4500 N BRANCH ST

4500 N BRANCH ST

Forest

Wabeno

1900

2019

machinery

NA (unknown or not a building)

Phoenix Manufacturing Company

Y

No

2019 Wabeno Town Park is centrally located in Wabeno on the north side of STH 32 (N. Branch Street). It consists of several civic and tourist attractions including a c.1940 logging museum, a c.1960 fiberglass statue, a modern bandshell, and a sheltered c.1900 steam powered log hauler. Three of these park features are of historic age and were surveyed. Larry the Logroller (AHI #241059) is a 22-foot-tall fiberglass statue that was constructed c.1960. Like the many large Paul Bunyan statues found along roadsides in the upper Midwest, Larry is a symbol of the early logging economy and lifestyle in Wabeno. This statue appears to be an example of what were known as “Muffler Men,” which were constructed in California roughly between 1962 and 1974.10 These statues were used for advertising purposes throughout the country and are associated with mid-century roadside architecture in America. They were produced en masse out of a limited number of molds by Prewitt Fiberglass Company of Venice, California, and many were said to have been based on the classic image of Paul Bunyan holding an axe. Larry, however, has a log-rolling pole rather than the typical ax. The statue was split in half by a fallen tree during a 2011 storm and was restored the following year. The exact date Larry arrived in Wabeno is unclear, but local newspapers have described him as a staple of Wabeno since as early as 1972. Just west of Larry the Logroller is the Wabeno Bandshell. It consists of a rounded opening that houses a stage with a hiproofed frame structure attached to the rear. The current structure was built in 2012 after a storm destroyed the original 1941 bandshell. The Wabeno Logging Museum (AHI #241060) was constructed in 1941 and is modeled after a logging camp building thought to be one of the earliest buildings constructed in Wabeno.15 The construction of the logging museum was funded by the local Lions Club in the early 1940s. The museum is an authentic notched log structure with a simple sidegabled form and a modern shed roof rear addition that, based on historic aerials, was constructed sometime in the mid- 1990s. A central open entrance is framed by notched logs under a gabled entryway. The historic portion of the building has a fieldstone foundation, while the modern addition has a concrete block foundation. Small rectangular window openings are centered on each bay flanking the central entryway. The original section of the logging museum remains mostly intact and visible but overall, the building exhibits alterations, most notably the large rear addition. The museum houses town memorabilia related to local history and logging. A World War II-era M4 Sherman Tank is located adjacent to the logging museum but is associated with the building to the east of the park on the Wabeno American Legion property. The tank is a memorial to those who served in the war from Wabeno in the late 1950s. The park also features an open air shelter with a steam powered log hauler known as The Phoenix (AHI #241069). The steam pipe of the log hauler extends through a hole in the roof of the shelter to allow it to operate during the town’s “Steam-Up Days,” an annual town celebration of the logging history of Wabeno. It is cited as one of the few remaining steam powered logging haulers that is still operational. The log hauler was owned and operated by the G.W. Jones Lumber Company, and it was known as The Phoenix because it was constructed by the Phoenix Manufacturing Company based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was used by the Jones Lumber Company from 1909 to 1935 and was purchased by the town in 1944 and ultimately restored to become fully operational in 1965.

Not Listed