Author: Mark

15 Feb
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No Farm is Complete Without the “Field Workers” Waiting for That Next Season

Mark / History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

Another visit to the Fort Ransom farm in the spring found these two farm implements abandoned in the field. I believe these were used to gather the cut straw in the fields to form into bails. They could have been pulled by either horses or a motorized tractor.

The deep green grass contrasting the big blue sky is quite common in the spring and summer in North Dakota. Match that with the rusted metal slicing the photograph into sections, and you have a farm scene with depth of field.
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13 Feb
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The “Old Coral” in the Spring While the Tall Grass is Still Green

Mark / History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

On one misty morning, the “Old Coral” at the abandoned Fort Ransom County farm presented some beautiful deep green grass. It also contrasted those colors with the rust colored mold and decay on the old wooden fences of the coral. Though most of the farm I capture in black and white, some images really deserve color in order to do this unique subject real justice.

Like I had mentioned previously the expanse of the operation of this farm was impressive. There was a large coral, obviously for livestock like maybe horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, etc. It was a real joy to find and to return to this location again and again. I captured the image low, as if through the eyes of a child growing up on the farm, watching all the animals.
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08 Feb
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A “Sleeping Giant” at the End of Its Road

Mark / Black & White, History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

Before North Dakota I really only took pretty straight forward, simple tourist type photographs with my 35mm film camera. Occasionally, I’d shoot people, like family on a vacation or something like that. I did go through a period of photographing foreign and exotic sports cars on the street in St.Louis in the mid 1980’s when I was in high school. However, this was very far removed from those days.

These relics of an age long past were fossils of steel and glass, and instinctively I thought it important to capture them where they lay. In the big sky sun resting in the tall grass, there was a tranquil silence to them. There were other vehicles I captured in their final position, but this “Sleeping Giant” was the first. The motorized workhorse now at peace.
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06 Feb
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Honoring ‘Black History Month’ With My ‘Stops Along the Underground Railroad’

Mark / Architecture, History, Photojournalism / / 0 Comments

In July of 2012 I worked as a photojournalist at the Edwardsville Intelligencer newspaper in Edwardsville, Illinois. I was granted the high privilege to fill the cover of the Saturday B-Section with pretty much whatever photo project I wanted. It was an enormous honor and a first for me, and I took that privilege very seriously. Because I love the rich history the Illinois/Missouri area has to offer, I chose to focus on the “Stops Along the Underground Railroad” in the Alton, Brighton, and Otterville areas. In honor of “Black History Month” I am sharing this photojournalistic work which was one of my proudest moments of being published. The following are the text and photographs from that B-Section cover spread.

From the Edwardsville Intelligencer Newspaper, July 21-22, 2012:

Community Focus: Stops along the Underground Railroad

I would like to extend a big thank-you to Professor Eric Robinson, an American History instructor at Lewis & Clark Community College. Professor Robinson took his time to give me a personal tour of these historic sites during one hot day in mid June. To learn more about his historic tours, you can reach Professor Robinson via email at: jer1008@yahoo.com

Alton: Old Rock House apartment building, 2705 College Ave.
The house was originally a 1 1/2 story used for rooming students of Shurtleff College, now the SIUE dental school. Students would hide slaves in the basement by the central chimney. The slaves were most likely hidden during the summer months because the central chimney nook was used as a warming oven in the colder months.

Brighton: Thomas Brown House
Thomas Brown, from Alabama, was the town doctor before the Civil War and was also an Underground Railroad Conductor. Records have shown that there were three buildings in Brighton used to hide slaves along the Underground Railroad. This is the only building left. Dr. Brown would assist slaves along the Underground Railroad, traveling from Upper Alton, getting them on the stagecoach heading to Jacksonville, some 40 miles away.

Otterville: Hamilton Primary School
Dr. Silas Hamilton moved from Adams County, Miss., bringing slaves with him which he freed upon crossing the Ohio River, all except a small boy named George Washington, which he raised as a foster son. Dr. Silas Hamilton and George Washington originally met when Dr. Hamilton was riding a horse in Virginia and came across a slave aution where 7 year-old George Washington was crying because his mother had been sold. Upon Dr. Hamilton’s death in 1834, he willed funds to rect a monument to George Washington, while Washington was still a young boy, as well as to build a schoolhouse. Part of Dr. Hamilton’s estate also set aside funds to be used for the education of “colored children,” known as the George Washington Education Fund.

Otterville: Dr. Silas Hamilton and George Washington Monument
Inscribed on the Dr. Silas Hamilton and George Washington monument it says “Erected by George Washington, born a Virginia Slave. Died in Otterville, ILL Apr. 18, 1864, A Christian Freeman. To the memory of Dr. Silas Hamilton, his former master. Born at Tinmouth, VT. May 19, 1775. Died in Otterville, ILL Nov. 19, 1834. Having in his lifetime given freedom to twenty-eight slaves, and at his death bequeathed four thousand dollars for the erection and endowment of the Hamilton Primary School.”

Alton: Enos Apartments, 325 E. 3rd St.
The Enos Apartments were built in 1858, the same year as the Lincoln-Douglas debates, originally with a basement, a ground floor, and an attic. The third story was added later on in the 1870’s, bringing with it a turret orginally from the tp of the second floor. The building was originally built as a tuberculosis sanatorium. Records indicate that a woman by the name of Priscilla Baltimore, who was a former slave from Burbon County, KY., was an Underground Railroad Conductor. She was also the founder of the Lovejoy, Illinois and the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the St. Louis area. Upon her death in 1881, she was credited with helping 300 slaves escape to the north. Stories describe a tunnel that was suspected to begin at the Mississippi River, leading up the hill in Alton through the Enos Apartments, and then continued to lead up the hill to Brighton, ending at the Thomas Brown House. When you understand that “tunnel” refers to “path,” it begins to make more sense.

Alton: In this house, built in 1820’s, the priest from the old Catholic church St. Mathew’s hid salves in his home in plain view, according to research done by Irene Pittermire. This house has no secret rooms or secret spaces, so what is believed is that this home, like many religious buildings at the time, was considered above reproach which allowed slaves to be concealed seemingly in plain sight. Other examples of these kinds of buildings which were not searched for slaves were churches and convents.

06 Feb
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The “Shattered” Past and Announcing February’s FREE Print Winner

Mark / Black & White, History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

While exploring the abandoned Fort Ransom farm I discovered a few vehicles from what looked like the 1950’s. This “Shattered” truck window made for an interesting border to the photograph, while it added the texture of broken glass while gazing through into the farm’s field. This was symbolic of the decay and dismantling from time and the elements I found throughout the farm’s implements and structures.

The ghostly haze in the top portion of the broken glass window also added a kind of mystery as it was not in the rest of the window.

I would like to announce that the winner of my FREE 8″ x 10″ photographic print for Feb. 1st was Barb from Oregon. She will be receiving her print by mail soon.

I will be drawing another name from my Newsletter Subscriber list on March 1st, and will be giving away another FREE 8″ x 10″ photographic print. Be sure to Subscribe for your chance to win one of my FREE prints.

01 Feb
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When All Signs of Life Are Gone, All We Have Left Are the “Remains of a Day”

Mark / Black & White, History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

In exploring the old Fort Ransom farm, I made a point of capturing still life images of objects where I found them. I did not remove anything or setup any props. I wanted to capture the objects as time and the elements placed them. “Remains of a Day” epitomizes this goal.

This photograph captured along side one of the houses shows the remains of a barrel, most likely used to collect rain water. Also the chair is found where it tipped over and then was overgrown by the North Dakota tall grass. Like the stories of how the desert reclaims its cover and control over time, the same is true with the tall grass in North Dakota. Again, the similar cracked textures of the dried grass and the cracked wood compliment each other in their aged condition through the format of black and white film.
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Later Today I will be selecting a winner of one of my FREE prints from my email list of subscribers. I will contact them via email and announce the winner in my next News posting.

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30 Jan
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“Stove and Straw” Shows Textured Contrast in Black and White Photography

Mark / Black & White, History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

One of the aspects of black and white photography where it truly excels is in the area of capturing textures. Sometimes without the distraction of color, black and white photographs can almost take on a 3d appearance. This was my exercise in capturing the “Stove and “Straw.” The cast iron stove created a stark textured contrast between the iron and the tall grass with which it has stood for decades.

This abandoned Fort Ransom farm in southeastern North Dakota was my photographic classroom for 6 long years and longer. From still life to landscape subjects, and even the occasional low light captures, it provided a great opportunity with countless subjects to choose.
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25 Jan
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The “Wooden Wagon” Captures the Remains of This Piece of Farming History

Mark / Black & White, History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments

Over the past 26 years, my capture of this old “Wooden Wagon” has been one of my more popular photographs. The texture of the old faded and cracked wood, contrasted with the tall grass gives an almost 3d effect in black and white.

This old wagon was prominent in the field of the old homestead. Most likely used to carry grain, manure, or other such uses made this an important asset to the farm and its sustainability. This would have been a wagon initially used by drawn horses, and maybe later pulled by a motorized tractor until the wood was too old and brittle to function anymore. This was an important piece of agricultural history and serves as an example how old technology gives way to new in all areas of our everyday lives.
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23 Jan
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The Erie Haunt of the “The Homestead”

Mark / Black & White, History, North Dakota / / 0 Comments
Past the overgrown driveway of the Fort Ransom “Guarding Gate” lies “The Homestead. ” It consists of 3 full size houses, each one larger than the next. The haunted, open-air windows no longer held any glass, as only the harsh North Dakota elements and ghosts of the past now resided here.
The floors were unstable with an eerie warping of the wood which gave a surreal appears to the structures. In the smaller house parts of the floor had given way to reveal the cistern well below, as a small piano held on at the edge of the living room. One of the creepiest sights was a kitchen table set for a meal, covered with decades of dust where the resident never came back.
I almost always visited this location alone. When I discovered that under the floor of one of the houses was a cistern well with an unknown depth, I did not risk entering any of the homes. For if I fell through the floor, there would be no one coming to help.
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18 Jan
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My Largest Photographic Discovery Began With “The Guarding Gate”

Mark / North Dakota / / 0 Comments

I can’t tell you about this photograph without telling you about the largest discovery I made in my hunt for abandoned and interesting places to photograph. Up to this point I did alot of driving around the back roads searching, and would occasionally find a barn here or a nice landscape shot there, with some beautiful sunrise or sunset photos for icing on the cake. Don’t get me wrong, they were wonderful to see and capture, but nothing that really intrigued me, until I stumbled upon this “Guarding Gate.”

When I first pulled up to the front of the drive way, the blast of deep greens contrasted the brown fields like a flare. The gate, as you see here, was all that was left of the front of the driveway which now was nothing more than an overgrown path. In the field to the right was an Allis-Chalmers tractor, which I later learned was a valuable antique. Behind the entrance stood 3 full size houses, 2 large barns (1 metal), sheds, chicken coops, and fences which I assumed served to coral livestock…all abandoned, the whole place, empty. Hauntingly empty. I felt like an archeologist discovering a tomb, and I suppose I was to a degree. The active life that was once here was now long past, and the only signs that remained were the objects and buildings left behind.

Over the next 6 years I would return to this place countless times, to photograph, to explore, and sometimes just to appreciate the life that was once here and how it must have looked in its hay day. This abandoned farm is where I truly transitioned from just documenting what I was finding into capturing these discoveries in creative ways to share the beauty in this forgotten place. In the coming weeks and months I’ll continue to share my photographs from this amazing place and tell the story of my exploration of this Ransom County farm.
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