High above the rooftops of Lansing, where the Mississippi River bends around the town and continues carrying stories downstream, sits a bluff with a story of its own.
It is a story involving a steamboat, a determined young woman, a race toward the sky, and a community that later turned the same hill into a place of remembrance.
Today, most know it simply as Mt. Hosmer.
But long before the scenic overlooks, picnic tables, winding trails, and visitors raising cameras toward the river below, this hill was known as First Hill.
Then Harriet Hosmer came to town.
As the story has been carried through generations, the young sculptor stepped from a steamboat during a stop in Lansing and challenged members of its crew to race her to the top.
Up the steep bluff they went.
And Harriet won.
Some say she did it barefoot.
Whether every little detail grew taller with the legend through the years, one thing remained certain:
Harriet Hosmer made such an impression that the bluff still carries her name today.
Years later, the bluff became more than a place associated with one woman’s spirited climb.
It became a memorial.
In 1922, Lansing residents chose this high place overlooking their town and river to honor those who had served during World War I. Hundreds of white pine trees were planted, each carrying the remembrance of an Allamakee County serviceman.
Trees grow.
Generations pass.
Names weather upon memorials.
But from the top of Mt. Hosmer, remembrance still stands watch over Lansing.
Copyright ~ Deliverance Hope ~ There’s Always Hope Publishing & Media, LLC All Rights Reserved
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