– 2018 Individual Inductee –

Samuel Perry Dinsmoor

 

Samuel Perry Dinsmoor was born on March 8, 1843 on his parents’ farm near Coolville in Troy Township, Athens County, Ohio.  He was the third of six children born to William and Laodicea (Tubbs) Dinsmoor. Samuel attended school with his siblings in Coolville.  In 1859 Samuel was apprenticed to a local lawyer.  When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Samuel enlisted in the 116th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and assigned to Company B.  At the time of his enlistment the nineteen-year-old Samuel was reported to stand five-foot five and have a fair complexion, hazel eyes, and brown hair.  

 

The vast majority of the troops of Company B, 104 officers and men, enlisted between August 12 and 18, 1862 for a three-year term.  Of these, 59 soldiers remained with the company at the end of the war and were mustered out on June 14, 1865, in Richmond, Virginia.  Samuel served all three years and participating in 18 battles, among which were:

 

Moorefield, January 3, 1863

Winchester, June 12, 13 and 14, 1863

Piedmont, June 5, 1864

Lynchburg, June 18, 1864

Occoquan, September 19

Fisher’s Hill, September 22, 1864

Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864

Hatch’s Run, March 31, 1865

Ft. Gregg, April 2, 1865

Farmville, April 6 and 7, 1865

Surrender of Gen. Robert Lee at Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865

 

Samuel and the 116th marched with Union General Philip Sheridan through the South and saw the capture of Petersburg, Virginia and the surrender of Lee at Appomattox.  He carried a deep scar across his forehead, having been nearly scalped.  As was his way, Samuel said he “got it running from the Johnnies”.  Samuel was quoted as saying: “It is not bravery that keeps a soldier at his post in the face of battle, but cowardice – the fear of being called a coward by his comrades”.

 

After being discharged Samuel returned to his parents’ home in Ohio, where he engaged in farming for a year.  He then decided to head west in the fall of 1866 and settled in Bond County, Illinois.  Three years later he became a resident of Rosedale, Jersey County, Illinois.  During the winter of 1869 and 1870 Samuel taught school at the Williams’ school house.  

 

On August 24, 1870, Samuel was married (famously on horseback, though not documented) at Grafton, Jersey County, Illinois to Mrs. Frances Ann Bessie (Barlow) Journey, the widow of Samuel Journey.  By this union there were five children – Charles Andrew, James Franklin, Samuel Anderson, Thomas Barlow, and Laura Elizabeth.  In addition, the new Mrs. Dinsmoor had four children by her former marriage – William H. Journey, Alice M. Journey, Addie L. Journey, and Carrie I. Journey.

 

Samuel became a member of the local Masonic Lodge and served as a school trustee for six years.  He continued teaching at rural schools in the county until 1879, when he purchased a 341-acre farm.  It is believed that at this time he learned the basics of building and stonework from his brother-in-law, mason and contractor James Pruden.

 

In October 1888 Samuel decided to move his family still further west.  He purchased an 80-acre farm for $800.00 in Section 34 of Fairview Township, Russell County, Kansas, about a half mile east of the city of Lucas.  As a Civil War veteran Samuel immediately became acquainted to many in the town through his memberships in the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) and Masonic lodges.  But then, after just two years of successful farming, the Dinsmoors packed up and headed north to Nebraska.

 

“Mr. S. P. Dinsmoor, with three loaded wagons and a buggy and his family, started for the state of Nebraska yesterday morning. They stopped about two hours in Lucas, to bid their friends goodbye. Mr. Dinsmoor and family have been with us over two years and during that time have been good neighbors and gained the friendship of all in Lucas and vicinity, who are sorry to see them leave. The Advance joins the host of friends in wishing them unbounded success.” – Lucas Advance, August 7, 1890.

 

Why the Dinsmoors left for Clay County, Nebraska is not entirely clear.  Whatever the reason being, a year later they returned and settled down once again on the farm they still owned near Lucas.

 

“S. P. Dinsmoor, who has been living at Ong, Nebraska, has returned to Lucas.  He expects to make this his abiding home in the future.” – Lucas Advance, September 10, 1891.

 

Samuel’s progressive political views caused him to be an early backer of the Greenback and Farmer’s Alliance movements and not a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, as were many of his fellow citizens.  The Populist Party, also known as the People’s Party, was formed in 1892 at a convention in Omaha, Nebraska. The party was largely an agrarian-oriented movement designed to strengthen political democracy and give farmers economic parity with business and industry.  Jacob Ruppenthal and Samuel Dinsmoor were the most enthusiastic Lucas supporters of the new political party.  The Lucas newspaper, however, did not share in their enthusiasm.

 

“S.P. Dinsmoor and two or three other calamityites attended the Populist Party Township Caucus at Luray last Saturday.  When we mention the few we mention all.” – Lucas Advance, October 20, 1892.

 

Samuel stood as the Populist Party nominee for Fairview Township trustee in the November 1892 elections.  He was defeated, but the Populist Party proved to be a national power in both the 1892 and later 1896 elections.  In 1893 Samuel was a charter member and elected president of the Lucas chapter of the United Order of Anti-Monopoly Lodge.  The next year he ran for Russell County Attorney, but finished last in the three-man race.  By 1903 Samuel was a member of the fraternal lodge Modern Woodmen of America. 

 

“S. P. Dinsmoor made a good land deal last Friday. He sold his home farm, [the] east half N. E. quarter Sec. 34, 1 mile east of Lucas for $4,000 spot cash.  The purchaser was John Vroman. This we understand is the best price that has been paid for farm land in Russell County.  It is not the first good land deal that Mr. Dinsmoor has made.  Six years ago he sold a tract of new unbroken land for $15.00 an acre.” – Lucas Sentinel, May 26, 1905.

 

At the age of sixty-two Samuel had decided to retire from farming.  With the proceeds of the sale he bought a house in Lucas located in the southeast corner of the intersection of Second and Kansas Streets, just two blocks east of the downtown area and a block north of the railroad.  With time on his hands and money in his pocket, Samuel began to work out improvements to his property that at first were both a surprise and aesthetically pleasing to his neighbors.

 

“Dinsmoor talks of making a fish pond.  He doesn’t need much but water to do the job.” – Lucas Sentinel, November 24, 1905.

 

“S. P. Dinsmoor is building a cement fence which will be the noblest fence in town when it is finished. He is doing the work himself and claims that it will not cost him much as his own time is not worth anything.  He is quite a genius, can do anything he tries and make anything he wants.  He has made a great improvement on that corner and the job is not near finished.” – Lucas Sentinel, July 20, 1906.

 

Samuel then began his first big project. He launched the construction of a new rock house. For the exterior, he chose Post Rock Limestone, a fine-quality building stone used in many commercial buildings, houses, barns, and fence posts in the area.  In constructing it he envisioned a log cabin built of stone instead of wood.  With that in mind Samuel had the stone quarried in long narrow lengths, some up to twenty feet long. The stone was then laid up with dovetailed corners in the manner of a cabin.

 

“L.C. Brown is furnishing the rock for Dinsmoor’s log cabin.  Work was resumed on it yesterday.” – Lucas Journal, August 24, 1906.

 

“We visited Dinsmoor’s log cabin and find it to be progressing nicely. Steve [Truitt] is a good workman as it will readily show.” – Lucas Journal, October 12, 1906.

 

“Steve Truitt commenced work on S.P. Dinsmoor’s stone log cabin Wednesday after about 2 months lay off.” – Lucas Sentinel, February 22, 1907.

 

“Dinsmoor is building a frame house inside of his log cabin. When it is completed he will have the best and most comfortable residence in town.  It will be clear of the damp that generally pertains to a stone building and have all the comforts of a frame house.  It shows genius and originality in plan and construction and will outlast any building now standing.” – Lucas Sentinel, April 19, 1907. 

 

The main floor of the Dinsmoor home featured 3,000 feet of oak, redwood, and walnut with elaborate moldings and baseboards.  No two windows or doors were the same size in the home, by design.  That same spring of 1907 Samuel joined the Prohibition Party and ran for mayor of Lucas, promising to end the sale of beer drinks in the city.  Soundly defeated, Samuel returned to completing his unusual home.

 

“Dinsmoor is putting the finishing touches on his cabin.” – Lucas Sentinel, September 20, 1907.

 

“Dinsmoor has accomplished one thing successfully. He has built a house which attracts attention and when he views it from turret to stone he can say there is no other like it.  Two years ago that corner was the most unattractive in the city and now it is one on the best.  Every stranger viewing the attractions of the city must take a look at that house. There are 16 acetylene gas lights in it and when they are all lit up at night the house will look like a torch light procession.” – Lucas Sentinel, November 29, 1907.

 

“Dinsmoor has an attractive fish pond in front of his cabin.” – Lucas Sentinel, May 22, 1908.

 

“S.P. Dinsmoor had some lettering done on his log cabin last week. The words Cabin Home were put on the rock log across the front of the porch.” – Lucas Independent, January 28, 1909.

 

His Cabin Home completed, Samuel started a new business venture. In April 1909 the first full newspaper advertisement appeared listing S. P, Dinsmoor as “A Hartford & Springfield Insurance Agent”.  Later he advertised as the local agent for Columbia Insurance.

 

CABIN HOME.

“The above picture represents one of Lucas’ modern residences. It is the property of S. P. Dinsmoor, and is built of native stone and cement. The rock measuring from three to sixteen feet and being lain to represent a log cabin. Over 25 tons of cement being used in the construction of the house, porches and fence. It is the most unique house on the outside and the nicest, finished on the inside of any house in the state. It is equipped with acetylene lights and a complete system of waterworks. A fountain and pool in the front yard makes a beautiful ornament and a cozy home for the gold fish. The picture shows Mr. and Mrs. Dinsmoor on the walk in front of the house. Mr. Dinsmoor is a man over 60 years of age and has done the principle part of the work himself on this fine residence. People traveling through Lucas who have heard of the log cabin never fail to visit it, as nothing like it can be found elsewhere.” – Lucas Independent, July 8, 1909.

 

Indeed, Samuel’s Cabin Home was the talk of the town and the entire region. Then in just a few short months came a shocking announcement: in September 1909 Samuel advertised in the local newspaper that Cabin Home was for sale!

 

It appears that no one could meet Samuel’s price for the property, and after two months Samuel took Cabin Home off the market.  By then streams of visitors were already coming to view his unusual residence, and Samuel’s agile mind contemplated on how he could make money by turning his home into a real tourist attraction. 

 

This, as they say in Lucas, is when things started to get weird.

 

“S.P. Dinsmoor reports that 131 guests have visited and registered at the Log Cabin during the month of August.” – Lucas Independent, September 1, 1910.

 

“S. P. Dinsmoor of Lucas, not satisfied with a ‘log cabin’ built of hard limestone and cement, has added a grape arbor and numerous trees and stumps of cement.  The trees have lifelike holes for raccoons, etc. The arbor is wound with cement serpents and near the street stand Adam and Eve, the latter receiving an apple from one serpent, while the former sets his heel on the head of another snake. A spring emerges from the roots of a hollow stump. Luray Herald.” – Lucas Independent, September 1, 1910.

 

Samuel was adept with concrete work, and it came to his mind to erect on the west edge of Cabin Home scenes from the Bible in permanent sculpture.  From 1909 until his death he worked on adding more sculpture, creating on the north and east sides of the property artwork that depicted his personal political views, and named the environs the Garden of Eden.

 

Samuel’s Biblical artwork generated a lot of talk among the citizens of Lucas, some of whom were not too sure that they approved.  But when his later political sculptures went up there was a genuine uproar. Samuel’s political views were more progressive than most of his neighbors, and local opinion ranged from the need to pass city ordinances against such public art to running Samuel out of town on a rail.  What saved Sam from any actual repercussions were three factors: (1) he was a Civil War veteran, which accorded him an automatic amount of respect; (2) he had money and did a lot of business with the local merchants and especially the local newspaper, which astonishingly never published a single negative story concerning Samuel after his move into the town; and (3) he was old enough that people attributed his behavior to his age, and treated him like an eccentric but mostly harmless crazy uncle they had to put up with.

 

The wily Samuel indeed had his wits about him; Cabin Home and the Garden of Eden proved to be a popular attraction.  The income generated from visitors’ admission fees alone provided a degree of financial security for Samuel and his family.  He welcomed visitors and led tours of the site while his work was in progress.  And in 1913 he took one last stab in politics.

 

Old Soldiers Ticket

“After the regular meeting of the G. A. R. last Saturday afternoon in the township office it was proposed by S. P. Dinsmoor that they turn it into a caucus and nominate a city ticket.  D. A. Smith was elected chairman and Harrison Naylor secretary of the meeting and the following ticket was nominated: For Mayor S. P. Dinsmoor; For Police Judge S. L. Austen; For Councilmen D. A. Smith, James Dorman, W. F. Byers, W. A. Mintier, [and] N. J. Brumfield.” – Lucas Independent, March 6, 1913. 

 

When the votes were counted on April 9, 1913, it was found that Samuel P. Dinsmoor was 171 votes short of being elected mayor. He had received a single vote – and that was a split vote that he had to share with H. L. Manfield.  Samuel’s politicking days were over.  He turned his full attention back to his insurance and tourist businesses.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

QUAINT CABIN ON SCREEN.

Home of S. P. Dinsmoor Breaking Into Moving Picture Field.

“Lucas, February 27. – The cabin home, the well known residence of S. P. Dinsmoor, pushed itself into the moving picture field for the first time last night. A half hundred views of the residence and the surrounding statues were shown at the moving picture theater in Luray. Tonight it will appear here. Monday night of next week it will appear at Sylvan Grove.  If the venture is successful an extended trip will immediately follow.  Mr. Dinsmoor will give a short lecture describing the different views.

 

“Mr. Dinsmoor, owner and builder of the cabin home is some 70 years old. Filled with a quaint wisdom and a ready wit, he is an interesting character. His sincere interest in his home and the surrounding scenery, which is a weird allegory of the evolution of man, is pleasing to all. The age of the man together with the great painstaking labor he has done in building his eccentric ideas in solid concrete has won the admiration of thousands from practically every state in the Union.  He has been interviewed and written up by many leading papers, which were searching for the quaint and the unique. It is safe to say that the cabin home with its allegorical setting is the only thing of its kind in the world.” – Salina Evening Journal, Salina, Kansas, February 27, 1915.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *

 

A Popular Place

“That the Cabin Home is a place of favorable reputation is proven by the fact that last Sunday thirty-three automobile loads of people from out of Lucas visited there. Mr. Dinsmoor is always glad to receive visitors and will show the curiosities about the place and explain what each represents in the general scheme.” – Lucas Independent, June 17, 1915.

 

In 1916 Samuel decided upon his next project. He had the barn that stood in the northeast corner of his property torn down, and in its place began a gift to himself and his wife: a mausoleum.

 

Gets Out Big Stone

“L. C. Brown, who is furnishing the rock for S. P. Dinsmoor’s mausoleum, has been bringing the long rock which will be used for the building. They are sure fine ones and require no little ingenuity to get out of the quarries intact.  The longest rocks measure twenty-one feet.  Mr. Brown hauls them swung under his wagon on an oak plank.” – Lucas Independent, November 23, 1916.

 

Frances Dinsmoor had been in poor health for many years, and the last five years she was confined to her home. On April 27, 1917, she passed away after a final illness of some days.  Frances had been well liked in town and had many friends.  When Samuel proposed to inter her remains in his new mausoleum the town was aghast, and the city fathers in no uncertain terms told him that this would not be allowed.  Frances was then laid to rest in the city cemetery.  Samuel fumed at this opposition to his plans and soon took the matter to its head. One night Samuel, with some helpers, stole into the cemetery, dug up his wife’s casket, brought it back to town and interred her in his mausoleum. He then placed a few tons of cement upon her remains so that no one could ever move her.  The scandal was the talk of the town for months but would not be the last concerning Samuel.

 

The second eldest of thirteen children, Emilie “Emma” Brozek was born in 1904 in what is now known as Podlusky in the Czech Republic.  Emma’s family immigrated to America in 1906 and the next year settled in Lucas, an area of Czech settlement.  In 1923 Emilie was hired as a housekeeper in the Cabin Home.  In April 1924 the citizens of Lucas learned of a new scandal involving Samuel – he had married his housekeeper.

 

 “Adam” Married His “Eve”

“S. P. Dinsmore [sic], 81 years old and popularly known as the ‘Adam of Lucas’ was married yesterday afternoon by Probate Judge Artman to Miss Emilie Brozek. The twenty-year-old bride and her grandfather sweetheart arrived at the Judge’s chambers about 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon and, rather demurely, requested to be married by the Judge. After the ceremony was performed the builder of the second ‘Garden of Eden,’ with his ‘belle of Bohemia’ blushingly by his side, had their first picture in married life taken at Phegley’s studio and then whizzed away in their car to the Garden of Eden home at Lucas which has long waited for its Eve.” – Lincoln Republican, April 24, 1924.

 

Samuel and Emilie had two children, Emily Jane and John William.  For the rest of their lives Emily and John were known as being the youngest living children of a Civil War veteran.

 

In 1927 Samuel estimated that in creating the Garden of Eden he had used 2,273 sacks of cement or over 113 tons. He had created 15 cement trees from 30 to 40 feet tall and 14 cement trees from 8 to 20 feet tall, and over 50 cement sculptures. Samuel placed 48 light fixtures in the Garden and stated that “This was the most unique home, for living or dead, on earth”.  In 1929 Samuel’s eyes failed him, and his final sculpture depicting the Crucifixion of Labor went unfinished. 

 

Samuel Perry Dinsmoor died July 21, 1932 at his Cabin Home in Lucas.  The news flashed nationwide. 

 

“When Samuel P. Dinsmoor completed his cement Garden of Eden after a score of years’ work, he said:  ‘When Gabriel calls, I’ll take the responsibility for it all.’  Gabriel called Thursday and took Dinsmoor at the age of 89.” – The Index Journal, Charleston, South Carolina, July 23, 1932.

 

“He had a photographic mind,” Samuel’s relative, Grace Ann Dinsmoor Maggart later recalled.  “He had a deeply religious background, had read the Bible three times and knew it well – could quote verbatim (long) scriptures.  He was a reader of everything historical and maintained a fine selective library, but most was lost in a fire – a great loss.  He served as a Justice of the Peace for years.  His favorite game was chess, or checkers if a substitute was required for lack of competition.  He never missed a G.A.R. meeting.  The flag never failed to thrill and excite him, and was revered by him.  He was of steel and charm.  He always felt he could control all, having a very determined personality.  He was obsessed about ‘good health’ and “health foods’ and he neither smoked nor drank (beer, etc.).  He was a most unusual person, very few understanding him because he chose not to be understood.  His recipe for long life: ‘Keep Breathing’.”

 

Cabin Home and the Garden of Eden continued as a major tourist attraction after Samuel’s passing. After a few years it passed from the Dinsmoor family.  Cabin Home was turned into apartments for rent and the Garden of Eden was neglected.  In 1968 the property was in danger of being bulldozed before being rescued by Lucas residents Wayne and Luella Naegele.  Reopened as a tourist attraction, the Garden of Eden continues to draw thousands of visitors each year to the small town of Lucas.  The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.  It was purchased in 1989 by Garden of Eden, Inc.  In 2011 The Garden was sold to the Kohler Foundation, who then oversaw a five-month restoration of the property.  In 2012 the attraction was gifted to the current operators, the non-profit Friends of S.P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden.  Samuel’s final will stated that after his passing, visitors to the Garden could see him in his glass-topped coffin in the mausoleum if they paid $1.00 admission.  Samuel’s wishes are still honored and the $1.00 fee is part of the overall price of admission.

 

Since 1990 the Garden of Eden has gained renewed national attention as an exemplary work of “grassroots” or “outsider” art.  It is the oldest such art environment still intact.  Visitors to the Garden learn that untrained artist Samuel Dinsmoor’s work is truly detailed, that every part of every cryptic sculpture has meaning about Populist politics, modern civilization, and the Bible that connect like a dot-to-dot puzzle. The humor and message that he conveys through the sculptures continues to amaze tourists over a century after those first visits by the curious.  In 2007 the Garden of Eden was named a finalist for the overall 8 Wonders of Kansas, and in 2008 it was named one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas Art.

Veteran, teacher, farmer, husband, father, businessman, builder, entrepreneur, artist.  There is no doubt that Samuel Perry Dinsmoor well deserves his place as one of the First Class of the Russell County Kansas Hall of Fame. 

 

 

SOURCES:

Lincoln Republican, April 24, 1924.

 

Lucas Advance, August 7, 1890; September 10, 1891, April 14, 1892, October 20, 1892.

 

Lucas Journal, August 24, 1906; October 12, 1906.

 

Lucas Independent, January 28, 1909; April 29, 1909; July 8, 1909; September 1, 1910; September 26, 1912; March 6, 1913; April 10, 1913; September 4, 1913; June 17, 1915; November 23, 1916; May 3, 1917; October 18, 1917; April 30, 1924.

 

Lucas Sentinel, March 20, 1903; April 10, 1903; May 26, 1905; October 6, 1905; November 24, 1905; July 20, 1906; February 22, 1907; March 15, 1907; March 22, 1907; April 19, 1907; September 20, 1907; November 29, 1907; May 22, 1908; July 31, 1908.

 

Russell Record, November 8, 1894.

 

The Salina Evening Journal, February 27, 1915.

 

The Index Journal, July 23, 1932.

 

Thomas Wildes, “History of the 116th Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry” (1884).

 

Continental Historical Company, “History of Green and Jersey Counties Illinois” (1885).

 

“The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families, Volumes I, II, & III”, by Edmund James Cleveland (1899, pages 2011, 2051, & 2052).

 

O. D. Hoopes, “This is my Sign – GARDEN OF EDEN” (1972)

 

Barbara Brackman & Cathy Dwigans editors, “Backyard Visionaries: Grassroots Art in the Midwest: John Hachmeister, The Garden of Eden” (1999)

 

jersey.illinoisgenweb.org/marriage/1Hd-g.htm, Jersey County Illinois Marriage Record, Book One (1840-1876)

 

familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/u/r/Billy-R-Burrow/GENE11-0033.htm, “Burrow and Lane (Dinsmoor): Information about Samuel Perry Dinsmoor . . . Quotes from Grace Ann Dinsmoor Maggart”.

 

www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/8wondersofkansas-view.php?id=27

 

www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2001summer_hasselle.pdf, Suzanne Hasselle-Newcombe, “Cementing His Own Political Views”.

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Historical Archives, Friends of S.P. Dinsmoor's Garden of Eden.

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