Marion Heritage Center & Museum is Reopening 

Ely farmer and engineer, Joseph Tomlinson (1856-1939), watched the growing crowds of vacationers heading to J. S. Minott's Lower Palisades resort and in 1896 he opened his own competing resort, Spring Hollow, across the river from Rock View. It featured a restaurant/inn, a horse barn, dance pavilion, boat rentals and other resort amenities. Initially Tomlinson hired J. S. Minott's nephew, Sherman Minott Stone (1874-1936) to manage the operation--he had previous experience at Rock View. But Capt. Minott ran a conservative family-oriented resort in keeping with his Methodist principles, Tomlinson's Spring Hollow featured dancing, and hidden back in the woods, a tavern served alcohol and even boasted of a pool table! Many in Mt. Vernon disapproved, but Tomlinson was marketing the Hollow to a liberal clientele coming from Cedar Rapids by boat or over the roads via Ely. Sherm Stone was gone by 1899 and replaced by Merrill Williams, a Cornell student and baseball standout. He didn't stay long either and the Hollow saw a stream of different lessees/managers over the next two decades drawn by the beauty of the location and its seemingly boundless opportunities, and inevitably broken by the battle with the fickle Cedar R., which left the resort/inn high and dry, cutoff from the water in some years and several feet under in others.

Vacation tastes changed too with the advent of the automobile, and the road to the site was always challenging--too sandy, too dusty, or too muddy, depending on the season. Day trips from CR via the river became difficult when shifting sand bars blocked boat access. The resort slowly fell into disrepair. Frances Tomlinson (1871-1929), Joe's sister, arranged the sale of Spring Hollow to the State in 1922 as part of its initial 139 1/2-acre purchase of the Tomlinson farm, the first step toward creating the state park.

Joseph Tomlinson, Jr. (IV) (1856-1939) was a farmer and part-time engineer. His father, Joseph Tomlinson, Sr. (III) (1816-1905) was a famous English bridge designer who came to Linn county in 1843 with his first wife Ann (Northrup). She died in 1853 and he married Sarah (Wyles)--Joe Jr.'s and Frances' mother. The senior Tomlinson purchased considerable land in the Ely area, including the West Palisades, but mostly he left it to his son to manage when he came of age, and wasn't assisting his father in the family engineering business. Frances took responsibilty after her father's death. See links to the Tomlinsons at Find a Grave memorial # 61101322.

Sherman Minott Stone (1874-1936) was the son of Joshua D. Stone (1822-1907), a Springville farmer, and Emily Minott (1842-1876), the younger sister of Capt. J. S. Minott, the Lower Palisades pioneer. Their marriage was short-lived owing to Emily's premature death, but they had one child, Sherman. Stone moved to Kansas after leaving Spring Hollow. He worked on a ferry boat in Arkansas in 1905--that's where he met and married Jessie I. Martin (1887-) the daughter of a fellow ferryman. Jessie accompanied Sherman here when he visited in 1907. It may have been on such a trip that she met Charles J. Klima, a brakeman on the railroad. Jessie divorced Sherm and married Klima in CR in 1911. That marriage didn't last either, and Klima remarried by 1920. Stone was farming in Ark. by 1920. He died there in 1936. We haven't located his grave. See Joshua & Emily (Minott) Stone at Find a Grave memorial # 142144590. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago  ·  

Charles F. Meyer, a long-time Bertram and Mt. Vernon area-resident came to the Rock View Tavern in 1924. He was operating a paint and wallpaper business in Mt. Vernon that he started in 1919 and needed housing for his work crew. He leased the whole hotel to provide room and board for his men. A few of the Lower Palisades summer-residents staying in nearby cabins asked if they could eat at the hotel. Charley obliged them and found himself in the hotel business. He continued leasing the property from Louis Kepler in subsequent years and stayed in the paint & paper business at least through 1925. In 1926 Louis Kepler died and willed his Palisades property to the State for the creation of a park. The State Conservation Commission asked Meyer to lookout for their interests, which initially were limited to the opposite (south) side of the river, and maintain the property for visitors. For two years, while the State debated and considered financing, Meyer paid county property taxes on land he didn't even own to stay open. In 1927 the State formally accepted the offer of the Kepler estate and in 1928 took control. They appointed Meyer a deputy game warden and the first park ranger that year. He continued operating Rock View until 1931 when the State tore down the hotel.

Meyer served as Park Ranger through WWII. In 1945 the State Conservation Commission appointed him Supervisor of the entire northeast district and he left Palisades State Park to oversee their widespread operations, but his work was gradually cut back until he was once again just at Palisades. He retired in 1954 after 30 years of service in Iowa's state parks but returned to Palisades as manager of the park restaurant.

Charles F. Meyer (1885-1966) ran away from his home in NY when he was 11 and joined the circus. At different times he was a railroad worker, a soldier, a policeman, a painter and wall paperer, a bartender, a farmer, a cook and a hotel manager. . . all of which left him well-prepared to become the custodian of the Rock View Tavern, and in 1926 the first ranger of Palisades-Kepler State Park. In his early years in Cedar Rapids Meyer entertained spectators at the carnival shows held at the site of Roosevelt school as "Hi-Ki The Wild Girl." He sat in a cage, danced, screamed and ate raw beef to entertain spectators. Another time he ran a street show concession raffling off "canaries" at each turn of his wheel. They were really sparrows, which he caught nightly and dyed yellow; he left the real canaries in the cage. See him at Find a Grave memorial # 204942534. Next time: Unexpected blocks on the road to the Park ... See MoreSee Less

6 days ago  ·  

1916 marks an important turning point in Palisades history--property owner C. W. Kepler gave control to his son, Lewis H. Kepler (1880-1926), who invested new energy and capital in the resort. He razed Minott's old log cabin hotel and erected a new 2-story frame structure. The upper story included six guest-rooms and a bath; an office and comfortable lounge with a large fireplace made up the ground floor. As before there was a concession area offering refreshments to guests. A new addition to the resort was alcoholic spirits if the new name "Rock View Tavern" is any indication--the resort was "dry" in Minott's time. The new investment and commitment by L. H. Kepler drew managers Ray & Elsie Turner to sign a long-term lease, and they stayed until 1923.

Raymond C. Turner (1886-1965) was born in Narisburg, NE. He was bright and personable, and pursued a variety of mostly people-oriented business enterprises in his lifetime. He married Elsie (Robbins) in 1908. In 1911 the Turners came to Mt. Vernon and Ray opened the Fairy Wand Chocolate Shop; he later opened a Cedar Rapids candy store. From 1916 to 1922 he managed Rock View with his wife. In 1919 he opened the Lincoln Cafe on the Lincoln Highway in Mt. Vernon. In 1924 he sold the restaurant and returned to candy making. Throughout his years at the Palisades Ray also farmed and operated an acclaimed dairy. Ray and his wife divorced in 1929. Elsie stayed in Cedar Rapids, but Ray left the area. She is buried in her family plot in Lansing, IA. See her at Find a Grave memorial # 36900419. Raymond died in 1965 in CA, his grave site is unknown. See his family at Find a Grave memorial # 61952155.

Willard A. Robinson (1898-2000) took over the Rock View lease at the beginning of the 1923 season. Robinson was attending college at Grinnell when the U.S. entered WWI. He enlisted in flight training in San Antonio, TX, becoming a pilot in the 35th Aviation Corps. After the war he returned to Grinnell to finish his degree, but a ruptured appendix and long recovery disrupted his plans. In 1920 he organized a children's summer nature camp at the West Palisades he called "Camp Iowar." The camp was initially aimed at boys but a trial program for girls was such a success that he focused on them thereafter. The YWCA contributed recreation staff and administrative support for the week-long programs. Robinson leased the Cliff House in the early years and later Rock View after he took over its management. Robinson left in 1924 and probably abandoned the Camp Iowar venture at the same time. The 1930 US census shows him back in San Antonio, still single, and selling flying school supplies. He died in Menlo Park, CA in 2000 at the age of nearly 102. We haven't located his grave yet, but see his parents and siblings at Find a Grave memorial # 146617305. To be continued. ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago  ·