Found: Stand Rock, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: STAND ROCK, DELLS OF THE WISCONSIN RIVER.
STAND ROCK is the most curious and wonderful formation in all the region.
It is a huge table supported by a single water-torn rather
irregular shaped column of rock, about 46 feet high.
The top is a great sandstone slab some 18x24 feet in area
and practically level. The is 5-1/2 feet from the main cliff.
Copyright by H. H. Bennett Studio, Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
"C.T. Art Colortone,"
Made only by Curt Teich & Co. Inc. Chicago, U.S.A. Circa 1940.

Found: Lone Rock, Dells of he Wisconsin River, Kilbourn, Wis. Published by W.S. Blatchley Kilbourn, Wis.

At first it was all about the rocks and the stunning sandstone land forms etched by the water in the driftless area of Wisconsin. The place was eventually named Kilbourn City after its founder, a land surveyor named Byron Kilbourn. Photographer H.H. Bennett was so inspired by this landscape on the Wisconsin River, that he began making photographic views to sell at the new railroad stations to entice people to visit. He invented an instantaneous shutter to capture his son jumping from the cliff to stand rock and sold Ho Chunk artifacts from his studio. So successful was his venture making postcards and 3-D stereoscope cards that Kilbourn City became a bustling destination. The town name changed to Wisconsin Dells in 1931 to more clearly identify it in the public mind with the landscape. Decades later, "the Dells" reinvented itself as "the water park capital of the world." Its theme parks often overwhelming the senses to such a degree that visitors can miss the landscape that started it all.

Found: H.H. Bennett Studio, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: The H.H. Bennett Studio founded 1865. The Bennett Studio Today. Oldest in Wisconsin
© 1965 H. H. Bennett Studio Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Text on back of card reads: "The Studio was founded
by the late H. H. Bennett, a young Civil War veteran, in 1865. The present quarters were built in 1875 and
remodeled in 1917. Since its beginning, it has been continuously operated by members of the same family as a landscape
and portrait studio. During the lifetime of H. H. Bennett, until his death in 1908, most of his time, effort, and artistic
ability were employed in landscape photography. He built all his cameras, constantly devising improvements such as fast shutters for stop-action pictures. With these homemade cameras he made memorable views of Milwaukee, St. Paul and the bluff country of the upper Mississippi valley, but most of his photographs show the Dells of the Wisconsin and the nearby country. For over forty years he spent many days in the Dells trying to capture the best possible view of every interesting spot. Luckily the stereoscopic, or three-dimensional, photographs was very popular at the time, and the sale of Bennett's stereo-graphs of the Dells had a great influence in
bringing travelers to the Dells in the early days. Now the Bennett Studio is a century old and its operation
has covered changes in photographic methods from wet plates to color photography, and from head clamps to speed lights.
A small museum at the Studio, open to the public, shows much of the equipment used by Mr. Bennett in capturing his incomparable views. 
These photographs, old and yet ever new may still be purchased at the Bennett Studio."

Found: "Watch" Jumping Stand Rock at Wisconsin Dells.
 A Thrill for Camera Fans. "Watch," a trained dog, leaps the chasm
at Stand Rock, spectacular scenic formation at Wisocnsin Dells.
He affords amateur photographers an unusual  "shot" and is
a thrill to all visitors. Copyrighted H. H. Bennett Studio,
Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Genuine Curteich C.T. Art Colortone postcard.
Written in ballpoint pen on the back:
"Hi Dotty. This is a card from our honeymoon that I thought
you might like to add to your collections.
I couldn't mail it in Wisc. because I didn't have your address.
We had a grant time. Sincerely, Rosie & Wimp."
Postmarked June 9, 1955.

Found: Luncheon Hall, Dells Kilbourn, Wis. No. 6.
Written in fountain pen on the back: "Dear Cousin. Received your card sometime ago but have been
so busy with my sweater. Have it all done except the collar and belt. The weahter is about the 
ame lots of snow and cold. How is the baby and all of the rest of the folks. Your cousin, Sadie."
Postmarked February 19, 1909.

Found: Chief Silvertongue, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: Chief Silver Tongue real photo postcard on Azo paper.
Note handwritten on back in ballpoint pen reads:
"Our guide at the Wisconsin Dells, Kilbourne, Wis. 7/15/31".

Found: Chippewa Indian Chief photographed and published by
Annabelle Gallagher Post Cards & Pub, Duluth, MN, circa 1960s.

Found: Indian Chief and Tepee, photo and published by
G. R. Brown Co., Route 5, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, circa 1960s.

Found: Chief Blow Snake in full ceremonial dress. Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
Photo by Arthur Langford, Genuine Natural Color by Dexter Press circa 1950s.
Postmarked Merrill, Wis. June 30, 1955, 3 PM.

Found: Heap Big "Little Indian Chief".  Greetings from Lac du Flambeau, Wis.
Genuine Curteich Color postcard circa 1930s.
Postmarked Lac Du Flambeau, Jun 26, 1952 5 PM.

Found: Stand Rock. A trained dog leaps the chasm at Stand Rock.
Spectacular scenic formation at Wisconsn Dells.
He affords amateur photographers an unusual "shot" and is a thrill
to all visitors copyright H. H. Bennett Studio circa 1950s.

Found: Ink Stand. Lower Dells at the Wisconsin is like an old-style ink well.
The tall pine on top resembles a quill pen. Wisocnsin, Dells, Wisconsin.
Copyrighted by the H. H. Bennett Studio, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin,
"Plastichrome" by Colorpictures, Boston, circa 1950s.

Found: The Sunrise Call at the Stand Rock Indian Ceremonial, Wisconsin Dells, Wis., is sun in the Zuni language.
The play of light on the feather headdress of the singer resembles the rising of the sun. Suitable for framing.
Copyrighted by H.H. Bennet Studio, Wisconsin Dells, Wis Foilex printed in W. Germany circa 1960s.

In mid-century Wisconsin Dells and elsewhere in Wisconsin, any picture was a good picture if it included an "Indian Chief". In the Dells, it was a gig involving a great amount of theater. Among the most renowned was Chief Silver Tongue (1882-1964) (a/k/a Oscar Norton), a Hopi.  He was an attorney turned singer on the vaudeville circuit who later staged an "Indian Pagent" that ran for 30 years each summer on Stand Rock in the Dells.

Found: The Peace Pipe, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: THE PEACE PIPE. When white men first explored this region, they found it inhabited by several Indian tribes,
one of which was the Winnebago. A remnant of this tribe is still found in the Dells country"
copyright by H. H. Bennett Studio, Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
genuine Curteich-Chicago, C.T. American Art post card, circa 1908 (reprinted 1930s)

Found: UNITED STATES FUR FACTORY - 1 816. Villa Louis, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
This diorama portrays the fur factory established in Prairie du Chien in 1816 with John W. Johnson as factor
and John P. Gates as interpreter. These fur factories or stations were erected at strategic points.
Here the U.S. Government supplied a side range of goods to the Indians and received from them
furs, feathers, lead and maple sugar. Color by J. A. Fagan, Fagan Publishing Co., Madison, Wis., circa 1970.

Novel portrayals of Wisconsin Native Americans date mainly to the late 1800s to mid-20th century until a reframing of the issues at last bubbled up in the white American consciousness. Driven from their homeland of Wisconsin literally in railroad cards, many natives returned on foot to the rivers and lakes of Wisconsin that had provided sustenance for generations. The "Peace Pipe" card text above refers to the "tribes" as a "remnant....still found in the Dells Country." The diorama illustrates natives receiving a "wide range of goods" (steel tips for arrows, cooking utensils, guns) for furs, feathers, lead, and maple sugar. The 21st century observer is left knowing it was not a fair trade.

Found: The Demons Anvil, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Found: The Demons Anvil, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin copyright  H. H. Bennett Studio, circa 1965
Verso Caption: In spite of its ominous name, the Demons Anvil holds no terror for the modern day camera fan.

H. H. Bennett (1843-1908) settled in Kilbourn City in Wisconsin. He admired the landscape and made it the focus of his photographic practice in 1865 making glass plate pictures of rock formations and the land forms along Devils Lake and the Wisconsin River so much so that he began making photographs to show it off. Kilbourn City became Wisconsin Dells and the rest is history. Were it not for Bennett's photographs, the area may have remained a secret or perhaps another river side factory town. Bennett's restored studio space. a historic site, is not to be missed at 215 Broadway in Wisconsin Dells. Operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society, his darkroom, studio set up, storefront shop are preserved as they were at the time of his death in 1908. Multi-media exhibitions tell the story of photography's relationship with the growth of tourism and Bennett's relationship with native peoples. A recent book, H. H. Bennett, Photographer: His American Landscape (University of Wisconsin Press, 2010), by Sara Rath tells his biography and reproduces his photographs.