User:SunTunnels/InspirationPoint
Inspiration Point Wayside Rest | |
Location | On MN 16, 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of County Road 21, Lanesboro, Minnesota |
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Coordinates | 43°41′39″N 91°59′44″W / 43.69417°N 91.99556°W |
Area | Approximately 69 acres (28 ha) |
Built | 1934-1937 |
Built by | Minnesota Department of Highways, Civilian Conservation Corps |
Architect | Arthur R. Nichols |
Architectural style | National Park Service rustic |
MPS | Federal Relief Construction in Minnesota, 1933–1941 |
NRHP reference No. | 15000790[1] |
Designated | November 16, 2015 |
Inspiration Point Wayside Rest is a state highway wayside rest located along Minnesota State Highway 16 southwest of Lanesboro, Fillmore County, Minnesota. Minnesotan architect Arthur R. Nichols designed the wayside, alongside many other rest stops in the state, and it was built between 1934 and 1937 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 2015, Inspiration Point Wayside Rest was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for being an excellent example of the National Park Service rustic architectural style and the only surviving Minnesota wayside to have been built by a CCC soil erosion control camp.[1]
History and design[edit]
The Inspiration Point Wayside Rest was one of thousands of infrastructure projects completed during the Great Depression by New Deal Agencies. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) through Executive Order 6106-A in April 1933[2], and the CCC had over 60 camps in Minnesota by the following August.[3] Fourteen more were operated in coordination with the Minnesota Conservation Department (now the Minnesota DNR) to address drought and erosion control in southeast Minnesota. This included Camp SCS-7 / PE-91 / 751 in Lanesboro, which was responsible for the construction of Inspiration Point Wayside Rest in 1934 according to the Fillmore County Historical Society. Gemini Research claims the property was instead built by workers paid by the Federal/State Emergency Relief Administration (FERA/SERA).[3]
Inspiration Point was one of the first rest areas Arthur R. Nichols designed under commission of the Minnesota Highway Department. Nichols would later design many similar rest areas throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s in Minnesota, but Inspiration Point is unique in the dry stone masonry techniques found in most of its walls. Dry stone masonry uses no mortar, instead interlacing stones in tight patterns that are durable but can accommodate drainage and ice accumulation.[3]
The wayside rest is located atop Duschee Hill, one of the largest hills in the region, and its surrounding terrain consists of pronounced hills and ravines. Predominant local land uses include natural oak and hardwood forests – which were incorporated into the site's original design – as well as tilled fields and pastureland.[4]
Restoration efforts[edit]
In the early 2010s, MnDOT conducted condition assessments and background research on Inspiration Point in preparation for a National Register of Historic Places listing application. The site was successfully designated on the NRHP list on November 16, 2015,[1] but the wayside's condition deteriorated. Buckthorn and other invasive vegetation near the wayside blocked intended overlooks of the Root River Valley below, several of the site's signature walls had significant cracks, and some benches were structurally undermined.[3] MnDOT estimated in 2013 that it would cost $1,262,615 (USD) to fully restore the wayside and protect it from future damage.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ "Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations, 1933-1936 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum". www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
- ^ a b c d e Minnesota Department of Transportation (November 2013). "INSPIRATION POINT WAYSIDE REST: Condition Assessment" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Gemini Research (December 1998). "Historic Roadside Development Structures on Minnesota Trunk Highways" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 8, 2023.