Shots around and about the town of Kampsville Illinois over the years…
Looking South on the Left you can see the Kampsville Inn and just past it the “Old Bank of Kampsville”
Kampsville Circa 1979 looking East towards the ferry landing
Another one of Stuart’s Ideas that did not quite work out as expected… He purchased the only laundromat in town. Unfortunately, the machines were worn out and did not work well. Eventually, one of the all too often floods put the venture out of it’s misery.
After a few years of being a squeaky wheel I was finally given a building to use as a Photographic Darkroom. Yep, the shed next to the “Old Hardware Store”. It was basic, but it worked.
One of the things the organization was known for over the years was it’s fleet of less than stellar vehicles. For a few years this nearly worn our mini-school bus transported students to and from town.
This happy little home is where
Stuart and his family lived for a while in Kampsville
Next to the Laundromat was this quaint little house. That Stuart purchased for two purposes: 1) to be used during the winter as a guest residence 2) A place to house a very large Library of books that had been donated. As with most structures on that side of town, the Illinois River had the final say in the matter!
When I first started coming to Kampsville there were two grocery stores in town. This was my favorite.
Capps General Store. Now the site of the Kampsville Archaeology Museum.
A shot of the old “Copper Kettle”.
Menu at the local eatery..
Kampsville even had a small Quonset Hut Gospel Mission
Here I am, cleaning and doing preventive maintenance on my gear.
Circa 2007 I took my Daughter Maya, to Kampsville for “Archaeology Day” Moored just North of town was the paddle wheel steamer that had been used and featured in the movie “Showboat”
In 1971, I used to pass time occasionally riding the ferry back and forth across the river. Sometime in the ’90’s I found the original Kampsville Ferry beached alongside the Mississippi near Hamburg, IL.
About an hour North of Kampsville is the town of New Canton Illinois, Pop. @135. The High School was vacant and shut down. For a few years we rented it and used it as dorms and lab facilities. I spent the better part of a year living in this building. Very Strange…
