I shall be saying this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. - The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost
When it comes to travel and finding adventure, we often think of big family trips or exotic locations. But, as the poet Robert Frost reminds us, sometimes the road less traveled can provide unexpected stories.
During my parents’ recent visit, we headed to different areas of the state to see some relatives. As part of that trip, we pulled off the interstate for an intentional detour along one of those roads less traveled.
Small Town Mysteries
Nelson, Nebraska is a small town (population about 450 at the time I write this) in the south-central part of the state. The town represents a typical farming community nestled along a state highway. It’s one of those places where time seems to stand still around the 100 plus year old brick buildings.
There aren’t many out-of-towners who come to Nelson. Most visitors come from other towns for high school sports, or to visit family who happen to live there. But I went to Nelson is search of something, a mystery or sorts. I went in search of one of those unexpected stories.
I first heard about this mystery from a story aired on our local PBS station. According to the story, in the late 1800s, William Stansbury owned a building just off the town’s main street. For an unknown reason, he commissioned a stonemason to carve life-size faces of twelve people, along with two owls, onto the side of the building. The faces remain today.
The Faces On the Wall
Of the 12 figures, some were local characters or family members. Others included historical figures – President Theodore Roosevelt and Admiral Dewey of Spanish-American War notoriety. Adding to the mystery of the faces is the fact that some of the people remain unknown. One face simply notes the man as “The Dutchman.”
The Stansbury wall of faces creates a true mystery. No one seems to know why he chose to immortalize these people on his building. Did Stansbury admire them, or did he put them on the wall as a joke? Was this just a random act by an eccentric old man?
Unfortunately, no records have been found to document Stansbury’s reasons for adding the faces. And if anyone did know the history behind the carvings, those stories did not survive being passed down to future generations.
With little information about the carvings, those curious about the faces are left to speculate. I am now on a mission to see what I can find. I started searching a variety of genealogy and history sites to see if I can find at least a few clues to this mystery. While I’m early in the research process, I’ve already come across one possible connection to at least one of the men immortalized on the wall.
Evidence suggests that, at one time, the Stansbury building could have been a hotel or boarding house of some sort. According to federal census records, Stansbury reported his occupation as “landlord.” And, one of the men carved into the building, Kissin’ Jack Adamson, listed his occupation on a later census as “hotel innkeeper.” This is purely speculation on my part at this point, but it seems that Kissin’ Jack might have managed a hotel that occupied the Stansbury building.
Turning the Faces Into a Story
As a writer, I’m always looking for new story ideas, character traits, and strange events to spark a plot. Of course big vacations are fun, this small town random adventure serves as great inspiration for new ideas. While the Stansbury mystery might never be solved, the idea of carving random faces into a building has a lot of protentional. The faces on the wall in Nelson, Nebraska might one day make their way into a book.
The next time you’re looking for an adventure, you don’t have to get on a plane or go to a big resort. Seek out the road less traveled in your own area. You’ll find all kinds of curiosities and mysteries worthy of local road trip.
**Have you ever taken the road less traveled in search of a story? What mysterious does your local area hold?**
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