Madeline Island Museum facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Madeline Island Museum |
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IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
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The Madeline Island Museum
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 Madeline Island Museum
Location in Wisconsin
Madeline Island Museum
Location in the United States
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| Location | Eagle, Wisconsin, United States |
| Established | 1976 |
| Governing body | Wisconsin Historical Society |
The Madeline Island Museum is a special place where you can explore the history of Wisconsin. It's located in the town of La Pointe, Wisconsin, on Madeline Island. This island is one of the famous Apostle Islands in the giant Lake Superior. To get there, you have to take a boat or the Madeline Island Ferry!
The museum, which opened on June 15, 1958, is run by the Wisconsin Historical Society. It sits on land that was once used by the American Fur Company. In fact, the museum's main building used to be a warehouse for storing furs and supplies.
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A Museum on a Historic Island
Madeline Island has a very long and interesting history. It's the only island in the Apostle Islands group that allows for businesses and homes, as it is not part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
The Island's Rich Past
Long before European settlers arrived, the island was an important home for Native American communities. In 1693, French explorers and fur traders set up a trading post here. This made the community of La Pointe a busy hub.
Later, in the 1800s, the American Fur Company also set up a post on the island. Because of its deep history with Native Americans, fur trading, and early missionaries, Madeline Island was the perfect spot for a museum about Wisconsin's past.
How the Museum Was Created
In 1955, two people who loved spending their summers on the island, Leo and Bella Capser, had an idea. They wanted to create a museum to share the island's amazing stories.
They worked with many other island residents to gather a large collection of artifacts, which are old objects that tell us about the past. To create a building for these treasures, they cleverly combined parts of several historic buildings from the island. These included an old jail from La Pointe and a building from the American Fur Company's post.
The Madeline Island Museum officially opened on June 15, 1958. A decade later, the Wisconsin Historical Society took over and has been running it ever since.
What to See at the Museum Today
When you visit the Madeline Island Museum, you can see exhibits about many parts of the island's history. The main displays teach you about the local Native American tribes, the exciting days of the fur trade, the first missionaries who came to the island, and the stories of the ships and sailors on Lake Superior.
These exhibits are spread across two buildings. One is the original museum building from the 1950s. The other is the Casper Center, a newer exhibit hall built in the 1990s. The museum is a popular place, attracting thousands of visitors each year who want to learn about this unique corner of Wisconsin.
