Cobbling Together a Home for Local History

The community of Clinton sits quietly near the Illinois border. Somewhere between Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago, the town of Clinton and its surrounding communities are attempting to forge an elusive identity. Unlike other Archives Month submissions, which focus on records or objects, the Clinton Community Historical Society and its community themselves came under the lens. Like many non-profits the CCHS existed on paper before they acquired a brick and mortar facility—however the unique properties of their new headquarters precludes the use of either. 

The cobblestones composing its exterior walls behave much like brick whilst the mortar binding them together does not resemble that used today. Modern mortar contains rigid concrete while that used in the house is limestone based; fired in wood kilns, it was crushed to a fine powder and then mixed with sand and water. An unauthentic patching restoration of this mid-19^th century style would look poor and, because the mortars expand and contract differently, pick at the structural integrity. An ugly scar of concrete beneath a western windowsill speaks to this.

Before Clinton had a hardware store, and long before Mamma Lilla’s Pizza opened across the street, this cobblestone farmhouse rested at the edge of an 80 acre farm field. The CCHS’s sign is dominated by a depiction of that very home. Society member Ron Nortier asked SAA-SC members Alex Champion, Dana Gerber, Prairie Hady, and Jake Ineichen if it struck them as unusual; apparently a family member criticized the sign for its proximity to the artwork’s subject. While this was a valid thought, remarked one of the students, it was not a depiction of the house we were standing near but rather the house as it was when Alonzo Richardson built it in 1843—surrounded by nothing.

Mr. Richardson did not use isolation as an excuse however. Each stone were sorted through a board with various sized holes in it; the smaller, more perfectly rounded stones were separated for the front of the house with the larger and less perfect ones used in the back. The limestone walls of the house were faced with the cobblestones three to four rows at a time and it took several days for the mortar to set before the next rows were able to be laid. The result was a wall 16-18 inches thick that retained autumn’s heat into the winter and spring’s coolness into the summer.

Following a brief tour of the grounds we were ushered into the dwelling. Although the heat was turned on in anticipation of our visit, the cold dankness and evidence of a dozen simultaneous projects and restorations reminded us that no one lived there.

The shower's tiling reminds bathers of history

A contemporary addition to the rear houses a modern kitchen and enumerable windows, which minimized the odor but also kept it relatively toasty. Ron Nortier, who restored his own cobblestone himself, spoke rather conceptually about the building’s older “improvements”; the complications of working on a home older than the state it resides in, the motivations of well-intentioned owners with their own dreams and agendas, and the then unknown consequences of contemporary design, all contributed to enumerable “layers” of the interior’s façades.

I was reminded of home improvement shows on DIY or HGN where photogenic contractors give rooms an expensive looking re-finish by simply covering the outdated décor. Each scrape of the paint or pried off panel reveals still more challenges. Etched into partially exposed faux brick paneling is a mysterious message claiming a person was murdered in the house but a stray bullet hole was not located; perhaps the hole will be discovered as they scrape further into the past.

The subject of our visit was not the house itself but rather two prominent families who valued local and family history. Fresh from church services and with a polite but bored granddaughter in tow, Bruce and Carol Hahn shared their family’s papers, photographs and other objects. Many items pertained to Clinton's athletic history--especially basketball. As the owners of the remaining hardware store in Clinton the Hahns were acutely aware of changes in spending and transportation habits on small towns. In a seemingly rehearsed manner Mr. Hahn claimed it was better when Clinton had three hardware stores; because pricing and merchandise were not identical among the stores, unsatisfied customers would simply go next door rather than spend their dollars out of town.

Bruce and Carol Hahn with their granddaughter

The Hahn's storefront in different times

Following them were Cyndy Bagley and her husband Loren. Presenting curated objects and extensive original research, especially as they concerned women, Mrs. Bagley was eager to have her labors of love reach an audience. All conversations were recorded by chapter member Jake Ineichen. Hopefully they will be edited down and become available online.

Cyndy Bagley shows her research; SAA-Student Chapter members and Ron Nortier observe

Despite the unfinished appearance of the Clinton Community Historical Society’s headquarters its foundation is firm. As the CCHS gears up for Clinton’s 175^th anniversary they are preparing to utilize old and new collections. Many of their oral histories have been transcribed; they have some handwritten family histories as well as a number of scrapbooks. A 92 page booklet was put together in 1976 and a 356 page hard cover history was published in 1987. "Clinton, Wisconsin  150 Years," published by Curtis Media Corporation; they also have community newspapers dating back to 100 years as well as some local church historical documents. They also hope to have a Civil War veteran’s diary in time for the celebrations later in 2012.

[Submitted by Alex Champion with contributions by Dana Elizabeth Gerber and Ron Nortier]