Middle Bass Island - Wehrle's Hall in the 1860s

I had always thought that the 1888 picture of Wehrle's Hall (the original building on the site of the Lonz Winery) was the oldest good picture. In 2009, I got one that was clearly earlier, but in June, 2010 I got an even earlier one. The first one below probably dates from the period 1870-1873, contributed by Ruth Currie in 2009. The four major differences between it and the 1888 image are the following:

	In the 1870s much of the trim was dark. By 1888, it had been painted white.
	The 1870s sign "Stacey's Party Rooms", visible under the "Golden Eagle Wine Cellars" sign, had been changed to just "Party Rooms" in the 1888 image.
	The 1870s sign "Wehrle, Werk & Sons" had been replaced with the text "A. Wehrle & Son" in 1888.
	The one-story north wing visible in the early picture had been expanded or replaced with a much larger and higher one in 1888. However, the higher north wing is also visible in Hardesty's 1874 sketch so the photo below must be prior to 1872 and most likely from the 1860s since neither of the docks visible in the 1874 sketch appears in the photo below.

Also worth noting is that this picture may be the only one that shows the "original" south dock on Middle Bass Island.

Other pictures of Wehrle's Hall on this site include

Hardesty's 1874 sketch

1888 picture

1900 picture

1905 picture and more 1905 pictures

Golden Eagle Wine Cellars ad from the 1860s or 1870s

More Pictures of Wehrle's Hall and the Wehrle Home, 1885-1913

And for some interior photos of Wehrle's/Stacey's in the 1880s, see the gallery at http://hayesville.zenfolio.com/staceys.

Click on the picture below to enlarge it. This is the one from 1870-1873. After it opens in your browser, you can click on it once more (in most browsers) to enlarge it even more.

In June, 2010 I received a surprising earlier picture that probably dates at least 2-3 years before the above, and is probably from the late 1860s, based on the size of the tree at the edge of the water near the east end of the building. The other surprise is that it shows a home beside Wehrle's that looks like a frame house, very different from the black brick home seen in later pictures. So there were at least two homes at that site, followed by the Hillcrest Hotel later. Click on the image below to enlarge it.

Reproduction without written permission is forbidden for any purposes other than personal use.

Revised: 07 Jan 2011