Historic Walking Tour

It's 2:00 in Medora- that means that the Historic Walking Tour is about to leave! Ruth is sitting on the porch welcoming you to the tour. We will depart from the porch and I will be your tour guide.

The town of Medora was founded in 1883 by the Marquis de Mores, a French Aristocrat who started a cattle processing empire in Dakota Territory. The town was named after his wife, Medora, and they stayed in Medora from 1883 until 1886. The house we started the tour at is the Von Hoffman House, and was built for Medora's parents. The Marquis' and Medora's home is across the river and is commonly called the Chateau. If you're going to have a house for your in-laws built in your town, where do you put it? As far away from your house as possible! 

Next, as we travel down Fifth Street, you will see to log-cabin-looking buildings. The 2-story building is the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation Office. The Foundation is what owns and operates much of the businesses and historic sites in Medora. It also owns the Musical. It was started in 1986, after Harold Schafer sold his Gold Seal company. The Foundation is a non-profit organization and is here to preserve the integrity of Medora. 

Harold and Sheila (Shy-la) Schafer's summer home is the other log building. Harold built it for he and his wife, Sheila, to stay in when they visited during the summers. Harold did most of the restorations to the town of Medora. without Harold, Medora would not be what it is today. He started the Gold Seal Company in the 1940's, which manufactured cleaning products like Glass Wax, Snowy Bleach, and Mr. Bubble. He was the youngest man to receive the Horatio Alger Award, and his legacy still lives on in Medora. Behind the Schafer's house is the Harold Schafer Heritage Center which tells the story of Harold, Sheila, Gold Seal, and Medora.  

Coal mining was a productive business in the Medora area between the 1920s and 1940s. If you look up at the butte in front of us (while standing on the corner by Harold and Sheila's house) you can see the closed entrance to a once-operating coal mine!

The St. Mary's Church was built in the summer of 1884. Medora had it built for the city to use. There were originally traveling missionaries who would offer mass in the area, but Medora used her $90,000 a year allowance from the blue chip stock fund her father made in her name to pay for the construction (that's like 3 million dollars today!). The first two pews on either side of the aisle near the front are original as well as the altar. Medora ordered them from New York. It is the oldest Catholic church still in use in the Diocese of Bismarck, and you can attend mass there in the spring and fall. In the summer, mass moves to the community center down the street and mass is not held in the winter. You may hear rumors that the Marquis' whole family is buried under this church, but it is not true! They are buried in Cannes, France. 

The Medora Grazing Association is down the street (peach-colored building next to the Schafer Center) is a meeting place for members of the Association. It was founded in 1937 with 76 members to keep conservation a priority in grazing cattle in the open ranges. The cattle business failed in the 1880s because the grazing land on the plains were not preserved and were picked down so far, the cattle died in a bad winter. Now, ranchers work together to watch the grazing lands and protect them. Today, the association has about 180 members. 

As we keep walking, you'll notice the large wooden building across the street. This is the Rough Riders Hotel. Originally named the Metropolitan Hotel and built in 1885, it was owned by George Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was the manager of the De Mores Hotel for the Marquis. After a year of success, he decided to build his own hotel. Unfortunately, he had many issues including lightning striking the hotel, and illness in the family. He ended up 'borrowing' $3000 from the Marquis to 'pay off debts' but really took the money and left to start a new life. The Marquis was left to deal with the Metropolitan, and eventually it changed hands until it was named the Rough Riders and fell into disrepair. Harold Schafer fixed the building in 1963 and restored it to working order. It remains a Medora landmark. 

Harold Schafer also worked to restore the Joe Ferris General Store in 1963. Joe Ferris was a cattle rancher who, along with his brother Sylvane, took Theodore Roosevelt out on his first buffalo hunt in 1883. Theodore and the Ferris Families remained good friends throughout life. Joe Ferris ran this general store and had rooms to rent upstairs (which Roosevelt sometimes used). 

Right across the street is the North Dakota Hall of Fame. It is used as a museum to tell the story of the western lifestyle in North Dakota and the plains, starting with the American Indians, and continuing to tell the story of cattle ranchers, settlers, and rodeo stars. The Hall of Fame also inducts members into the Hall and uses the upstairs to display their stories. The statue next to the Ferris Store and Cowboy Hall of Fame is of Harry V. Johnston who lived in the Badlands in the early 20th century, breaking horses and selling them to the French and American armies during World War I. Harry V. Johnston moved around the country but remained dedicated to the western lifestyle. Among his many accomplishments was the creation of the Harry V. Johnston Foundation which aims to preserve the integrity of the American Indian. 

This park is the DeMores Park. It was built in 1927, in honor of the Marquis de Mores. Before her death in 1921, Medora told her sons that it was her wish for a park to be built in the Marquis' memory in Dakota. The stone fences and ironwork were restored by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp), started in the 1930s by President Franklin Roosevelt to give young men a chance to earn money for their families during the Depression. The CCC also did restoration work on the Chateau de Mores. 

Where the Medora Fudge and Ice Cream Depot stands today, is the original spot of the Hotel de Mores. Built by the Marquis, it is right next to the railroad depot. The reproduction depot you see today is used to house water treatment facilities. Also, right across the street is the Medora Convenience Store, and on the parking lot area once stood the Marquis' offices. The Marquis' essentially monopolized business from the moment someone walked off the train with this set-up. 

The building with the tall white front is the 'Old' Town Hall. Really, it is the 'new' town hall. This building was built in 1924 to replace the first town hall. The first town hall was Robert's Saloon originally, and then became town hall. The building we currently have, 'Old' Town Hall, is used as a theater now, but had many uses previously, including a basketball court! The murals on the inside were painted by a traveling artist in the 1930s and are definitely worth stopping at for a look! The Theodore Roosevelt Salute to Medora is held here every day at 3:30. If you see President Roosevelt on the street, make sure to call him by his old army name, Colonel. He will appreciate it! 

You may notice that many of our buildings look older in style. That is because Medora is a historical integrity district, and zoning codes are strict. If you build a new building, it must have a pre-1920s appearance. These two homes to our left with the new lawns are actually less than 2 years old! They were designed and built to look like historical homes that used to sit on the lots. Extensive research was done to keep the new homes as similar to the originals as possible. 

Across the street is the De Mores School. The school has grades K-8, and also houses a resource center for the community to use in the summers. Previously, the school was a two-story brick building, but this new school was built in 1986. 

We are almost back to the Von Hoffman House. Down this street is the Billings County Courthouse Museum. Billings County was established in 1876, and this building was built in 1913. The courthouse on the second floor was in operation until the 1980s. Now, there is a courtroom drama held there every Saturday and Sunday. This drama, Recollections of Murder and Mayhem, will be traveling to the Smithsonian in September! The brick building behind the Courthouse Museum is the current functioning Courthouse for Billings County. 

I hope you enjoyed your tour, have a great day in Medora!

Von Hoffman House Continued

Let's take a look at the Von Hoffman House. Feel free to walk in any of our open doorways and go upstairs!

   The rooms reflect how the Von Hoffmans intended the house to be set up, and also how the rooms were used when the Foleys lived here. A lot of the furniture is original, and the rest is period. The wallpaper and wall colors are chosen from historical paint and wallpaper palettes. For example, the wallpaper in the parlor is from 1890 (early Edwardian), and the paper in the dining room premiered in the spring of 1884.

   This house was built in the Southern style because the Baroness was originally from the South. The hallway is wide with doors on either end, called the dog run, because in the summer there would be screens covering the doors and the doors would be left open so air could circulate (or the family dog could run straight from one end of the house to the other- hence the name).
There are three rooms on either side of the hallway, and a set of stairs that lead upstairs.

                          Notice the original wicker furniture, tapestries, and hall secretary.

We also have examples of Eastlake furniture near the door, which were very popular at the time. You can see similar examples in the Custer House at Fort Abraham Lincoln in Mandan.

 

The first two rooms, nearest the front door, would have originally been parlors in the Victorian style. The wallpapered room would have been the family parlor, and is displayed as a parlor now, and the bedroom would have been intended to be the more formal parlor. When the Foleys moved in, they kept one parlor, the family parlor, and used the other for the master bedroom (which was originally intended to be where the kitchen is shown now). The furniture in the bedroom includes original bed frame, bed springs (against wall), dresser, and mirror stand with wash basin. You can still see 'W Van Driesche' written on the inner right side rail of the bed, and one of the pieces still has the original railroad shipping receipt on the back.



Take a closer look at the bed springs. There were screws at the top to adjust the tension of the springs. It's like a sleep number- 1884 version!

 

    The family parlor contains original horsehair-upholstered side chairs, mirror, and piano stool. This piano is not original, but we are on a hunt to find the original one. It was the only piece of furniture left in this house when Mrs. Davis moved all the furniture out at the creation of the Foley Family Museum. Sometime before the creation of the Doll House, the piano disappeared.

 

    The room adjacent to the family parlor is the library. The Foley family used it as a bedroom, but now it is displayed with many pieces of furniture donated from Governor Ed Schafer. The original pieces in this room include the bookcase with glass fronts, and the captains' chair.

 

   Across the hall from the library is the dining room. This room kept its intended purpose over the years. The  table and 12 chairs are original, although the chairs have been re-caned. They would have been caned initially, but somewhere over the years they were upholstered with leather seats. An artisan near Minneapolis re-caned them for us in a month- doing an average of 3 a week! There is evidence of a pass between this room and the room on the other side of the wall (servant room/office). That way, if the Von Hoffmans had lived there with servants they could have passed the food straight from the servants room to the dining room, much like in the Marquis' hunting cabin.

 

Now, the room meant for servants is used as an office, and would have probably been a mudroom/entryway for the Foleys. You can tell that it was meant for servants, though, because the flooring is made of a different, cheaper material, and is painted.

The room across from the servant room/office is shown as a kitchen now. This room has the most difficult history to uncover. It was meant to be the Von Hoffmans' master bedroom, but the Foleys most likely used it as a kitchen and later as a bathroom. There was an outdoor kitchen located in the corner of the yard, but the Foleys probably did not use it. The building was rented out to a miner named Conrad 'Dutch' Zeigler who used it as a blacksmith shop in the boardinghouse years. Now, the kitchen holds appliances and traveling art exhibits. This year, it contains carvings from Frank Koch, a member of the Flickertail Carvers from Bismarck. They depict life on the prairie in the 20th century.

   Upstairs there are letters displayed on the walls written between Theodore Roosevelt and Joe Ferris (a friend and owner of the dry goods store in town. Joe Ferris and his brother Sylvane took Theodore out on his first buffalo hunt in Dakota in 1883.). Feel free to look around. Make sure you look for the license plate nailed to the floor!

We think it is either from 1923 or 1933, but research is still being done. The year has been cut off the side of the plate. There are examples of similar ND license plates here and here.

I hope you enjoyed the Von Hoffman House- visit again!

 

Von Hoffman House

 

   This is what I do every day! I am privileged enough to work in a 129-year old home and share its history with visitors at Medora. Many guests are unfamiliar with the Von Hoffman House's history because it used to be the Medora Doll House. In 2012, TRMF opened the doors to the Von Hoffman House and this the second season it has been open to the public.

   Here's a little history lesson, class: The Marquis de Mores (French aristocrat who started the town of Medora and named it after his wife) started the town in 1883 to support his dream of a cattle processing empire.

                             

          In 1884, Medora's parents (The Baron and Baroness Von Hoffman)
wanted a summer home built in town so they could visit the Marquis and their daughter. The Baroness was involved in commissioning and planning the home, but unfortunately she and the Baron did not live there. By 1884, the Baroness' health was failing, and so was the Marquis' business ventures. It is not likely that the Von Hoffmans ever stayed in the home but there is a remote chance that the Baron may have in the summer of 1885 for a week or two.                                        
                                 

   The Marquis used the home to house some of his workers, including his right-hand-man, William Van Driesche, and in 1890, James Foley Sr. (manager of the Marquis' refrigerated railroad car company) and family. The Foley family actually inhabited a home built (according to newspaper accounts) about the same time and in the same style as the Von Hoffman House, but no photographs or other evidence of the house survive, including the house itself. It burned in 1890, which is when the Foley family moved to the Von Hoffman House.

   In 1886, the Marquis' cattle dreams finally faded. The last steer was processed in the meat plant on November 18, 1886, and the de Mores family and entourage headed back to France vowing to return. The winter of 1886-1887 was one of the worst on record and thousands of free range cattle died on the Plains. The Marquis left his town, home, buildings, and business structures in the care of James Foley Sr. They never returned for long periods of time. The Foleys were then allowed to live in the Von Hoffman House until the de Mores family gave them possession of the home in 1914.

   The Foley Family lived in the house for three generations, and even rented it out to boarders from the 20s to the 40s, until it was sold to Duane Indegaard in 1963. All the furniture (except the piano in the corner of the parlor) was taken by Mrs. Davis, the third generation descendant of James Foley Sr., and used in her home, later being put into storage. Mr. Indegaard opened a museum about the Foley Family in the home. James Foley Jr. was the unofficial Poet Laureate for the state of North Dakota for a time, and the Foley family was prominent in the Medora area. In 1969, TRMF turned it into the Medora Doll House, displaying antique dolls, farm models, and train sets. It remained the Doll House until 2010. Now we have the Von Hoffman house, which I get to spend my days in this summer. Fun, right?

Stay tuned for some detailed descriptions of the rooms in the home!

Classroom in the Badlands

     Yee-haw, Medora! I'm really starting to get into the swing of things out here. One of the main events  related to my co-op that I've been working on lately is Classroom in the Badlands. Classroom in the Badlands is an event that the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation puts on in May for teachers and students across the state. Classes are invited to come to Medora and visit different historical and tourist sites for education and fun! K (main supervisor), T, and I are responsible for two main stops on the classes' tours: The Harold Schafer Center, and the Von Hoffman House. Yesterday, K and T were in Fargo promoting the Musical, so I was leading tours!

                                                                               Harold Schafer Heritage Center:

Harold Schafer was a North Dakotan business man who started the Gold Seal Company in the 1942. The Gold Seal Company manufactured products such as Gold Seal Floor Wax, Glass Wax, Snowy Bleach, and Mr. Bubble. In the 1960's he bought the Roughrider Hotel in Medora. He also started to buy other properties in town as well as the amphitheater in the Badlands where the production Ol' Four Eyes (where the Medora Musical would play later) was performed. He wanted to preserve the historical integrity and magic of Medora and its surroundings in the Badlands. In 1986, he sold the Gold Seal company and founded the non-profit Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation to continue the upkeep of Medora and the Medora Musical. He and his wife, Sheila, continued to come back to Medora and enjoyed the town and the joy it brought to visitors and residents. Harold passed away in 2001,  but not before he got to see the Center built in his name in 1995. Sheila still lives in Medora during the summer seasons, and Medora continues to prosper!

                                                                                     Von Hoffman House:

The Von Hoffman House was built in 1884 for Medora's (the Marquise de Mores) parents. It's made out of bricks, manufactured and masoned by Peter Book south of Medora. Mr. Book also made the bricks for the slaughterhouse, St. Mary's Church, the basement of the Chateau, and the faux front of the Hotel De Mores in town. The Baron and Baroness Von Hoffman did not actually stay in this house for long periods of time. In fact, the Baroness is reported to visited this house very few times, even though she designed and commissioned it. A local family from Medora, the Foleys, lived in the house from the 1890's until 1963. It eventually became the Medora Doll House Museum and was owned by TRMF. The house has been restored so that the rooms on the first floor reflect living quarters with a bedroom, parlor, library, dining room, and kitchen, and the upstairs is a gallery filled with items related to Joe Ferris, Theodore Roosevelt, and 'Dutch' Zeigler.  

Gettin' to Work!

       So, this is my second real day of work! After I checked in on Monday, I was told to report to the Foundation office at 8 am the next day. I am working on amp(hitheater) crew until the season opens. I really like it! We do a lot of tough work, but as Theodore Roosevelt said, "Ours was the glory of work and the joy of living". Today we worked with the maintenance crew to take the cover off the escalator. That was a crazy job, but very rewarding. There is a giant outdoor escalator at the amphitheater and in the winter it needs to be covered so that the weather doesn't affect it. Our job was to take off the covering which is corrugated metal panels with insulation and attached with more metal and wire. It involved a lot of carrying, pushing, and stacking!

      After lunch, I worked with T (my supervisor) on some of my internship duties. There was a group of elementary kids coming to town, so we were supposed to give them tours of the Harold Schafer center and the Von Hoffman House. Well....the kids didn't come. So I learned what to do during tours and got to watch the Harold Schafer video. I also started reading Medora- Boom, Bust, and Resurrection by Rolf Sletten. It was published last year, and covers a lot of history which is important for my position and for anyone who wants to learn more about Medora! I did some more reading in the Von Hoffman house and called it a day. 

       All in all, a fairly productive day. I'll have to see how the rest of the week goes! 

Preparation

   My co-op starts in 2 days, so I decided I'd better get ready! I have a summer position at Medora, North Dakota that will also earn me co-op credit at college. The purpose of this blog is to record my day-to-day experiences and the skills I develop in living history and public speaking. I will be working on different projects throughout the summer, which I will know more about when I start on Monday!

   One of the main aspects of my position is knowing about the history of Medora, and being able to share that knowledge with others. I decided (last minute as always) to do some research. That way, when someone asks me when the city was founded, or why it was named Medora, I will be able to answer (1883 and for the founder's wife- if you were wondering).

Here are the websites I looked at for information- take a look:
http://www.medora.com/
http://www.medorand.com/history/timeline/
http://www.medorand.com/attractions/?409
http://www.history.nd.gov/mediaroom/footsteps.html

   There are many more resources to draw upon, but these were the websites I first stumbled upon. I already have a basic idea of the history of Medora from numerous visits in the past, but it's definitely a good idea to brush up on that information. I'm guessing that a strong learning curve will be important as well! Ok, wish me luck- I'm off to stuff my brain with more facts!