Prairie du Chien Via a Field of Dreams

From August 2014

After leaving Amana Colonies, Kathy and I made our way to Pikes Peak State Park, on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River. But first, we had a quirky side trip to Dyersville and the nearby Field of Dreams Movie Site.

Surely most of you have seen the film? Kevin Costner, the cornfield turned into a ball field to bring back a bunch of dead famous Baseball players. Great movie, I don't think I ever pass it up when scrolling through the TV Guide. What's really cool about this, however, is what they had to go through getting this to work.

Director Phil Robinson came to the Dubuque area in early Spring 1988, to make a

decision on one of hundreds of farmsteads under consideration. While on his tour they came upon a farm owned by Don and Becky Lansing. According to information at the site, when Robinson spied it he immediately shouted "That's it! That's my farm!." So in no time they worked with Lansing, moved them to a camper on the other side of the house, and remodeled the home to accommodate filming. Everything going well, except for one major detail. Corn.

It was one of the driest years since the 1930's dust bowl, and they just couldn't get it to grow. Ingenuity paid off though, and after getting approval from local agencies, they dammed a creek that runs through the farm and irrigated the field. It worked so well that the corn grew higher than expected, forcing them to use a foot-high platform for Costner to walk on while filming in the crop.

Building the ball field was also a large task. It would take seven semi-truck loads of sod, along with mixed up busted brick, dye, and dirt to create the infield, but in just four days it was ready.

There were some interesting "Did You Know" facts on the billboard at the movie site. Like the fact that Moonlight Graham, played by Lancaster, was actually a real person, and holds the shortest major league career on record. And the identity of the "voice" in the movie is a closely guarded secret, listed in the credits as "himself".

The field is still just as green as in the movie, and you really get the thrill of being there, sitting on the bench where the little girl falls and Burt Lancaster has to save her. Then standing on the mound where Costner first made his pitch to Ray Liotta. And of course having fun with a local star/extra, who played one of the ballplayers in the movie, Kathy doing her fade out into the corn with him. It was a great stop and one we recommend, especially this time of year. Corn looked just about ready to harvest, at least to this geek. The home and farm had been in the Lansing family since 1906, *until 2013 when it was sold to a group of investors "Go The Distance LLC", with plans on turning the area into a major ballpark. We didn't see any construction during our visit, despite the fact that when announced in January 2013 the new ball fields were supposed to get started that Spring. Regardless, we may have been some of the last to see it as it was before the expansion.  This past June they celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the movie's release with several of the stars returning for a trip down memory lane. (*corrected to reflect new ownership, hat tip to reader Albert Hall for bringing that to our attention)

On to our campground. 

Pikes Peak State Park sits at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi River on the Iowa side and provides visitors and campers with a gorgeous overlook view of the river valley below. The campground for RVs and tents is in the midst of pines, providing a forest experience nature lovers adore, complete with a hiking trail just beyond the river overlook to Bridal Falls.

For AT&T customers, this is no man's land. I don't mean just data either, as many times we didn't even have a connection for voice. So here we were truly disconnected. I know, many of you are thinking that's just the way it should be. But for this geek, it was a challenge not to constantly try to find a signal to at least attempt to see email. It was good for me though and gave Kathy and me some extra time to just sit and enjoy each other's company instead of being glued to our work.

It was raining the morning after we arrived, but we headed out of the park anyway to start exploring the area (to be honest, we were looking for a McDonalds with wifi). After leaving the park you come into historic McGregor, IA.  Founded as McGregor's Landing in 1847, the area was original settled by Alexander McGregor, a direct decedent of Rob Roy McGregor of Scotland. 

McGregor had already been operating a ferry across the Mississippi River to Prairie du Chien, WI for 10 years when he planned the new city. It was incorporated as McGregor in 1857, and it quickly became a major commercial center after the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad established a line to Prairie du Chien, connecting Lake Michigan to the mighty river by rail. Other railroads were built from McGregor west, with North McGregor (now Marquette) acting as the rail terminus.  When reaching McGregor from the west, trains were taken apart, ferried across the river, then put back together to make their way to Lake Michigan. 

During the city's peak, the population exploded to over 5,500 and was the busiest shipping port west of Chicago during the 1870s. However, the city would decline just about as fast as it grew when a permanent pontoon bridge was built to connect McGregor and Prairie du Chien, eliminating the need to disassemble the trains, and thus many of the jobs.  Today, McGregor and Marquette (formally North McGregor) have kept their historic charm, but the city has a population of less than a thousand. 

You cross two bridges into Wisconsin, both over sections of the Mississippi River, into historic Prairie Du Chien, the oldest settlement on the Upper Mississippi River, and the second oldest city in the state of Wisconsin, with roots dating back to the late 1600s and the French-Canadian Fur Trade.

St. Feriole Island was the city's earliest hub of activity and was also the site of the Battle of Prairie du Chien in 1814, Wisconsin's only battle in the War of 1812. After the war, the government built Fort Crawford here as part of a chain of forts to secure the U.S. Frontier, and it would become the site of many treaties with Native American's.

One of the big attractions on St. Feriole Island is Villa Louis, a Victorian country estate established in the 1840s by Hercules Dousman, a local fur trader, and entrepreneur. The house that still stands here was built by his son Louis in 1870 and is open to the public for tours under the management of the Wisconsin Historical Society. With over 90 percent of its original furnishings, and a recent restoration to recreate its 1890's appearance, Villa Louis is one of the Midwest's great house museums (open early May through late October).

Other sites on the island include the Fur Trade Museum in the 1850 Stone Brisbois Store, the 1837 Brisbois House, and the Dousman House Hotel. Plan a day here to see the sites and tour the historic buildings.

The on and off again rain, along with some major road construction in town, had Kathy and I heading back to the trailer across the river for a while, but we ventured out again in the afternoon, this time heading north on the Great River Road in Iowa. Along the way, just north of Marquette, you can visit the Effigy Mounds. Here you can see ancient Native American culture and some pretty fantastic views of the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for a stop, but this historic site run by the National Park Service is likely worth the visit. Plan on a little hiking.

From there we stayed on the River Road heading toward Lansing Iowa. Here we took in parts of the city established in 1851, including the historic Old Stone School built in 1864, then over the 1931 Blackhawk Bridge into Wisconsin. It was a very scenic drive up to Lansing and back down to Praire du Chien, with the road following closely to the river in Wisconsin.

Lots of great history to see and plenty to do in this area of Iowa and Wisconsin. See our travel, including some not talked about in this blog entry, through images via our photoblog HERE. 

Related Articles:

Great River Road (photo gallery)

Prairie du Chien

McGregor, IA 

This Blog in Photos - Iowa to Wisconsin Via Field of Dreams

RV'ers, Pikes Peak State Park is a beautiful campground, but pretty small. We suggest making reservations, especially in peak travel times.  We had electric but had to fill up the water tank on the way in.  Dump station on the way out.  There are pull-throughs but limited in number. If you want to be in the woods with beautiful surroundings you can't go wrong here. 

Cape Girardeau, the Great River Road, and Beyond

Our trip continues as we venture on to explore Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The city, situated along the Mississippi River, was first established as temporary trading post around 1733. Soon, many fur traders came to the area and the town was officially incorporated in 1808, prior to Missouri statehood. The advent of the steamboat in 1835 led it to become the biggest port on the Mississippi River between Saint Louis and Memphis. The Battle of Cape Girardeau during the Civil War took place here on April 26, 1863 when the Union and Confederate armies collided in a fierce, four-hour artillery barrage in which 23 Union and 30 Confederate soldiers were killed. Today, this historic city features 39 sites that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Of these, eight are historic districts, which include multiple contributing properties.

We start out at Fort D. It was constructed in 1861 by Union troops at the same time as three other Cape Girardeau forts. Construction began on August 6, 1861, under the direction of Lieutenant John W. Powell from Illinois. Reportedly, Fort D housed both 24 and 32-pound cannons, which would easily control any upriver movement on the Mississippi River. In order to keep warm during the winters, soldiers dug artificial caves in the hillside below the fort and stayed in these. In 1936, the site was purchased by the American Legion post, and the earthworks were restored to their original height, with some modifications. A stone building, constructed in the middle of the fort at the site of the original powder-house, was dedicated to the city and today is part of the City of Cape Girardeau Parks & Recreation Department. Fort D did not see action during the Battle of Cape Girardeau and probably never fired its guns in anger, serving mostly as a symbolic deterrent. The earthwork walls remain intact and historical signage throughout the fort's grounds bring its storied past to life.

We then head on down to the Mississippi River and the historic downtown district. Here, we check out the historic Common Pleas Courthouse, Port Cape Girardo, and the many other historic buildings.

We then begin our trek up the Great River Road, with our first stop at the Trail of Tears State Park. Though there is a great overlook of the Mississippi River and the the Bushyhead Memorial, which commemorates all the Cherokee who died on the trail, there is very little history of the Trail of Tears itself. The history is probably featured in the Visitor's Center, which was closed, but there are no interpretive signs in the park which show the trail or describe the harsh conditions that the Cherokee faced during their trek. Thousands lost their lives on the trail, including dozens on or near the park’s grounds. Though probably a campers' and hikers' paradise, the park offered little for a history buff like me.

We head north on the Great River Road until we are forced to detour back west due to road construction. But, that was definitely ok, when we run into another lil' semi-ghost town called Oak Ridge. This tiny village of less than 200 folks has a couple of antique stores and some very interesting historic buildings.

Back on track, I'm thrilled to enter Old Appleton, another semi-ghost town of about 80 souls. Here is the beautifully restored 1879 Old Appleton Bridge, as well as a couple of other historic buildings.

Heading north, we wind up in Illinois at the Kaskaskia Village. Confused as to how we crossed the Mississippi River without knowing it, we soon find out that the boundary between Missouri and Illinois here is not the river, as the "Big Muddy" shifted long ago due to flooding. Later, after doing a bit of research, I find that a curse goes along with old Kaskaskia. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that on the website.

We then continue on our trek up to the very historic city of Ste. Genevieve, labeled "Missouri's Most Historic Town." This still small village today, Ste. Genevieve was established somewhere between 1722 and 1749. The first permanent European settlement in what now is the state of Missouri, the community was established as a trading outpost and was later settled by lead miners, farmers and fur traders. Before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the dominant architecture was French Creole with wooden homes built in several styles. Most of these homes feature galeries, or porches, surrounding the homes. Most of the earlier French structures are gone, but Ste. Genevieve holds the distinction of the having the largest concentration of French Colonial buildings in the country. Three of these buildings - the Amoureux, the Bolduc, and the Guibourd-Valle houses - are open to the public.

From here, we head westward to the Missouri Mines State Historic Site in Park Hills, Missouri. Momentarily, I feel as if I'm in Colorado, surrounded by mining equipment and ore tailings. Located in an area known as the Old Lead Belt, this region was the nation's major source of lead for more than 60 years. Serious small-scale mining for lead began in Southeast Missouri about 1720. A large demand for lead in the late 19th century brought major corporate enterprises to the Old Lead Belt, leaving behind more than 1,000 miles of abandoned multilevel mine tunnels and 300 miles of underground railroad tracks.

In 1975, the St. Joseph Lead Co. donated the 25 buildings of their largest mine-mill complex and the surrounding land to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. These properties became Missouri Mines State Historic Site and St. Joe State Park. The 19,000 square-foot mine-mill powerhouse has been developed into a large museum that interprets Missouri's mining history and displays old mining machinery and an outstanding mineral collection.

One last stop at Fort Davidson in Pilot Knob, Missouri. Here, was one of the largest and most hard-fought battles in Missouri -- the Battle of Pilot Knob. It occurred when Confederate Major General Sterling Price invaded Missouri from Arkansas, leading an army of 12,000 men. On September 26-27, 1864, while en route to the St. Louis area, Price attacked the weakly defended Union post. Though greatly outnumbered, the 1,450 Union soldiers at Fort Davidson defended the fort, killing some 1,000 Confederates. Today, a visitor center interprets the battle and the earthworks of the old fort can still be seen.

We then circle back to Cape Girardeau for a good night's sleep and continue on tomorrow.