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Historic Sites Special Events in September

The sights and sounds of history — accented by the aroma of a Victorian breakfast at Villa Louis and the smell of burning gunpowder at Wade House — will abound at Wisconsin's historic sites throughout September and October. As summer begins to give way to autumn, the historic sites mark the shifting seasons with a mix of major special events that draw legions of visitors and smaller, more intimate events that share a common end — bringing people face to face with the past. The phrase "living history" begins to take on new meaning as visitors immerse themselves in the sensory experience of an event such as the Villa Louis Carriage Classic in Prairie du Chien Saturday and Sunday, September 6-7, a colorful spectacle that brings out some of the nation's most elegantly restored carriages, immaculately groomed horses and nattily dressed reinsmen. Set against the backdrop of the recently restored Villa Louis mansion, the event is a feast for the senses.


A Union cavalry soldier rides into battle during the annual Wade House Civil War Weekend, to be held September 27-28.

Later in September, and again in October, Villa Louis rolls out the red carpet for a handful of guests who sign up for Breakfast in a Victorian Kitchen. This limited-capacity event involves guests in the preparation of a traditional Victorian breakfast, based on authentic recipes from the records of the Dousman family, who occupied the riverside mansion during its heyday in the 1890s. From food preparation to napkin folding, and then enjoying the breakfast they help to prepare, guests get a firsthand taste of the times in which the Dousmans lived — in the very kitchen where the family's meals were prepared.

Moving three decades back in time, on the opposite end of the state, Wade House in Greenbush offers up one of the largest Civil War encampments and battle reenactments in the Midwest with its annual Civil War Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, September 27-28. In what has grown to become the largest public event sponsored by the Wisconsin Historical Society, the event draws upwards of 1,000 Union and Confederate reenactors who set up camp in the rolling, wooded hills of Wade House historic site. Visitors can stroll the camps' spacious grounds, talk with the soldiers in both blue and gray about Civil War camp life, witness infantry, cavalry and artillery drills, learn about Civil War medical practices, and then witness a major battle reenactment each afternoon.

"Civil War Weekend represents one of the best examples of what historians mean by the phrase 'living history'," says Jeff Schultz, director of Wade House historic site. "Visitors to the site literally come away with a visceral sense of a day in the life of a Civil War soldier, because they experience it all with their own senses. They really do 'live' history," Schultz adds.

These and other special events await those who wish to venture out after Labor Day and experience a whole new way of "living" history. These include the Cornish Crowdy Crawn festival at Pendarvis on September 27 and Autumn on the Farms at Old World Wisconsin in Eagle on October 18-19, Visit the historic sites' complete list of September, October and postseason special events for more living history ideas.


Posted on October 11, 2003
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