Highlights Archives
Wisconsin Historic Sites Begin Seasons in May
Just as the arrival of spring heralded the beginning of another growing season for 19th-century Wisconsin farmers, spring signals a flurry of activity at Wisconsin's historic sites. And, after the sites' most successful season in several years in 2007, hopes are high that 2008 will be another banner year. Old World Wisconsin opens its doors on Thursday, May 1, and has several springtime events in its season-long special events lineup, including a Mother's Day Buffet on May 11, its annual Rituals of Spring observance on May 17, and its celebration of Decoration Day (the precursor to Memorial Day) on May 25.
Wade House, an 1860s stagecoach inn built as a pit stop and lodging place for travelers on the old plank road that connected Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, opens its doors on May 12 and gets right into the swing of things with its first game of vintage base ball (the sport was spelled as two words in the 1860s) on May 18. The game will pit the home team Greenbush Dead Citys against their arch rival, Old World Wisconsin's Eagle Diamonds. The Greenbush squad will return to the playing field, playing by 1860s rules the third Sunday of every month through September. Wade House will close out the month with its popular Historic Trades Weekend on May 31 and June 1.
Across the state, nestled alongside the Mississippi River, the historic Villa Louis Victorian mansion begins welcoming visitors on May 3, with daily tours highlighting the mansion's breathtaking, top-to-bottom restoration that returned the house and the adjacent office building to the elegance of their 1890s heyday.
Circus World will kick off its 50th live performance season on May 17-18, featuring a daily performance schedule that includes a Classic American Circus show twice daily at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., the Razzle Dazzle Revue Variety Show at 1 p.m., and tours of Historic Ringlingville, comprising the remaining structures of the original Ringling Bros. Circus Winter Quarters. Other acts include KidsWorld Circus, where kids are the stars of the show, at 10:15 a.m. and 2 p.m., a Clowning Around Show at 2:45 p.m., the Illusions of Reality Magic Show at 5:15 p.m., and much, much more. Of course, no trip to Circus World is complete without a stop to see its incredible collection of antique circus wagons — the largest collection of its kind in the world.
Six more historic sites are also set to welcome visitors for the 2008 season:
- H.H. Bennett Studio, the historic studio of the 19th-century landscape photographer in Wisconsin Dells.
- Madeline Island Museum in La Pointe, which served as an important hub of the early fur trade as well as the spiritual home of the Ojibwe people.
- Pendarvis in Mineral Point, comprising several restored cottages built by immigrant Cornish miners in the 1840s and '50s.
- Stonefield, a re-created 1900s village and farmstead just north of Cassville that is also home to the State Agricultural Museum and the home site of Wisconsin's first governor Nelson Dewey.
- First Capitol in Belmont, where the territorial Wisconsin Legislature met in the fall and winter of 1836 to begin establishing a framework of governance for the fledgling territory.
- Reed School, a one-room school near Neillsville and the most recent addition to Wisconsin's historic sites, restored to its appearance in 1939 when it served the educational needs of first-grade through eighth-grade students who mostly lived on nearby farms.
For complete details on season hours and dates, admission fees, a map showing the locations of the historic sites, and other information, see our all-sites visitor information page.
:: Posted April 28, 2008
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