Highlights Archives
All Aboard for Railroad Day at Stonefield
In a celebration of all things railroad related, Stonefield in Cassville will roll out its best railroading exhibits and displays for a day dedicated to riding the rails during Railroad Day on Saturday, August 18. Staff from several southwestern Wisconsin museums and heritage organizations will also be on hand at Stonefield to present their own railroading displays. And, in a throwback to the golden age of railroading, Stonefield will feature an "End of the Line Hobo Camp," presided over by Luther the Jet, crowned national hobo king from 1995 to 1996. Luther will regale visitors with railroad songs, tales of his times on the railroad, hobo history and poetry, and railroad lore. Samples of that hobo camp staple, mulligan stew, will also be available.
Some of the other participating museums that will present displays at Stonefield include: the Mineral Point Railroad Museum; the Rollo-Jamison Museum in Platteville; the Boscobel Depot Heritage Museum; the New Glarus Depot Preservation Society; and Tom and Karrie Camps' Great Northern display. New this year will be a toy train display and a large toy train from the Toy Train Barn in Argyle.
Although Stonefield does not have an active rail line, it does have a railroad depot and traditional red caboose (pictured above), a baggage cart and a recently restored box car that visitors can board for a "ride" on the mythical rail line known as the Nelson Dewey Line, which employs the whimsical slogan, "Going Nowhere and Always on Time." Inside the box car visitors can view a display of boards taken from an actual hobo shack that bear carved hobo signs — simple drawings that hobos left on buildings and fences to let other hobos know where they might find a good place to eat, sleep or to avoid a mean dog.
Stonefield's 1900s rural village will feature additional railroad curios as well as refreshments. Visitors can step into the village saloon to enjoy a cold beer or a root beer while enjoying some piano music. Demonstrations of blacksmithing and broom making, children's games, and a schoolhouse program round out the day's village activities.
Across the covered wooden bridge, visitors can step inside the 1900s farmhouse for a look at turn-of-the-20th-century living, then venture on a bit further for a self-guided tour of the State Agricultural Museum, home to the state's largest collection of antique farm implements plus dioramas and exhibits that tell the story of Wisconsin agriculture from Native American farmers and subsistence farming through the age of industrialization. Nearby, visitors can tour the homesite of Wisconsin's first governor Nelson Dewey.
For anyone interested in train spotting, approximately 40 trains pass directly by Stonefield every day. Bring your camera and wait. It won't take long to get a great train picture.
For complete details on admission, hours, a map, distances from various cities, and other information, see our visitor information page.
:: Posted August 13, 2007
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