KNUTE REINDAHL

Knute Reindahl
A Noted Monona Resident
Compiled in August, 2007, by the Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society,
P.O. Box 6017
Monona, WI. 53716.
Undated photos from the Monona Landmarks Commission.
Written by Dorothy Haines.
Knute Reindahl
Knute Reindahl was active in his career as a violin
maker for a period spanning some 40 years, from
1894 to 1934. Working entirely by hand, without
the aid of machinery or assistants, he produced at
least 568 violins, 20 violas, 20 cellos, 1 pitchfork cello
(or “Viking cello” as he called it), and an unknown
number of string instrument bows in his Chicago
and Madison, Wisconsin ateliers1. Knute’s skills in
the art of woodcarving had been finely honed long
before the beginning of his instrument-making career.
Already a master with the gouge and knife, Knute
worked quickly and with confidence. With the eye of
an artist, and a sureness of hand born of 30 years of
woodcarving experience, Knute Reindahl became one
of the America’s most prolific luthiers.
The Instruments
Top plates of many early Reindahl instruments were
carved from centuries-old spruce wood he obtained
from ancient buildings in his native Norway. Later in
his career Knute also utilized native Sitka spruce from
the American northwest, as well as domestic maples
for the backs, sides, and necks of his instruments.
….His superb carving skills are immediately apparent
in the finely executed figures and heads which adorn
many of his instruments.
His life and work
Knute Reindahl was born in Telemark, Norway, on
the 16th of August, 1857. His father died when Knute
was just three years old. Six years later, in 1867, his
widowed mother emigrated to America with her
seven children, including nine-year-old Knute. The
family settled in the Township of Burke in Dane
County, near Madison, Wisconsin.
During his childhood years in Dane County young
Knute developed a friendship with the Indians in
the Monona area. He later wrote of this experience,
“In summer time I loved to visit the Indian camps on
the shore of Lake Monona. I even tasted the smoked
muskrat and skunk meats which hung in the peak of
the tents. And while I was showing the Indians what
I could do with my knife, they gave me lessons in
bow and arrow making. It was not long before I was
peddling in the stores – one bow and two arrows for
twenty-five cents.” (quoted from Eminent Pioneers by
Erling Ylvisaker.)
The young Knute loved to whittle and carve wood
and developed a skill for which he seemed to have an
almost in-born knack. His native Telemark region in
Norway has long been known for its artisans and fine
woodcarving, and indeed, the carving arts had been
prevalent on both sides of Knute’s family: among the
Reindahl family there had been both woodcarvers
and silversmiths; and on his mother’s side, a brother
was a highly recognized rosemaler in the region.
Members of her family too, were said to have been
luthiers, and likely were Knute’s first exposure to
violin-making. Years later, he said that as a lad of
eight in Norway, he had carved a violin completely
out of solid wood, using only a knife.
In America, before he was old enough to do
‘man’s work’, Knute contributed to the support of
the fatherless family by selling items which he had
carved, door-to-door. Picture frames, salad spoons,
letter openers, bows and arrows, etc. were often
peddled also by young friends he commissioned
as ‘sales agents’. As he grew into adulthood, Knute
found employment as a farm laborer, in construction
work, etc., but in later years he stated he never felt
fulfilled in any of the various jobs he held as a young
man. He continued carving and whittling whenever
he found time, and yearned to someday be able to
make his living as a woodcarver.
By the fall of 1887 Knute had managed to save
enough money to enable his return to Norway, where
he enrolled in a Sloyd2 school in Telemark to study
… ornamental woodcarving. Knute excelled in the
school and quickly rose to the top of his class. Upon
completion of his training in Telemark in 1889, he
returned to America and soon went to Chicago, where
he found employment at the Pullman Company,
carving the ornate panels which adorned the richly
decorated railroad passenger cars of the time. A
sample of Knute’s woodcarving, exhibited at the 1893
Chicago World’s Fair (the “Columbian Exposition”),
was awarded a Diploma of Merit… He held on to his
dream — to make violins. He studied violin making
and the work of the ‘old masters’ and became a
frequent visitor to Chicago violin shops, where he
became acquainted with several makers and restorers
of string instruments. He worked at Paulson’s violin
shop as an assistant. He later said he made his first
“real” violin in 1894, working in his spare time at
home. He continued making and selling violins from
his home studio for the next five years.
Knute and Anna Sophia Eleffson were married in
1894, and had five children, Gladys, Olive, Edna,
Margaret and Ruth. In 1899 Knute opened an atelier
in Chicago’s Athenaeum Building on the corner of
Wabash and Van Buren streets.
He enjoyed early success when his violins received
recognition from the noted teacher and concertmaster
of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, E.S. Jacobsohn.
Jacobsohn purchased a Reindahl violin for himself
and was so impressed with its performance and
with Reindahl’s workmanship, that he subsequently
ordered thirteen additional violins which were sold to
his students.
In 1900 Reindahl exhibited his violins at the
“Exposition Universelle” World’s Fair in Paris, for
which the Jury of Awards bestowed a diploma and
awarded him a specially-struck gold medal for their
“beauty of tone, artistic workmanship, and excellence
of varnish”.
When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra moved
into the spacious Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue
in 1905, then Director Theodore Thomas ordered
five Reindahl violins to replace older European
instruments which lacked sufficient power to be
adequately heard in the new, larger hall.
In 1910 Knute moved his
family from Chicago back
to the area where he had
spent much of his youth,
near Madison, Wisconsin.
The Indians, who had
befriended him earlier,
advised him regarding
what land to purchase.
They recommended the
parcel adjacent to an
Indian Mound, not only
for its historic importance,
but also as having the best
air movement and lack
of mosquitoes. A cottage
on Lake Monona, where
the family had escaped
Chicago summers for the
previous ten years, was
remodeled into a yeararound home. A sign in
the shape of a violin hung
near the road in front of
their new home. Knute
utilized one large room
for his atelier during the
winter, and constructed a
separate ‘cottage studio’ in the rear of the house, near
the lakeshore, where he carried on his work in the
summertime.
The area where the house was located eventually
became part of the City of Monona, which recognized
the Reindahl House as a Monona Landmark, marking
it with a bronze plaque mounted on the granite
boulder.
In its 1980 publication, City of Monona: Its Landmarks
and Heritage, the Landmark Commission described
the house as it looked at that time, as follows, in part:
Around 1900 the Reindahls purchased the land on the
shore of Lake Monona and the family spent the summers
there, living in a tent the first two seasons. A cottage,
designed by his wife, was built in 1903 and is the center of
the house as it stands today. It had a living room, dining
room, kitchen and large summer porch on the first floor,
and three bedrooms on the second floor Before moving the
family of five daughters to the Monona home permanently,
the Reindahls added two bedrooms and a workshop. The
many visitors who came to chat with Mr. Reindahl to
purchase or watch him making violins could enter the
workshop by going through the summer porch without
disturbing members of the family.
The Reindahl family relaxes by the Indian mound adjacent to the
family home on the shore of Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin.
Huge French doors separate the living room and the
summer porch. Oak woodwork enhances the first floor, and
on one of the walls hangs an ornate, mahogany-framed
mirror that Mr. Reindahl carved as a wedding present for
his bride.
The family home still contains many violins and other
beautifully carved mementoes that Mr. Reindahl created.
An interesting and practical feature in the kitchen and
pantry area is an old dumbwaiter, which was used to lower
their perishable foods into the well to keep them cool in
summer.
The Reindahls’ daughter, Mrs. Olive Hackedorn, recalls
that when the family first came to the area, the land was
basically in its virgin state – there were no homes or
cottages within sight except the Walterscheit farm near the
present corner of Monona Drive and Cottage Grove Road.
The lake was clear, with an abundance of clams and fish
which sometimes served as the entree when unexpected
guests arrived at dinner time.
Mr. Reindahl also purchased six lots across the Drive and
on one of them built a barn which was later converted to
a year-round residence, where another daughter lived for
many years.
The home of a skilled craftsman of world renown who
combined skills of two cultures, Norwegian and Indian,
the Reindahl property is a testimony to early Dane County
cross-cultural history.
In 1914 Knute was honored when his peers voted
unanimously to elect him as the first president of the
newly formed American Academy of Violin Makers.
Joseph Joachim was a famous violinist who had
studied under Felix Mendelssohn and became
famous in Europe as concert master and general
music director and soloist in Hanover and Berlin
until his death in 1907. Knute Reindahl carved a
head of Joachim to adorn a violin he constructed
for presentation to the noted violinist Fritz Kreisler
by the City of Madison in recognition of Kreisler
becoming an American citizen in 1922. . A duplicate
of this carving made by Knute Reindahl is a treasured
artifact at the Dean House, 4718 Monona Drive,
Madison, a a restored 1856 farmhouse managed by
the Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society. Knute
was also recognized as a rosemaler. A chair carved
and painted by him is in the Stoughton Historical
Society collection.
Knute Reindahl died Jan. 17, 1936, at the age of 78
years, and was buried not far from the grave of his
mother in the Burke Lutheran Church cemetery. His
wife and five daughters are also buried there.
The Reindahl Registry (www.reindahlregistry.com)
has been created by Ron Humphrey to collect and
share information pertaining to the life and work
of American woodcarver and master-lutheir Knute
Reindahl.
— workshop of an artist (workplace – orig. a
pile of chips)
1Atelier
2Sloyd
— a system of manual training in
woodworking, etc., orig. developed in Sweden
—industrial art.
The Indian Mound
A landmark and inter-cultural site
Knute Reindahl had selected the land where he
camped and later built a summer cottage that became
his final home on advice from his Indian friends and
to cherish the Indian Mound that it included. In recent
years more archeological and historical research has
brought to light the uniqueness of the mound.
The importance of this mound
The Monona Landmarks Commission in 1985 asked
the City of Monona to acquire ownership of the two
lakeshore lots (including the Indian Mound, and the
buildings Knute Reindahl had constructed for his
home and workshop), which were then on the market.
The request was to protect the integrity of the Indian
Mound and provide a place for cultural activities in
a park like natural lakeshore setting. To study this
proposal the Council appointed an Ad Hoc committee
to gather information and make a recommendation.
The committee sought the expertise and advice of
knowledgeable scholars and provided the Council
with written documents bearing summaries of the
information gathered along with its recommendation.
In short, the Ad Hoc committee recommended
that the “City of Monona purchase and develop the
property as a City of Monona historic and cultural
park” in its report to the City Council on Nov. 21,
1988.
A separate organization, the Monona Heritage
Foundation, consisting of Monona residents, Native
Americans, and other interested residents from a wide
area, held educational and social events and raised
funds to help with the purchase of the property.
The mound is cataloged
During the course of the negotiations [regarding
purchase of the property] the Monona Heritage
Foundation in cooperation with Dane County
Natural Heritage Foundation registered and officially
cataloged the Indian Mound as a State of Wisconsin
burial site. This Monona Indian mound was the first
such burial site cataloged with the State of Wisconsin
under a then recently enacted statute. A cataloged
Indian burial site provides that (a) the burial site and
sufficient contiguous land shall not be disrupted
without a Wisconsin Historical Society permit; and (b)
a tax exemption may be obtained for land containing
the burial site. Cataloging the burial site with the
State of Wisconsin creates a significant constraint and
added costs for development of the land. However,
cataloging does not assure preservation of the
mound, and it does not assure that development
on the property
will not destroy the
ceremonial, equinox,
and lakeside value of
the site.
Culture. Most of the effigy mounds were burial
grounds with multiple remains buried in them. …The
mound on the Reindahl property is said to be unique
because of its shape (turtle or fiddle) and because it
has been left undisturbed for anywhere from 700 to
1300 years.
The mound groups are also believed to have served
as a ceremonial center for bands of Indians for social
and religious activities which took place seasonally
and during the internment of loved ones. There
is agreement that mounds such as this had great
spiritual significance during the pre-historic effigy
period.
…According to a study by Professor James Scherz
of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in March
of 1988, there is a strong possibility the Reindahl
property Indian mound was used as a ceremonial
determinant for the first day of spring and autumn.
Furthermore, Charles E. Brown’s article in the
Wisconsin Archeologist (1922) and a map of the lake
edge mound group, of which the Reindahl property
Indian mound was a part, showed that there were
two conical mounds, to the north and south of the
Reindahl property and Indian mound, that have
since been destroyed. Sunsets on these two mounds
could very possibly have been indicators showing
the longest day…and the shortest day…with sunsets
The following
excerpts are from the
Ad Hoc committee
report.
The Indian
Mound as a
Historical and
Cultural Site
The Reindahl
property and Indian
mound is the last
remaining mound of
a large cluster of 30
mounds that were
once found in the
area. These mounds
were built between
650 and 1300 A.D.
by prehistoric Indians
of the Effigy Mound
Figure 1–view of Reindahl mound from above.
on the Reindahl property Indian mound showing
the equinox dates. Thus, there is evidence that the
Reindahl property Indian mound, along with the
destroyed mounds to the immediate north and south,
could have been used as a solar observatory for the
calendarical purposes to mark the seasons and to
determine the time of ceremonial and religious dates.
Only more research will determine if this is true, but
if it is, then it is important to preserve the site with an
unobstructed view of the western horizon in order to
receive the full benefit of the equinoctial alignment.
This committee report was supplemented with
appendices from Bob Birmingham, state archeologist
with Wisconsin Historical Society; James Stoltman,
professor UW department of archeology; David Weir,
president of Madison Astronomical Society, Inc.; and
others.
This Mound Is
Unique
Professor Stoltman’s
letter stressed the
uniqueness of this
mound as follows:
…Not only has it
survived literally within
a major urban area, but
it has managed to do
so virtually unscathed.
That is to say, unlike
most prehistoric mounds
in Wisconsin … this
particular mound seems
never to have been
disturbed by pot-hunters
or curiosity seekers.
Thus its contents should
basically be intact. …
The special importance
of this mound accrues
from the fact that none,
much less an especially
well-preserved and
undisturbed one, has
yet been scientifically
excavated within the
Four Lakes region since
the 1930’s. With modern
excavation and analytical
techniques, this mound
thus has enormous
potential to yield all
kinds of new and/or
reliable information about
Effigy Mound Culture.
In a word, its scientific
potential and thus value
is inestimable. To allow
its destruction without
proper scientific study
Figure 2 – Professor Scherz’s drawing of actual observed sunsets over
Reindahl Mound, Spring 1988.
would be analogous to discovering a lost manuscript by an
eyewitness observer to a significant historical event, say the
discovery of America, and burning that manuscript before
anyone could read it…
known as a luthier.
…It is my firm belief, and my recommendation to you,
that the best public policy concerning such mounds as this
one — a well-preserved mound in a safe, public setting
— is to preserve them unaltered (even by archeologists) as
continuing symbols of our corporate respect for the history
and heritage of our country’s original citizens. Only if
there is no alternative, and I find that difficult to imagine in
this case, should the destruction of this mound be allowed,
and then only by a qualified archaeologist who is accorded
enough time and funding to “read this manuscript” fully.
…The mound seems to be oriented just a bit north of
west. …If the mound were to be used as a spring equinox
sunset calendar site, apparently …the last glimmer of
the sun would set in line with the extended centerline of
the mound between the first and 2nd day after the spring
equinox. …The mound appears to be pointing westward.
The orientation corresponds to where the sun would set on
a non-obstructed horizon on about the first or 2nd day after
the spring equinox.
Archeological and Astronomical Reports
University of Wisconsin Professor James P. Scherz,
of the Department of civil and Environmental
Engineering, and his students made an extensive
study of the mound in March of 1988, and focused
on the view of the sunset at the time of the vernal
equinox, or the beginning of spring. Their sketches
were filed with the Monona Ad Hoc committee
report; two reproduced here summarize the study.
Excerpts from his report of the survey are as follows:
[The maps were produced in the late winter of
1987-88 by Professor Scherz and surveying students.]
The methods used were (1) sunshots for determining
astronomical (true) directions, …and (5) photogrammetry
using a PD2 stereoplotter to map features near the mound
and to better define the mound shape with fine form lines.
…All work was done at least three times to find and
eliminate student mistakes …
[A centerline along the highest points was
determined, and sketches made.]
The shape
Subtle shapes of mounds can be best defined from aerial
photos on a stereoplotter by a skilled and specially trained
operator. …Photos were obtained from the Wisconsin
Department of Transportation and were analyzed in a PG-2
stereoplotter. …The general shape corresponds to the socalled “turtle” mound type.
Editor’s note: More recent research has redefined
this shape as a “water spirit”. See Birmingham &
Eisenberg, Indian Mounds of Wisconsin, UW Press,
2000. p.122).
Added note: The name “turtle” apparently has less
to do with the creature known by that name than
with the ancient stringed musical instrument, similar
to a lute, that was shaped as shown in the drawings.
This shape appears in ancient art. A violin maker was
Possible significance of Orientation of the
Mound
In the end, neither the City of Monona nor the
Monona Heritage Foundation were able to come up
with enough money to buy the house and mound. It
was sold to a private individual who remodeled the
buildings into apartments and built a garage very
close to the mound.
On April 5, 2007, there was a fire in the building that
used to be Knute Reindahl’s home and it was largely
destroyed.
In a conversation with Bob Birmingham after the
April 2007 fire Bob Birmingham remarked, “That
mound is one of the few remaining mounds of the
group that was found along the lake shore. They
are unique in the world — a world wonder. They
represent a phenomenon as interesting as Stonehenge
in England.” Mr. Birmingham has studied and written
about the Indian Mounds extensively and has just
finished a book on the Madison area mounds, to be
published by University of Wisconsin Press.