Shot this with the iPhone while covering a reenactment for a short film.

“Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life.”

Henry L. Doherty

Fredericksburg is, “America’s Most Historic City.” A leisurely stroll through the streets of downtown Fredericksburg is to stroll through almost three centuries of American history. Much has been written about Fredericksburg and many photographs have been taken to document its part in the American experience—historical, architectural and cultural. Keeping to the spirit of my travels I shall not focus on the “momentous” but rather show you a glimpse of what lies around the corner…………

Michigan Alley

You may wonder how Michigan found its way to Fredericksburg. To answer that question we must go back to a conversation which took place in the late afternoon of December 11, 1862:

"The 2oth (Massachucetts) advanced up the street, and when the head of the column got where the 7th Michigan men were, on the left, in a kind of alley way, and occupying a house, Macy (commanding the 2oth Mass.) called to them to go ahead. Captain Hunt their commanding officer was there, and he hesitated and refused. Macy was obliged to halt and urge him to go forward. Hunt still refused, saying he had no orders, and Macy, much irritated told him his orders, which were very plain, to go forward and follow the 7th. Orders came from the rear to press on, Hunt still hung back, saying the rebels were there in force, an, "no man could live around that corner." Macy was of course terribly angry, and turned off saying, "Go to hell with your regiment then."

The 20th Mass advanced into the intersection and within 20 minutes sustained 95 casualties out of a regiment of just over 300 men. The 7th Michigan stayed in the alley......

A Mystery Solved!
I've seen similar stamps on building trim in Remington, Orange and Culpeper. Who the hell is Mesker & Bro? And how did they find their way from St. Louis, MO to Fredericksburg? Well here is the answer--

Frank and Bernard Mesker founded Mesker and Brother, a structural iron and sheet metal firm in 1879 based in St. Louis, MO. In 1880 they secured the commission for the sheet metal work on the St. Louis Art Museum. That was followed by work on the St. Louis Exposition building. In 1884 Mesker & Bro. purchased a sheet metal company in Washington, DC that was going out of business. The company had 1500 catalogs depicting its sheet metal products. Frank Mesker decided to replace the covers of the catalogs with Mesker Brothers covers and send them to potential customers in surrounding territories. The effort led to a large number of mail orders and the company began publishing its own catalog the following year. The new catalog depicted the new sheet metal storefronts the company began producing in 1884. During WWI the company produced field stoves for the army. In WWII they produces parts for subs. Mesker & Brother was sold in 1961.

A Flounder House
"The flounder is a narrow house, usually two or two and a half stories tall, and one or two bays wide. These houses were exclusively working class homes. Flounder houses were especially appropriate for dense neighborhoods, where space was at a premium. They were often constructed as alley buildings, sharing a lot with as many as two larger tenement buildings."

This article goes on to state that these houses are unique to St. Louis (See above). This is one of about three still remaining in Fredericksburg-- located a few hundred miles southeast of St. Louis.

A Computer Generated Interlude
A downtown alley.

A Blast for the Past--Outbuildings