Old Wade House State Park | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Old Wade House State Park

Old Wade House State Park | Wisconsin Historical Society

Hwy. 23 in the park at Greenbush, 6 mi. W of Plymouth, Sheboygan County 

The Wade House, one of the earliest stagecoach inns in Wisconsin, is the major unit in this historic restoration carried out by the Kohler Foundation of Kohler, Wisconsin. Built by Sylvanus Wade between 1847 and 1851 at the total cost of S300, this "halfway house" became the most important stagecoach stop on the plank road between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac. Meetings for the discussion of Civil War issues and early railroad construction were held in the inn. The Butternut House, home of Wade's eldest daughter and son-in-law, takes its name from the timber cut on its site and used in its construction. Horses were shod and the stages repaired in the Blacksmith Shop adjoining Wade House.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

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[Source: McBride, Sarah Davis. History Just Ahead (Madison:WHS, 1999).]