With strong community support, in-kind pledges from local volunteers and businesses, recently awarded grants from the Port of Whitman and Whitman County, and a major state grant request in the hopper, the historic rock houses of LaCrosse are soon to get a major face-lift.
Three years ago, LaCrosse Community Pride leaders and local businesses renovated one of the crumbling old rock bunkhouses, built during the Great Depression of boulders left behind by glacial floodwaters. That project showed the historic rock buildings could be saved and provided temporary quarters for displays of the Ice Age Floods Institute and the Whitman County Library, partners in the project.
Next up? The old rock service station will be transformed into a Heritage Museum and Ice Age Visitor Center. The bunkhouses, two more of which will be renovated, will provide more room for exhibits, a business incubator and overnight lodging. Lloyd Stoess and the Palouse Falls chapter will share our remarkable geologic history. The National Park Service and its National Natural Landscape program leaders have been interested in helping, too.
We’re planning to break ground on the project this fall. The LaCrosse Community Pride team thanks Lloyd Stoess and all of you, for steadfast support of this ambitious endeavor. This is a two-year project that will require many hands to complete. If you are interested in learning more or seeing how you can help, please contact Peggy Bryan (pegandpetebryan@yahoo.com) or Alex McGregor (alex@mcgregor.com). Submitted by Leslie Druffel
UPDATE: On the state Heritage Capital projects, Alex McGregor reports that we ranked 12th out of 40 applicants and received all positive comments from the judges and that no other project prompted this kind of excitement and curiosity.