups, educational institutions and public agencies, and must be matched at least dollar for dollar with public or private funds. PSF grants are being used nationally for such wide-ranging activities as consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources and educating children about their heritage. These grants are often the deciding factor on whether historic buildings or sites can be saved for future generations.
The National Trust’s programs are funded from a variety of sources including state and federal grants, foundation support, and private contributions. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit membership organization chartered by Congress to encourage public participation in all aspects of historic preservation. For further information on the National Trust’s Preservation Services Fund grant program, contact Kristin Twedt-Mottier, at the National Trust for Historic Preservation-Midwest Office, 53 W Jackson Blvd, Suite 350, Chicago, IL 60604, 312-939-5547.