LAND O' LAKES HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin
Come on out to see our new exhibit for 2007:
"Following the Megis Shell"
To Learn more about the exhibit, click here and here.
SCHEDULE
& HOURS for 2007:
JULY 1- SEPT 2 OPEN THURS, FRI, &
SATURDAYS 11-3 OPEN for COLORAMA,
11-3
FREE
ADMISSION!
The Land O' Lakes Historical Society has been around for a
few years, but as of Y2K, we now have our very own museum building. We also
have new motivation to research, exhibit, and preserve Vilas area history. Our
first exhibit on Vilas area geology took a look at our three billion-year timespan
from the ancient Archean bedrock to the relatively recent glacial landforms.
This exhibit was a big success, and while it has now been taken down, you can
still access geology images and information through the museum.
Our second exhibit on Barefoot Charlie was thoroughly researched
by a team of distinguished and attractive local historians including Pat Juday,
Paul McLeod, and Marilyn Annin (designer). The exhibit was launched in May,
2002, and was featured during the 2003 season as well. More than 2000 visitors
saw the exhibit in 2003.
Our third exhibit which also ran during 2003 dealt with the
diaries of two early residents of Land O' Lakes. These were Claude Warren, minister
of the Ely Church, and Deborah Ferry, longtime summer resident on Black Oak
Lake. Excerpts from their diaries dating to the 1920s and 1930s were featured
along with unpublished images from the archives of the historical society. Click
here to see the team.
During the summer of 2004, we exhibited our investigation of
the history of Land O' Lakes area logging. The exhibit featured maps, images,
oral histories, and analysis of the sawmills, the lumber camps, and the logging
railroads. These railroads were active between the 1880s and the 1920s, and
a complex network of rail lines brought area logs to mills in Land O' Lakes,
Rhinelander, Phelps, and Star Lake. Paul McLeod and Marilyn Annin researched
and built that exhibit.
The dot on the map which is now Land O' Lakes first started showing-up
on maps around the time the railroad arrived in 1883. Within a couple of years,
opportunists built the first sawmill, and within a couple of years after that,
they built the first logging railroads. The logging history of this area is
an epic story, and a part of that story in this exhibit.
As of this writing, many archaeological sites dating to the logging boom of
the era 1886-1920 are still visible throughout the area. The exhibit featured
photographs, maps, correspondence, artifacts, and interpretations of the rise
and fall of this great industry. In an attempt to make this exhibit significant
to this specific area, Paul McLeod collected a series of archival images
from a group of generous collectors, museums, and local folk which document
logging in the Land O' Lakes area. Most of these images have never been published.
The museum's mission states that we are dedicated to ongoing
research, so part of the purpose of this exhibit was to encourage others to pick-up
where the exhibit left off. This was an exciting project, and we fully
expect the patrons to continue to add to our database of facts, memories, images,
and artifacts as we move ahead.
Finally, we launched an exhibit during
the summer of 2005 dealing with Historic Archaeology on the Conserve School
campus. Paul McLeod's archaeology class began exavations of a 19th century homestead
during the summer of 2004 and that project will continue for several years to
come. That most recent exhibit gave a look at some of the preliminary findings
of that project.
Here are a few fun links to
check out:
NorthernWaters Museum
6490 Chippewa Drive
Land O' Lakes, WI 54540
Museum phone (7l5) 547-6979
(we only answer sporadically)
NorthernWaters Museum &
Land O' Lakes Historical Society:
PO Box 541
Land O' Lakes, WI 54540
Paul McLeod, webmaster
Last updated:
March 17 , 2008
Thanks for visiting the LOLHS site (since 7/26/07)
