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Garden of Eden

Temptation

Front yard

Crucifixion of Labor

How do you top the world's largest ball of sisal twine?  Why, go to the Garden of Eden, of course.

The Garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas was the creation of Civil War veteran and retired farmer Samuel P. Dinsmoor.  With my lollygagging in Hastings that morning and unexpectedly long lunch in Red Cloud that noon I didn't get to Lucas until just after the 4 p.m. closing time.  This was my second visit to the Garden.  Missing the tour was not a big loss, but not having access to the grounds limited the camera angles.  Bad angles and milky white sky equals bad photos.

After he retired Dinsmoor had a vision to build a log cabin.  The house is made of concrete and limestone logs. The interior is California redwood.   Dinsmoor built it entirely by himself in 1907 at age 64.  The concrete sculptures of the Garden of Eden were added over a period of twenty years.  There's Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, The all-seeing Eye of God, Satan, Moses and a whole cast of other characters.  There's a 4x7 foot concrete American flag.  There's a soldier shooting an indian shooting a dog chasing a cat up a tree.  In the backyard Dinsmoor has sculpted The Crucifixion of Labor, in which a banker, lawyer, doctor and preacher nail Labor to a cross.

Dinsmoor was quite a showman.  He realized that his home and eccentricities could be an attraction.  As electricity came to town he installed lots of lights so that his home would be visible to trains passing through from Denver.  People would get off the train and pay admission to visit the house.

Also in the backyard is a mausoleum Dinsmoor built for his wife and himself.  He removed his first wife from the town cemetery and placed her in the mausoleum under enough cement that nobody would try to remove her.  If you go when the garden is open, the highlight of the tour is seeing Dinsmoor himself!  He's a bit moldy but holding up pretty well given his age.  There's a water jug nearby because Dinsmoor heard he would need some water should he be headed southward.

At age 81 Dinsmoor married a 20-year-old Czech woman.  They had two children.  His youngest child served in Vietnam, the only Vietnam vet whose father was a Civil War veteran. 

More on Dinsmoor and the Garden of Eden from Roadside America and Expresso Tilt.

Comments

[isabel]

fab.

[Berry]

too cool!

[Joe]

Oh, I forgot to mention that Lucas is also home to the Kansas Grassroots Art Center, which was also closed for the day by the time I got to town.