It turns out that most of Fort deChartres is actually a reproduction, but it is still really interesting to see. The building below, the powder arsenal, is supposedly the oldest stone building in Illinois, though heavily restored, obviously. I think the idea is to eventually rebuild the entire walls around the fort one day. For…
Month: March 2011
New Valmeyer, Illinois
A trip to Old Valmeyer would not be complete without a trip to New Valmeyer, high on the bluffs above the old town. Meant to be a planned community, some residents complained that the feel of the old town was lost in the new town. Perhaps that’s only logical, as the grid is gone for…
Old Valmeyer, Illinois
I realized we had arrived in the old town of Valmeyer, Illinois when the streets began to appear out of nowhere, interspersed with shade trees and the occasional building. Bought out by the government, most of Valmeyer was demolished after the Great Flood of 1993. The entire town was moved up onto the bluffs, to…
More Family Farm, March 2011
The cattle barn was built around ninety years ago; the two large sheds were built by my great-uncle to help support the barn and to store farm implements. The pasture is still brown from the winter. Replacement trees for the cottonwood trees that were all struck by lightning are coming along nicely as well. The…
Horse Barn, Family Farm, Deer Creek, Illinois
The over one hundred year old horse barn on the family farm is still looking good, even after all these years. Preventative maintenance helps as well. Look at the size of those timbers holding up the roof.
Re-Skin, Eureka, Illinois
This building used to be Italianate, but somewhere along the line it was re-skinned in order to cover the older architecture. Too bad that it can’t be brought back one day.
Sears, Jamestown Mall
Update: The mall was demolished in 2023-2024.