Fred Smith's Wisconsin Concrete Park

From just about anywhere it's a long way to Fred Smith's place in Phillips, but it's worth the trip. A tavern owner and former lumberjack, he began building the the sprawling monument to the Wisconsin North Woods in 1948.

"Nobody knows why I made them, not even me. This work just came to me naturally," Smith said, quoted in "The Art of Fred Smith" by Lisa Stone and Jim Zanzi.

Smith, born in 1886, finished the last of more than 200 concrete sculptures in 1964 and died in 1976.

Through the efforts of the Kohler Foundation and many others, the park has been cared for almost since Smith's death. You can find more Fred Smith material: <

The Kohler Foundation

Dave Nance

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