Monday, September 25, 2023
Historic Wade House Introduces Character Cards to Guest Experience
GREENBUSH, Wis. - Character cards, depicting the life and times of 20 individuals who lived, worked, or traveled through the town of Greenbush, Wis. during the heyday of stagecoach travel, will now be part of the historic Wade House visitor experience. The 1850s Stagecoach Inn, a Wisconsin Historical Society Site, located between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, once fed and housed thousands of guests traveling across the country.
Guests who visit the Wade House will be given a character card upon entering the visitor center. Each card, measuring 2” x 3”, features a person who resided at or visited the Wade House or lived in the Greenbush area. One side of the card features an artistic rendering of an individual in a contextualized historic setting, and the other side shares information about the individual’s life, role in the community, and what daily life was like in that era.
“The cards allow each guest to identify with a historic person who once had a connection to the Wade House Stagecoach Inn,” said Bridgitt Zielke, director, Wade House. “By connecting with real people from the past who occupied the same space they’re currently visiting today, guests can experience the stories of our historic site in a new way and gain a better understanding of what the town of Greenbush was like and what life was like, from 1850 to 1870.”
Funded by the Kohler Foundation Grant program, guests may keep their cards as a souvenir of their day spent at the Wade House. The Wade House is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. through Nov. 4. The visitor center and carriage museum are open from Nov. 5 through May 2024. General admission for adults is $15, $13 for seniors, $8 for children (5-12) and free for children under five. Wisconsin Historical Society members receive free general admission and 10% off ticketed events.
For more information, call 920-526-3271 or visit wadehouse.org.
Click here to view the Wade House photo gallery.
About Wade House
Wade House is one of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s 12 historic sites and museums. Located in Greenbush, the site includes an1850s stagecoach inn that was built to serve traffic along a plank road connecting Fond du Lac and Sheboygan. The site tells the story of frontier entrepreneur Sylvanus Wade and his family during the 1850s and 1860s. In addition to the inn, the historic site includes the Dockstader blacksmith shop and Herrling sawmill, one of the few working, water-powered sawmills of its kind in the nation. Wade House is also home to the Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum, which houses the state's largest collection of antique carriages and working wagons. For more information and a list of upcoming events call (920) 526-3271 or visit wadehouse.org. Wisconsin Historical Society members receive free admission to this site during regular operating hours.
About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. The Wisconsin Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, receives grants and private contributions benefitting the Wisconsin Historical Society and administers the membership program. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
