HUMBOLDT — Humboldt’s newest retail outlet — a toy store — offers an appeal to more than youngsters, as visitors found out last week.
Wishing Well Play Co., a combination toy-store and play area, offers a unique slice of Humboldt history as well.
The public got its first glimpses during Friday’s Bike Around the Square event, kicking off the Christmas shopping season.
On top of new and vintage toys — many of which will likely bring back memories for adults — Wishing Well also has a full-scale play area, where youngsters can pretend to bake cookies for Santa in one corner, or ride an automated horse in the other.
And then of course, there’s the 27½-foot-deep wishing well — protected by a plexiglass lid — from which the toy store got its name.
Even that has a story, as owner Beth Barlow explained.
As historians recall, Humboldt was targeted by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, as they burned many shops and homes to the ground.
Legend has it that Sophia Fussman, the lady of the place, took some of her prized possessions, including a silver tea set (and perhaps some of Humboldt’s most important documents) and wrapped them in bedding in order to hide them in the well.
Nobody is certain whether this is the official “Sophia’s Well.”
But, there’s a strong reason why Barlow and business partner Kayla McGuire, who will manage the toy store, think this just might be the real McCoy.
That’s because Wishing Well Play Co., at 804 Bridge St., is in what’s known as the Fussman Building. Heck, there’s even a Civil War stone marker depicting the history of Sophia’s Well close to the nearby intersection of Bridge and Eighth streets.
The well was uncovered about two years ago, as contractors were beginning the building’s restoration.
Alas, Joshua Works, Barlow’s brother, descended into the well after it was discovered in search of possible treasures, only to find little more than water.
But the potential history tied to the discovery convinced Barlow to keep the well as part of the building’s features.
“We just thought it was obvious it was a feature we could draw on,” Barlow said.
She plans to have the wall behind the well painted to depict Sophia Fussman’s efforts. But that’s for later.
