Tours

Tour theses local sites of interest.

Ager House

514 W. Madison St., Eau Claire

Presented by the Waldemar Ager Association, the Ager House is the historic home to Norwegian-American writer Waldemar Ager, restored to its early-1900's likeness. Part of the National Register of Historic Places a Literary Landmark by the National Association of Friends of Public Libraries, the public may tour by appointment, hold events at the house, visit its unique resource library, and much more.

Holiday Tours Tours Local History

Colfax Railroad Museum

500 E. Railroad Ave., Colfax

The depot houses the large collection of lanterns, railroad china, and the nation's largest railroad paper-weight collection. The primary purpose of these artifacts is to show what people encountered on day-to-day activities with the railroads and how the technology changed throughout time.

Tours Local History Museums Menomonie Local History

Cook-Rutledge Mansion

505 W. Grand Ave., Chippewa Falls

The Cook-Rutledge Mansion, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is one of the finest examples of High Victorian-Italianate architecture in the Midwest. Extraordinary hand-painted ceilings and walls, ornately carved woodwork, parquet floors, handcrafted silver doorknobs and hinge plates, and crystal chandeliers enhance the beauty of the interior. The grand staircase of carved golden oak provides an elegant setting for the cathedral stained glass window on the landing- Adults $5, 18 and under $1.

Tours Local History Attractions

Crystal Cave

W965 State Road 29, Spring Valley

Knowledgeable guides will lead you on a one-hour tour through a maze of well-lighted passages where glistening cave formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, and rippling flowstone can be seen hanging from the ceiling or covering the ledges. The cave is accessed by a series of steps and ramps that allow you to descend 70 feet underground where your journey follows well-lit, graveled trails. The cave temperature hovers near 50 degrees, so a sweatshirt is recommended.

Tours Science Interests Nature Centers Attractions

Historical Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts

205 Main St. E, Menomonie

The Mabel Tainter building includes a lavish 313-seat "crown jewel" Victorian theatre and a historic reading room. It is a premier example of a restored vintage American Theater. Take a self-guided tour to inspect the intricate hand-stenciling, hand-carved white pine archways, rich walnut, mahogany, and oak woodwork, gleaming brass fixtures, leaded glass windows, and a rare working Steere and turner tracker pipe organ with 1597 pipes.

Local History Tours Menomonie Local History

Old Courthouse Museum and Jail

315 W. Madison St., Durand

Wisconsin's last remaining woodframe courthouse features an iron-latticed cellblock in the jail, upstairs courtroom in near-original condition, railroad room, bridges of Durand, century-old paintings, doctor and dentist office equipment, and antique appliances & tools. Open Thurs-Sun 11am-4pm Memorial Day through Labor Day and Saturdays 1-4pm Memorial Day Weekend through mid-October.

Tours Local History Menomonie Local History

Wilson Place Mansion

101 Wilson Circle, Menomonie

Wilson Place was built in 1859 by Capt. William Wilson, a principal in Knapp, Stout, & Co. lumber company, founder and first mayor of Menomonie, and the area's first state senator. Three generations of Wilsons remade it from a colonial house to a Queen Anne-style mansion to a Mediterranean villa. Call for admission rates and tour times.

Tours Local History Menomonie Local History