Gas Tank Getaways: Step Back in Time at Old World Wisconsin

Step back in time to the earliest days of the United States at Old World Wisconsin. You’ll find more than 60 historic structures, including ethnic farmsteads and a crossroads village. The outdoor museum is filled with people acting as early Wisconsin settlers, and visitors are encouraged to talk to them and learn about what they are doing.
Check out the demonstrations of 1870s-era trades like blacksmith and shoemaker, observe historic farming and cooking practices, visit a one-room schoolhouse and try your hand at historic outdoor games and ways of doing chores and crafts. You can also see historic and heirloom animals, flowers and vegetables.

Where: 1 1/2 miles south of Eagle, on Highway 67. The main entrance is about one mile north of the postal address, W372 S9727 Highway 67, Eagle. 

When: Through Labor Day: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m.; Special Event Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Labor Day-Halloween: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m.; Special Event Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

How much: $16 adults, $14 students/seniors, $9 children (5-17, under 5 are free), $43 family (up to two adults and two or more dependent children ages 5-17) Fees include an all-day tram transportation pass.

Special treat: Throughout the summer, vintage base ball (yes, that’s two words) is played at Old World Wisconsin. Admission to the museum gets you into the game, too. The games are re-creations of 1860s baseball, from the uniforms, equipment and rules.
The Old World Wisconsin website says:
Players in baggy uniforms wield fat-handled bats at lemon peel-stitched balls. No one wears gloves and there are no strike zones. Above all, it's a gentleman's game in which there is no showboating or taunting, and the umpire is always addressed as "Sir."

Phone number: 262-594-6301

Website: http://oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org/

More information:
A tornado tore up parts of Old World Wisconsin last June. Read about its rebuilding, and what things look like this year in this OnMilwaukee.com story.

Want to learn about why Wisconsin settlers’ fields and gardens looked the way they did? Read about how culture and history pass from generation to generation through food, crops and gardening in Putting Down Roots: Gardening Insights from Wisconsin’s Early Settlers, written by Old World Wisconsin’s historical gardener.