The Cassville Photographs of Frank W. Feiker
Around 1905 photographer Frank W. Feiker moved from Milwaukee to Cassville, Wisconsin, and for the next half-century he documented the daily life of that typical Mississippi River town. In this gallery we've brought together 147 of his best photographs. They range from intimate portraits to sprawling landscapes, and their subjects include everything from subterranean mineshafts to aerial views from bluff tops. Many images bear his signature "Souvenir" mark, denoting that the image was used on a postcard. The Feiker collection provides a rich visual record of Cassville over several decades and exhibits the work of a typical early 20th-century, small-town photographer.
Cassville's Downtown and River Life
The collection contains many photographs of businesses along Cassville's main streets. This makes it possible to trace the history of the community's built environment during the first half of the 20th century by using Feiker's images.
Like most visitors to Cassville, Feiker was fascinated by the Mississippi River. Many of his photographs show vessels of different types over a 50-year period, including an iceboat, barges, ferries and steamboats.
One glass-plate negative contains 16 images of Cassville and is marked, 'Souvenir,' as if it were intended for a set of postcard views to be sold together. Feiker also photographed floods, shipwrecks, mining, farming and rural life.