The Watertown Historical Society seeks to preserve and share knowledge of Watertown, Wisconsin's history. The society operates the Octagon House, one of the largest single family pre-Civil War residences in Wisconsin. Completed in 1854 by John Richards—a lawyer, mill owner, and early Watertown settler—the house now contains period rooms for public display.
The society offers a variety of publications and Octagon House guided tours.
The H.H. Bennett Studio and History Center houses many of the original photographs, glass plate negatives, photography inventions, cameras, and pieces of equipment which belonged to Henry Hamilton Bennett (18431908), one of the most widely regarded landscape photographers of the 19th century and creator of the "instantaneous shutter." Bennett is also known for his photographs of the Ho-Chunk Native American population. The studio, founded in 1875, is thought to be the oldest operating photography studio in the United States.
The center offers exhibits and standards-based guided tours for school groups.
Villa Louis is the Victorian home of one of Wisconsin's most wealthy families. Today, visitors can explore the entire estate, from the mansion to the estate's outbuildings. In addition to the historic estate, the current park contains a museum that chronicles the history of the fur trade.
The estate offers guided tours, field trip plans which can be catered to different grades, and a visitor center that serves as a museum of the estate. The website offers an extensive virtual tour of the estate, visitor information, and a brief history of the estate.
The Society operates the Historical Center, in the 1913 Second Ward Savings Bank building, as well as several historical sites, including Trimborn Farm, Jeremiah Curtin House, Lowell Damon House, and Kilbourntown House. Trimborn farm lets visitors take a giant step back into pioneer times. They can delve into Victorian-era industry, reminisce about 19th-century farm life, and witness Wisconsin culture come to life as embodied by the immigrant entrepreneur Werner Trimborn, his family, and his employees. With help from a stone mason, Irish immigrant David Curtin built the first-of-its-kind stone Jeremiah Curtin House in the Old Town of Greenfield in 1846. Started in 1844 by Oliver Damon and completed in 1847 by his son Lowell, the Lowell Damon House is Wauwatosa's oldest residence and stands as a classic example of a colonial home. Built in 1844 by Benjamin Church, Kilbourntown House was originally located in the area of Milwaukee known as Kilbourntown. This building was moved to Estabrook Park in 1938 and serves as a fine example of Greek Revival architecture.
The society offers research library access, lectures, and occasional recreational and educational events; the Center offers exhibits and tours; the Farm offers tours and occasional recreational and educational events (including living history events); the Jeremiah Curtin House offers tours; the Lowell Damon House offers tours; Kilbourntown House offers tours.
In 1963 the Wisconsin Legislature voted to create a permanent home for the carriage collection of Wesley W. Jung, grandson of a Sheboygan carriage maker, at the Wade House site. In 1968, the Wesley Jung Carriage Museum opened to the public. Today, the Wade House Museum contains the entire estate, and offers visitors a comprehensive view into stagecoach travel and life in the midwest in the mid 19th century.
The location offers visitors a variety of activities including group and private tours, special events, and four separate historical museums, along with a visitor center and gift shop. The site offers detailed visitor information, a brief history of Wade House, a calendar of events, and information for planning school field trips.
The Portage County Historical Society was founded with the intention to preserve, advance, and disseminate the history of Portage County, Wisconsin. To this end, "the Society currently operates four museums, maintains a large archives housed at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point's Archive Center, is developing its own research center, and maintains the Malcolm Rosholt Online Archives on this website to disseminate knowledge of the history of Portage County, Wisconsin." The museums are the Heritage Park, a historic park that gives visitors a glimpse of early frontier life, the Beth Israel Synagogue, which chronicles the history of Portage County's Jewish community, the Rising Star Mill, which gives visitors a tour of turn of the century industry, and Fire Station #2, which was scheduled to open in 2008 and contains a collection of vintage firefighting equipment.
The site offers historical and visitor information regarding all four museums, full archival access, a photo gallery section which has 10 photo galleries currently, three videos, and order information for society publications.
"Heritage Hill is a living history museum devoted to the preservation of its buildings and artifacts and the interpretation of the history of Northeast Wisconsin and its people. Our purpose is to provide an educational experience that encourages visitor awareness, understanding and appreciation of the history of the region."
The site offers information on upcoming events, the park itself, and a variety of educational programs offered by the park.
The National Railroad Museum, built in 1958, strives to introduce visitors to a chapter in American history that bought wealth and modernity to millions of Americans. The Museum looks beyond the simple technical history of rail to the cultural and economic changes it brought to America.
The site offers virtual tours, event and museum information, teacher resources, and an online gift shop.
Housed in the 1925 Vasa Temple, the Society presents exhibits related to the history of the Douglas County Historical Society.
The society offers exhibits, tours, educational programs, and occasional educational and recreational events.
The Society operates the 1860 Port Washington Historical Society Light Station Museum.
The society offers research library access; the museum offers exhibits and tours.