Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A little bit of history
Sank from over on Big Blake said he was surprised that Sidetrack wasn't a year-round residence.
I take that to mean a little history is in the works. And a little is the operative word. I don't know very much. I was first at Little Blake Lake about 1971. There was a gap between 1972 and 1983 before I started spending much time there again.
On the south end of the east side of Little Blake is a public street called Little Blake Lake Court. There are a number of year-round houses on that cul-de-sac.
East Little Blake Lake Lane (ELBLL) is a private road off of 70th Street (Hunky Dory Road, according to locals) that provides access to 13 lake cabins north of that development. (Despite what the 1966 map or the online maps show, there is no connection between ELBLL and the cul-de-sac on the south end of the lake.)
A 1966 map of the east shore of Little Blake Lake shows 11 structures.
At least 7 and maybe 9 of those cabins were built shortly after World War II, including Sidetrack. (Before WWII, 2x4s were actually 2' x 4". The 2x4s at Sidetrack are 1 and 5/8 by 3 and 5/8. After 1952, the 2x4s were a bit smaller.)
The cabins all seem to have been built with the same footprint - kitchen on the northeast corner, a well just outside the kitchen with a pump at the kitchen sink, dining/living room overlooking the lake, and a couple little bed rooms in the back. A combo shed and outhouse graced the back yard.
The cabin at 1945 ELBLL seems to be the least changed.
Skip says that in the old days, the cabins wee simply sleeping places for a bunch of hard-drinking fisherman. Except for Sidetrack.
Sidetrack was evidently built with special-order options: knotty pine paneling, varnished interior ceiling, and a tiny balcony above a single bedroom. A little cellar was dug, a new sand point well dug, and a bathroom added, probably in 1949. (Toilet tanks have the year of manufacture on the inside of the cover.) I've already described the Shakespeare House. (See the October 2007 archives.)
Most of the original cabins have been changed and updated significantly. Since the new owners (2005) added a bathroom to the cabin at 1953 ELBLL, all have indoor plumbing. Nearly all now have decks, sliding glass doors, and big windows on the west sides.
The cabins that were added after the initial development are noticeably different. (See 1963, 1961, 1959, 1953, and 1939 ELBLL.) The cabin at 1943 might be one of the originals, but it's been altered dramatically. For instance, it has a walk out lower level.
Three of the cabins are winterized. The southern-most of the 13 was, I think, built for winter use. When we became custodians of Sidetrack, John and Mary Hammond (1943 ELBLL) were living on the lake full time. They sold and moved a couple years later. A few years after that, the people at 1941 ELBLL, put in a composting toilet, added a front porch, and lived there for one winter before selling. Several people use their cabins once in awhile on mild winter weekends. Sometimes, someone hires a plowing service to clear the "road."
I think I'll have to talk to Skip and get some more historical information.
I take that to mean a little history is in the works. And a little is the operative word. I don't know very much. I was first at Little Blake Lake about 1971. There was a gap between 1972 and 1983 before I started spending much time there again.
On the south end of the east side of Little Blake is a public street called Little Blake Lake Court. There are a number of year-round houses on that cul-de-sac.
East Little Blake Lake Lane (ELBLL) is a private road off of 70th Street (Hunky Dory Road, according to locals) that provides access to 13 lake cabins north of that development. (Despite what the 1966 map or the online maps show, there is no connection between ELBLL and the cul-de-sac on the south end of the lake.)
A 1966 map of the east shore of Little Blake Lake shows 11 structures. At least 7 and maybe 9 of those cabins were built shortly after World War II, including Sidetrack. (Before WWII, 2x4s were actually 2' x 4". The 2x4s at Sidetrack are 1 and 5/8 by 3 and 5/8. After 1952, the 2x4s were a bit smaller.)
The cabins all seem to have been built with the same footprint - kitchen on the northeast corner, a well just outside the kitchen with a pump at the kitchen sink, dining/living room overlooking the lake, and a couple little bed rooms in the back. A combo shed and outhouse graced the back yard.
The cabin at 1945 ELBLL seems to be the least changed. Skip says that in the old days, the cabins wee simply sleeping places for a bunch of hard-drinking fisherman. Except for Sidetrack.
Sidetrack was evidently built with special-order options: knotty pine paneling, varnished interior ceiling, and a tiny balcony above a single bedroom. A little cellar was dug, a new sand point well dug, and a bathroom added, probably in 1949. (Toilet tanks have the year of manufacture on the inside of the cover.) I've already described the Shakespeare House. (See the October 2007 archives.)
Most of the original cabins have been changed and updated significantly. Since the new owners (2005) added a bathroom to the cabin at 1953 ELBLL, all have indoor plumbing. Nearly all now have decks, sliding glass doors, and big windows on the west sides.
The cabins that were added after the initial development are noticeably different. (See 1963, 1961, 1959, 1953, and 1939 ELBLL.) The cabin at 1943 might be one of the originals, but it's been altered dramatically. For instance, it has a walk out lower level.
Three of the cabins are winterized. The southern-most of the 13 was, I think, built for winter use. When we became custodians of Sidetrack, John and Mary Hammond (1943 ELBLL) were living on the lake full time. They sold and moved a couple years later. A few years after that, the people at 1941 ELBLL, put in a composting toilet, added a front porch, and lived there for one winter before selling. Several people use their cabins once in awhile on mild winter weekends. Sometimes, someone hires a plowing service to clear the "road."
I think I'll have to talk to Skip and get some more historical information.
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This is great, I love this post.. sort of a history buff. I can tell you that our place was built in 1957. We purchased it in 1999, and are the the third owners.
When we bought it we were lucky enough to get title documents going back to the original land grants when the Wisconsin was being organized. Apparently the west side of Blake Lake was owened by a railroad, which was never built. At some point in the early part of the century, the land was used for a hunting and fishing preserve sort of thing. The parcel we're on, and all the adjacent houses were subdivided in the 50's. I'm guessing that alot of the houses on our side of the lake were also plotted at that time.
I do know that there are a couple cabins on the east side of Big Blake, basically across the highway from your lake, that were built in the late 20's.
One day I'd like to get do more digging around and see what I can learn abou the area.
When we bought it we were lucky enough to get title documents going back to the original land grants when the Wisconsin was being organized. Apparently the west side of Blake Lake was owened by a railroad, which was never built. At some point in the early part of the century, the land was used for a hunting and fishing preserve sort of thing. The parcel we're on, and all the adjacent houses were subdivided in the 50's. I'm guessing that alot of the houses on our side of the lake were also plotted at that time.
I do know that there are a couple cabins on the east side of Big Blake, basically across the highway from your lake, that were built in the late 20's.
One day I'd like to get do more digging around and see what I can learn abou the area.
One correction: last spring, the people in the third cabin from the north added an outhouse. I'll have to ask why.
And, Sidetrack was the only one of the original cabins with to have a brick fireplace and chimney. (Which doesn't work, and we've only used it once. Our contractor told us the stack needs to be considerably taller to draw effectively.)
Sank (from over on the west side of Big Blake) left a comment that I couldn't post because Blake hadn't signed out yet:
This is great, I love this post.. sort of a history buff. I can tell you that our place was built in 1957. We purchased it in 1999, and are the the third owners.
When we bought it we were lucky enough to get title documents going back to the original land grants when the Wisconsin was being organized. Apparently the west side of Blake Lake was owned by a railroad, which was never built. At some point in the early part of the century, the land was used for a hunting and fishing preserve sort of thing. The parcel we're on, and all the adjacent houses were subdivided in the 50's. I'm guessing that a lot of the houses on our side of the lake were also plotted at that time.
I do know that there are a couple cabins on the east side of Big Blake, basically across the highway from your lake, that were built in the late 20's.
One day I'd like to get do more digging around and see what I can learn abou the area.
This is great, I love this post.. sort of a history buff. I can tell you that our place was built in 1957. We purchased it in 1999, and are the the third owners.
When we bought it we were lucky enough to get title documents going back to the original land grants when the Wisconsin was being organized. Apparently the west side of Blake Lake was owned by a railroad, which was never built. At some point in the early part of the century, the land was used for a hunting and fishing preserve sort of thing. The parcel we're on, and all the adjacent houses were subdivided in the 50's. I'm guessing that a lot of the houses on our side of the lake were also plotted at that time.
I do know that there are a couple cabins on the east side of Big Blake, basically across the highway from your lake, that were built in the late 20's.
One day I'd like to get do more digging around and see what I can learn abou the area.
Sank wrote, "I do know that there are a couple cabins on the east side of Big Blake, basically across the highway from your lake, that were built in the late 20's."
And that would have been near the end of Prohibition and Big Blake is not far south of the center of organized crime's Wisconsin "getaway" in Hayward.
The late '20s was also the last years of an economic boom that ended in '29 with a financial collapse and a stock market crash. (Sounds too familiar for my blood.)
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And that would have been near the end of Prohibition and Big Blake is not far south of the center of organized crime's Wisconsin "getaway" in Hayward.
The late '20s was also the last years of an economic boom that ended in '29 with a financial collapse and a stock market crash. (Sounds too familiar for my blood.)
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