Ideas for places to visit in the Midwest
Shaker Village is an historic area in Kentucky. The Pleasant Hill Shakers are recognized for their iconic architecture, skilled craftsmanship and profound spirituality. During a 105-year span, the Pleasant Hill Shakers constructed more than 260 structures on the property. Today, there are 34 surviving buildings, most located along the mile-long gravel turnpike.
In this photo you can see the main street that passes through these buildings and work areas.
Recently I visited an interesting area called Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Kentucky. The village was constructed in the early 19th Century with high degree of craftsmanship. Their simple yet sound methods of building make for beautiful photographs. I recently posted several photos of one of a pair of spiral staircases in their Trustees office and Guesthouse. One photo from above and one on the second floor landing.
However, I particularly like this photo with the light coming in from outside, pouring into the hallway. In the 19th Century the electric candles would have been real candles keeping the hallway somewhat lit. The leading lines draw you into the photos inviting you to rest for a while on the Shaker rocking chairs. Note the pegs on the wall. In the village, the pegs are on every room and hallway each building. In our guest room in this building, there were no closets to hang you clothes. You just found a nearby peg to hang you belongings. I found it very convenient.
Click on the photo from more information. To see the complete set of photos from our “Foot Pack Weekend” click here.
The Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana, is an open air interdenominational church designed by Philip Johnson and dedicated in 1960. The church was commissioned by Jane Blaffer Owen, the wife of a descendant of Robert Owen. It is an open park surrounded by a wall.
The Three Creek Basset pack on the hunt. Many Basset owners compete in professional tracking events known as basseting. It predominantly occurs in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. When given the right training, basset hounds can excel in speed, obedience, and rally competitions as well as tracking, hunt tests, and field trials.
This pack met up with three other packs for the weekend at the scenic Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill. This included two packs of Bassets and two packs of Basset Hounds. Three Creek Bassets are origionally from St. Louis, MO and are moving to Alabama.
Wyatt arrived in Shaker Village with a pack of Basset Hounds prepared to show off their tracking skills during a “Foot Pack” weekend in this scenic area. However, Wyatt is a Service Dog trained to monitor his master’s blood pressure. He did enjoy observing the other hounds show off their skills.
Click on the photo for more information. Click here to view photos from the weekend.
This one of my favorite photos. The simplicity of the lines and the lighting from above highlight the skills of the builders. This elegant spiral staircase is one of two in the Trustee’s House (1839) built by the Shakers in Shaker Village of Pleasent Hill. The two staircases stand mirroring each other ascending three stories from the building’s main hallway and are quite striking with patterns and play of light.
Click on the photo for more information. Click here for complete set of photos from my trip to Foot Pack Weekend in Shaker Village of Pleasent Hill, Kentucky.
Trustee’s Office and Guest House in Shaker Village of Pleasent Hill in Kentucky. Built in 1839-1841 by Micajah Burnett, housed the offices of the legal and financial leaders of the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill, and provided lodging to traveling Shakers.
The front door opens to a wide central hall that is intersected midway through by transverse twin stair halls. These open newel helical stairs rise in opposing directing only to face one another at the third-floor landing, where an elliptical dome in the ceiling is intersected by a barrel vault connecting the arched windows at the front and rear of the ridge dormer. The ineffable light that bathes the staircase is justly renowned. The cherry wood handrail that winds with the stair is carved specially to fit a gripping hand. The underside of the stair, which can been seen in the cellar, reveals substantial interlocking timbers that are fastened with iron bolts.
The largest restored Shaker community, with 3,000 acres of farmland and 34 restored 19th-century buildings. Shaker Village hosts a wide variety of hands-on classes, music performances and special events and has 33 miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding (bring your own horse). Dining is available. Kentucky River excursions aboard the paddle wheeler Dixie Belle are given from April through October. The tranquil setting at this National Historic Landmark makes it an unforgettable choice for meetings or retreats. Meals are served in the Trustee’s Office Dining Room or may be catered in the meeting spaces. Three historic buildings can accommodate meetings and weddings, ranging from 30-200 guests.
This beautiful seetting was used as the background our Footpack Weekend where Basset Hounds and Beagles showed of their tracking skills. For complete photos of the grounds and events click here.
One of a pair of spiral staircases in the Trustee’s Guest House in Shaker Village of Pleasent Hill in Kentucky.
The Trustees’ Office and Guest House, built in 1839-1841 by Micajah Burnett, housed the offices of the legal and financial leaders of the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill, and provided lodging to traveling Shakers.
The north-facing brick building measures fifty by fifty-three feet and rests on a high exposed limestone basement. The off-axis kitchen ell measures thirty-four by sixty-five feet. Like all of the brick buildings at Pleasant Hill, Burnett used a combination of noggin framed and solid brick. The facade is divided into three bays with unusually wide triple-light windows. The front door has a shallow sunburst fanlight and four pane sidelights. A graceful brick archivolt frames the doorway. On center with the front door is a single attic-story cupola dormer with graceful arched sash window.
We stayed on the third floor of this building (no elevator) durng the “Foot Pack Weekend” hosted there which featured hunting Basset Hounds and Beagles. Click here to see a complete set of photos.
Inauguration day at Missouri’s State Capitol. High above the main floor of the rotunda spectators can watch all of the festivities below.
Dominating the skyline in all directions, Missouri’s state Capitol is a monument to its citizens. The building rests upon a limestone bluff on the south bank of the Missouri River. It is 437 feet long and 300 feet wide at its center. The top of the dome towers 262 feet above the basement floor. The building, which covers 3 acres and has 500,000 square feet of floor space, is literally a museum of public art, remarkable not only for its quality and abundance, but as a faithful reflection of the themes, events and people of Missouri.
A fun place to visit in St. Louis is Lone Elk Park. The park is a wildlife management area, with bison, wild turkey, waterfowl, elk and deer.
The park acreage was once part of the Tyson Valley Powder Plant used for the testing and storage of ammunition during WWII. After the War, the area served as a County Park, and in 1948 herds of elk and bison were established. The land was re-acquired by the Federal Government during the Korean War, and for safety reasons the wildlife herds were destroyed in 1958. However, one lone bull elk survived.
In 1964 St. Louis County reacquired a portion of the original tract from the General Services Administration and in 1966 the name was changed from Tyson Park to Lone Elk County Park. Six additional elk were obtained from Yellowstone National Park in 1966 through the efforts of the children of the Rockwood School District and West St. Louis County Lions Club.
The park is mostly in a wooded area where you can drive through and see their collection of Elk and Bison. This photo was taken from my car of an Elk on the side of the road.
Click on the photo for more information. To see more photos of rural Missouri, click here.
Great Rivers Imaging 