Old World Wisconsin
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Old World Wisconsin is an
open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...
located near
Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
, in
Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its median income of $88,985 placed ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, United States. It depicts housing and the daily life of settlers in 19th-century Wisconsin, with separate areas representing the traditions of different ethnic groups who settled in the state. Costumed interpreters portray the occupations and chores of typical settlers of the time.


Overview

Opened in 1976, the museum is owned and operated by the
Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...
. The largest outdoor
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
of rural life in the United States, it encompasses approximately 480 acres (2.4 km2) of rolling wooded
hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...
. It is adjacent to the Kettle Moraine State Forest South Unit. It contains more than 60 historic structures, ranging from ethnic farmsteads with furnished houses and rural outbuildings to an 1880s crossroads village with traditional small town institutions. Ramsey barn contains a gift shop, the historically inspired Brewhouse demonstrates historic brewing and offers samples of the daily brew. The Creamery offers a selection of lunch options, snacks, sweets and frozen custard. An event space is located in the octagonal Clausing Barn. Trams run between the Scandinavian and Life on the Farms, and Crossroads Village Areas.


History

Old World Wisconsin exists largely due to the efforts of German immigrant Hans Kuether and architect Richard W. E. Perrin. Perrin was an early advocate for the preservation of historic structures as evidenced by his involvement with the ''Association for the Preservation of Historic Buildings'' and with the preservation of the Mitchell-Rountree House in
Platteville, Wisconsin Platteville is the largest city in Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 11,836 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located atop the greater Platte River (Wisconsin), Platte River valley in the southern Dr ...
in 1959. Perrin published a guide book in 1960 titled ''Historic Wisconsin Architecture'' listing 76 structures in Wisconsin that he felt were worthy of preservation. Perrin first proposed the idea for an outdoor museum in 1964 in the form of a "Pioneer Park". Perrin's inspiration for the park actually dated back to a trip he made to Europe in 1953 and visited European outdoor museums including
Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts ...
in Sweden which he used as his model for the Wisconsin Park. The effort to actually create the museum began in 1966, when the University of Wisconsin Department of Landscape Architucture and the Wisconsin Historical Society, agreed to have an undergraduate class at the university prepare preliminary plans for an outdoor museum. The proposals created were published in a report titled "Heritage Village, Wisconsin – A Preliminary Proposal". Following this, two graduate students were selected to refine and expand the preliminary programs through research, on-site investigations and design studies and create a master plan for development. The study was co-funded by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the State Historical Society at a cost of under $5,000. In 1968, the master plan was summarized in a 122-page report which also included an economic feasibility study by a graduate student in the School of Business. The project was named ''Old World Wisconsin'' and the ''Heritage'' wording was later applied to the Heritage Hill State Historical Park near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Fundraising for purchase of property estimated at $30,000 were begun in January 1969. In June 1971 it was announced that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources would transfer about 560 acres of property that was then part of the
Kettle Moraine State Forest The Kettle Moraine State Forest is a state forest in southeastern Wisconsin. The chief feature of the reserve is the Kettle Moraine, a highly glaciated area. The area contains very hilly terrain and glacial landforms, such as kettles, k ...
to the State Historical Society for the museum. Development costs were estimated at $1.5 million at that time with about 20% of that coming from private donors. Development of the park was intended to start in 1972 and the Historical Society had already moved 11 dismantled structures to the site but work was delayed until 1973 pending completion of an environmental impact study. A dispute arose in 1973 with the Town of Eagle. The residents of the town were concerned about the impact the
environmental impact statement An environmental impact statement (EIS), under United States environmental law, is a document required by the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An E ...
revealed that the development of the museum would have on their town and the town board became concerned over lack of control by local zoning and building permits. The board had directed the town's building inspector to post a stop-work order at the site. The state filed a suit to vacate the order and $50,000 damages. The town countersued for $5,000,000 claiming that newly passed state law required the state to follow local zoning ordinances. The court lifted the order stating that work had started at the site before the law took effect on August 1 and was therefore exempt from the new rule. The town did not give up on their lawsuit until November 1974. The park was dedicated on June 8, 1974, with a flag-raising ceremony. At the time there were 8 structures completed or under construction. In May 1975, the society reported that construction was still on schedule but that estimated costs had risen from $2.3 million to $4.5 million but that donations had only produced about $1 million. In December 1975 Wisconsin Governor
Patrick Lucey Patrick Joseph Lucey (March 21, 1918 – May 10, 2014) was an American politician. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he served as the 38th governor of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1977. He was also independent president ...
announced that a $4 million fund raising campaign would be chaired by Herbert Kohler Jr. and his wife Linda. The Kohler family already had a 45-year history of historic building construction and restoration through the
Kohler Foundation The Kohler Foundation, Inc., is a philanthropic organization that works in the areas of art preservation, grants, scholarships, and performing arts. History Kohler Foundation was founded in 1940 by Evangeline Kohler, Marie Christine Kohler, Lill ...
dating back to the 1931 construction of the Waelderhaus and the 1950s restoration of the Sylvanus Wade House. The queen of Denmark,
Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...
dedicated the Danish exhibit on May 14, 1976. The museum officially opened on June 30, 1976, in time for the
United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...
celebration.


Tornado damage

On the evening of June 21, 2010, the museum was hit by a tornado that leveled acres of trees on the grounds. The "Old World 4th of July" event was canceled because of the clean-up efforts.


Villages

The park is divided into themed areas that represent typical settlement from various immigrant cultures. *
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
: Pleasant Ridge Cemetery Chapel, Shepard Family Cemetery, United Brethren Church, Pleasant Ridge Cemetery * Danish: Pedersen Farm * Finnish: Rankinen Farm, Ketola Farm *
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
: Koepsel Farm, Schottler Farm, Schulz Farm ** Christian Turck House was originally known as Schottler Farm. Both the Koepsel House and Christian Turck House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. . * Norwegian: Fossebrekke Farm, Kvaale Farm, Raspberry School *
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
: Kruza House * Yankee/1880s Village: Harmony Town Hall, Four Mile Inn, Sisel Shoe Shop, Benson House, Grotelueschen Blacksmith Shop, Peterson Wagon Shop, Thomas General Store, Mary Hafford House, St. Peter's Church and a new exhibit added in 2014, Catch Wheel Fever ** Yankee Village also contains non-Yankee buildings featuring the integration of other European settlers to Wisconsin in the 19th century: *** Sisel shoe shop (
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
) *** Grotelueschen Blacksmith Shop (
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
) *** Peterson Wagon Shop ( Scandinavian)


List of structures

Three of the site's structures are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Buildings were relocated from locations throughout Wisconsin.


References


External links


Old World Wisconsin website
{{Protected areas of Wisconsin 1976 establishments in Wisconsin Museums established in 1976 African-American history of Wisconsin Czech-American culture in Wisconsin Danish-American culture in Wisconsin English-American history Ethnic museums in Wisconsin Finnish-American culture in Wisconsin German-American culture in Wisconsin History of Wisconsin Houses in Waukesha County, Wisconsin Museums in Waukesha County, Wisconsin Norwegian-American culture in Wisconsin Open-air museums in Wisconsin Polish-American culture in Wisconsin Rural history museums in the United States Wisconsin Historical Society European-American museums Blacksmith shops