The Navy Yard rock formation, Wisconsin Dells, WI, circa 1940

Subjects: Forests & Trees Rivers & Streams
Card type: Linen
Date: c. 1930 (White Border)

Back of The Navy Yard rock formation, Wisconsin Dells, WI, circa 1940, E. C. Kropp Co., WI, USA, c. 1930 linen postcard — Back

About this postcard

A quiet stretch of the Wisconsin River winds between horizontally banded sandstone bluffs, with dense pine and hardwood forest crowning the cliffs and a single bird in the sky. At the center, the Navy Yard formation rises from the water as a cluster of weathered spires. The printed caption calls them 'a fleet of boats at Anchor,' their prows projecting into the stream, and describes them as bold guardians of the Narrows. The caption repeats a local legend that the boats were part of Cortez's fleet; after the Spaniards treated the Indians cruelly, an angered god turned the ships to stone. The Dells are cut through Cambrian sandstone and became a popular Upper Midwest tourist destination in the late 19th century, when photographers such as H. H. Bennett made its formations widely known.

Postcard Details

Message

No message detected

PublisherE. C. Kropp Co.

THE NAVY YARD, PICTURESQUE WISCONSIN DELLS THE NAVY YARD resembles a fleet of boats at Anchor, their prows projecting into the stream. These huge stone vessels have withstood the wear- ing of the water for ages, and have even be- come more complete and shapely in form. They are bold guardians of the Narrows, quite worthy of the Indian legend that these boats are part of Cortez's fleet which came exploring in these waters, and that the Spaniards, treating the Indians cruelly, angered their god, who, in his wrath, laid his hand upon the ships and turned them into stone.

Addressed to

No address detected

Postcard record

Publisher	E. C. Kropp Co.
Series	16
Condition	Very good
Publisher	E. C. Kropp Co., Milwaukee, WI
Notes	Linen-textured stock with a thin white border; slight corner wear. No postmark; unused divided-back linen card with E. C. Kropp "Natural Color Post Card" imprint (c. 1930s–40s). Light toning and faint soiling; no handwriting anywhere.

Cite this card

The Navy Yard rock formation, Wisconsin Dells, WI, circa 1940, postcard, c. 1930. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/the-navy-yard-rock-formation-wisconsin-dells-wi-circa-1940. Accessed November 2, 2026.