While visiting the Calliope Historical Village in September I looked for other ways in making images as I walked about the small historical complex. Visiting places again and again breeds familiarity and comfort and I always keep that in mind when thinking about photographing a place. And many times the kind of day, weather and light plays a part in making those decisions.
It was a stormy kind of day that day and the light was soft and even and so my photographs reflected some of that aspect as I walked among the buildings looking at form and lines and whatever other notions caught my attention. Photography is limitless in subject matter, and highly personal as well. Two persons standing next to one another will see a scene differently and make different kinds of photograph depending on how they personally see and feel, as I sometimes think photography is as much intuitive as it is a thought process. Trying to fore a viewer’s eye to see what you see, sort of walking a quarter mile in someone’s shoes.
Siouxland is home to a number of a number of historical significance to the region, much like many early settlements in many locations around the country. Calliope Village, according to an official listing at the site of the city of Hawarden where the village is located, came into existence in 1860. “History reports that Sioux County, Iowa was founded January 20, 1860, on the banks of the Big Sioux River on the north edge of what is now Hawarden. Our “founding fathers” were Frederick Hubbell, W.H. Frame, Joseph Bell, and E.L. Stone who founded the settlement of Calliope (Kal’ e ope) for the express purpose of receiving a regulation count salary for organizing a county in Iowa.
In 1869, Calliope consisted of a courthouse, three log homes and about 10 residents. The infant town was driven back to the safety of Sioux City by Indian uprisings. In 1871, the Indians calmed down and the few rugged individuals who were willing to brave the wilderness returned to the settlement to find the original courthouse standing. By 1872 Moses Lewis bought out the remaining initial investors and used the office to issue fraudulent bonds. It wasn’t until 1874 that the settlement of Calliope was actually home to the earliest settlers. Progress came with a hotel, cabins and finally viability was enhanced greatly by the formation of a stage coach line to transport people to and from Sioux City.”
That history and the historical village is all that remains of that early settlement. Fundraising and area residents made the village possible to remind current and future residents of the community’s historical background.
So it’s nice to visit the village on a holiday and see people stroll the grounds and check it out. Or relax and enjoy some music provided by a washtub band whose creation was musician’s Jerry Toft.
I visit the place from time to time. Sometimes with a class I teach and other times during the holidays or when I am passing through the area. The days are always different and so is the light. The village isn’t always open but it’s still nice to stop by and see. Of course the side attractions that come during days like Labor Day are not always present, and are a look back into time itself, and just fun to photograph.
Celebrations at various Siouxland communities continue unabated. Sometimes I think there are not enough free time to get to them all. But one does what one can. Recently Hawarden, Iowa held its annual Big Sioux River Days. Of course there was a parade and later other activities. I wasn’t able to stay later, but enjoyed the parade along with a few hundred residents and guests.
With Memorial Day nearing and the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, there are a number of travel destinations in the Siouxland region that is a short drive, fun to see, and educational at the same time. But that last part probably depends on your age and definition of summer fun. The replica of Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa, is regarded as the first community and first county seat of Sioux County, Iowa. A number of buildings, original or replicas are on display and open during the summer season for people to take a step back in time.
And if you get to talking with any of the docents who are on hand, many can help people understand what life was like during that time period in the late 1800’s. Even a little gossip about another Sioux County community who stole a safe and became the county seat because of it.
Summer is a nice time to get away, even if only for a day or two, and a chance to explore one’s surroundings and see what is there.
Sioux City, Iowa is the county seat of Woodbury County. The courthouse located downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Landmark which happened in 1973, and was built in the early 1900’s by a local architect named William Steele. Mr. Steele also was architect of a city hall built in Hawarden, Iowa in the early 1900’s as well. The county courthouse was built with a lot of style and flare. City hall appears to be a utilitarian style of building that is not on the list of the National Registry and is not in use today. Although signs in a window from a few years ago talk about a fundraiser to try and save the non-used building. A tale of two cities? At the time the Woodbury Courthouse was built, it was a thriving city of 80,000 and growing according to recorded history. Possibly Hawarden was not as thriving although the citizens there may not have been less enthusiastic about their community as those living in Sioux City. Jerry Mennenga Sioux City, Iowa
I live in the Siouxland area that encompasses a wide swatch of land in northwest Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota. The people that inhabit this area are generous folk and your basic honest, Midwestern people you like to have as neighbors. I explore the area and share observations, mostly photographic, sometimes through video, and and short text. All images and video are copyrighted material of the author.
Jerry Mennenga, Sioux City, Iowa
jerrylmennenga@yahoo.com
