A Photo Tour

Let me take you around Silver Springs and share some of my memories.

Just follow the hyperlinks to view more photos and use the buttons at the bottom of each page to return.

Silver Springs Resort

This is the oldest color photo I have of the resort.  This photo is from a pristine postcard that I bought on eBay. I am not sure of the exact time frame of the photo but it appears to be very later 1950s. During the 50s, 60s, and some of the 70s all of the buildings at Silver Springs were painted a distinctive, pinkish color.  It was very attractive.  Unfortunately, somewhere in the late 70s the owners changed the color to the dreary brown you see in the photos below.  Frankly, I have always thought the color change from that cheerful pink was a fatal mistake.  In this photo you can see the bait house (left foreground) which still exists though it has been moved and remodeled by the current owner.  The old structure was used to shelter the bait tanks, outboard motors, life jackets, and had a few wooden lockers for use by the guests.  One of the things that always stood out in my mind about this building were all of the initials and dates carved into the interior beams by decades of previous guests.  Bait house photos.

The long building behind and to the right of the bait house was the owner's lodge (left side), office (center), and cabin #5 (right side).  Prior to about 1954 there was only cabin #5 in this location and the owner's lodge and office were on the south side of County Road 38 in an area that is west of 68th Ave.  Back then there was a lot more land in that area because CR38 was not much more than a one lane dirt road.  It was this area that also contained a number of resort out-building such as storage sheds and the fish cleaning house.  The owner's lodge, a beautiful full log cabin burned down in about 1953 and new facilities were built onto the side of cabin #5.  Even though the lodge was moved to the resort side of CR38 the resort sign, and the obligatory beer sign, always remained on the south side until road expansion in the late 60s required their removal.  When you view the Old Photo Gallery keep in mind that many of the photos were shot in this area, if not right in front of the old signs.  South side of CR 38 photos.

To the east of Silver Springs (just outside right of the above photo frame) were four cabins that made-up Norman's Resort. This was a separate resort property thru most of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. However I think at some earlier time those cabins were part of Silver Springs because that is the only explanation for the strange cabin numbers at Silver Springs which started with cabin #5. Then, about when the owners painted Silver Springs brown in the late 70s, they also purchased the smaller Norman's Resort.  Interestingly, Norman's paint scheme had always been brown.  Norman's Resort photos.

At the western end of the resort were Silver Springs' newest cabins; #11 and #12 (right side of the above photo). After spending a number of years as guests at Silver Springs (actually, several trips per year) my Grandparents purchased those cabins in 1956.  Shortly after that purchase my grandparents changed the exterior color from pink to yellow (photo above) and then white (photo below).  The smaller of the two cabins (#11) is the last Silver Springs cabin remaining today.  Fortunately, the subsequent owners have maintained it in good condition.  White cabins photos.

The photos below were taken in 1987, during our last stay at Silver Springs. They show the dull brown paint scheme that did nothing but accentuate the deteriorating state of the resort. Frankly, I think, from a marketing point of view, this  choice in paint color did more to hasten the demise of Silver Springs than anything else.

Here is a good view of cabin #8 and cabin #9.  Part of the large 3 bedroom, #10, is visible on the far right.  The building behind my car is the old shower/restroom building.  Cabin #9 photos.

At some time in the 60s the Leech Lake area was hit by a blight that killed many of the beautiful Elm trees.  Silver Springs also suffered loosing some of the huge Elms that gave the resort such a peaceful quality.  In this photo are just two of the old Elm stumps.