Valles Mines, Missouri, U S A
Founded in 1749 by Francois Valle in the French Upper Louisiana before Lewis and Clark. 275 years later the Valle Mining Company's
4000+ acre property every year absorbs 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide and generates
14,000 tons of oxygen, enough to meet the needs of 63,000 people. [USDA Forest Facts]
The Company Mule Barn - 1830-1974
Another Victim of the Arsonist
2020: Rehab begins on the foundation, beginning with removal of brush and weed trees to expose
the stonework for the stalls and storage and reconnect the road back to the Parking Lot and Artesian Well.
Steve Frazier recollects his grandmother telling how the stairs up to the hayloft was so wide
and how, once a year, the women of the village would sweep the hayloft clean and take the wagon from the
Tractor Shed down to the Train Depot where they would buy bails of cotton off the passing train, bring them
back to the mule barn and carry them upstairs to the hayloft where they would, for the next few days, make
all the pillows and bedding they would all need for the next year. "The men were encouraged to stay away
and out of their hair, or, in so many words, drunk and out of the way. A kind of Fall Festival."
The "Sound Check"
Musical Venue of the Future
2021: Rehab begins on the Tractor Shed preparing for the installation of a stage, sound system towers, and lighting.
First things first, across the yard carpenter John Sprague of Bourbon, MO sit the shed back up on a repaired 6 x 6"
oak foundation.
During a hopeful attempt to make a 16' musical stage under the roof for Bluegrass performances,
the electrical service panel was stolen by vandals and months later, running water stopped when they stole the well
pump from our house across the street. Any info regarding the thief would be welcome
(and confidential). The clues left behind include several insulin syringes (used) and a large silver spoon, kept
in a black case for glasses.
Replacement costs estimated at $3000 to $5000 if someone won the lottery recently LOL.
