The Sauk County Historical Museum (531 4th Ave.) is open for the summer, Friday & Saturday, noon until 4 pm. The History Center (900 2nd Ave.) is open Wed thru Sat, 12:00 to 4 pm. If you would like to visit the museum during off days, please call the History Center at 608-356-1001, during its open hours.
Canfield Day Celebration
Canfield Day
A Personal Recollection of William Harvey Canfield: Through A Child's Eyes By Alison Armstrong Fanara
Not every county in Wisconsin is lucky enough to have had a historian on the ground since virtually day one—and a passionate and gifted historian at that. Sauk County was set apart in 1840 to become a county of the Wisconsin Territory, and only two years later William H. Canfield arrived in the Baraboo Valley, destined to become its first historian. Like many of us today, he was struck by the beauty of Sauk County but knew that its history was changing fast and that it needed to be recorded.
William Canfield was born on April 9, 1819. On the occasion of Canfield’s 194th birthday this past April, we celebrated this dedicated man and his contributions to Sauk County history. A presentation was delivered by Alison Armstrong Fanara,a distant relative of Mr. Canfield, who shared her grandfather’s recollections of Canfield and presented the SCHS with a page torn from one of his journals that was given to her grandfather. To learn more, click here.
Sauk County Historical Society History Center
The SCHS History Center was acquired by the Society in 2007. The former office building of the Island Woolen Mill is currently being renovated. New windows were installed in 2007, along with landscaping. The work on the main and top floors was completed in March 2013. The main floor is for research, public lectures, and offices. The top floor is reserved for artifact storage and office space. As funds permit, the basement will be renovated for artifact displays. The History Center is now open. If you would like to help the Society move forward on this important project and learn more about how you can help, please click here ♦.
SAUK COUNTY, ABOVE AND BEYOND
Each year we select a theme from our county history to highlight and this year’s theme is “Sauk County, Above and Beyond”. We are telling the story of Sauk County’s notable aviators and the aero planes they flew. Aerial maps and photos taken from above are also on display. Click here to view area towns and villages from the air in vintage and current images. Click here to learn about Sauk County's notable aviators.
Mission Statement of the Sauk County Historical Society
The mission of the Sauk County Historical Society is to protect and maintain the history of Sauk County; to disseminate that history and to assist other historical societies in Sauk County.
