Jon Gents took most color photos; the Editor photographed the hearth. The flooded scene was photographed by a newspaper reporter from years ago.
Morrison Historical Society offers a program of local interest, at 202 E. Lincolnway, Morrison, IL, today at 1:30 p.m. Morrison resident Jon Gentz is the presenter.
Jon Gentz owns three buildings with a past. His dwelling is located at 708 W. Lincolnway, at a level below grade of the National highway. Originally flush with U. S. Route 30, the building was built in 1931, opening on May 16. The enterprise was called Kier’s Log Tavern. The tavern’s original hearth is used in Gent’s house.
The surviving buildings had been stabilized/braced and moved to a higher elevation above Rock Creek. In 2017, each rested atop a concrete slab. Gentz said the shingles had been a 2017 improvement, too. Each roof, he noted, “was originally wood.”
In mid-2018 new foundations were prepared, using weather-treated, “greenwood” 4X4’s to raise the cabins 4″ above the sill. Inside, the floor is drainage-inducing gravel over dirt.
Original, raw, bark siding was maintained or replaced, as was the black, tar paper underlayment. Now, primitive, weathered split-bark slabs cover the exterior.
“Gary and Chad Milnes, ” stated Gentz, “[did] the [restoring] work. They got the bark from a sawmill.”
By Friday, July 13, doors had been installed. Gentz stated he kept the original windows; when repaired, they will be reinserted. Each cabin has three windows. Original knob-and-tube wiring was left for display–including a broken lightbulb. By Wednesday, July 18, the doors had been painted dark brown.
Gentz said knob-and-tube wiring remains hanging from the rafters. It was in common use in North America from about 1880 to the 1930s. Spider webs are visible on a picture frame; scraps of paper are still attached to one wall.
