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THE
HAMLIN GARLAND COLLECTION
The
Garland Homestead in West Salem
| West
Salem, on the western edge of Wisconsin, remains a very small town today.
A single business street extends three blocks north from the railroad tracks,
where the Chicago-Minneapolis trains rush past without stopping. Still,
the town is easy to reach, with its own exit from Interstate 90 (160 miles
to Madison; 20 miles to La Crosse). State Highway 16 and a state bike trail
both run through West Salem.
The log cabin
in which Hamlin Garland was born in 1860 vanished long ago; but the Garland
homestead, at 357 W. Garland Street, which he owned for many years and
where he did a significant part of his writing, is maintained by the West
Salem Historical Society, a non-profit organization. Tours can be arranged
by phoning 608-786-1399 or 608-786-1666. |
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Chronology
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The Garland House, 1893
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1893
Hamlin Garland purchases "Maple Shade"
on a five-acre lot in West Salem as a home for his parents in their retirement.
The original structure dates from 1859 but is progressively enlarged till
"the only part which remains unchanged is the stairway" (Garland in 1938).
Garland’s house becomes the first in the area to boast indoor plumbing,
a room-sized fireplace, and a tennis court on the lawn. Garland also adds
a formal dining room for entertaining his literary guests. |
The Garland House, garden
side |
The Garland House, street
side |
After 1899
Garland marries, and the couple lives
at the West Salem house most summers for the next twenty years, alternating
with residences in Chicago and, later, the Hudson Valley (New York). His
mother dies at the house in 1900, his father in 1914. His first child is
born there in 1903. The west half of the house is repaired and restored
following a serious fire in 1912. |
The historical marker |
The living room |
After 1915
Garland visits West Salem infrequently,
moving to Los Angeles in 1932. The house is finally sold in 1938 and is
subsequently altered for two-family occupancy. Garland dies in 1940 and
is buried at the Neshonoc Cemetery a mile outside the town. In 1955, the
road passing in front of the former Garland house becomes "Garland Street". |
The study |
The sitting room |
After 1972
The Garland House is designated a
national historical landmark. A bronze plaque is set in place on September
14, 1973, and the house is purchased by the local historical society. Restoration
of the interior to its pre-1915 appearance is begun in 1975. The rooms
are furnished in period style based on photographs of the house in Garland’s
time. Garland’s daughters return mementos which their father took with
him to California; and in many cases the historical society is able to
reacquire actual family belongings dispersed at auctions or sales over
the years. |
 Garland's
gravesite |
 Garland's
gravesite |
Today
The Garland House welcomes school
groups, historians, and tourists and is host to the annual “Garland Days”
marking the writer’s birthday in September, as well as a Christmas Open
House.
Color photographs by John
Ahouse. Historical photographs from the Garland Collection, USC |
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