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FOND DU LAC COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNCES GRAND REOPENING EVENT AFTER $1.6 MILLION DOLLAR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN TO RENOVATE AND RESTORE GALLOWAY HOUSE AND VILLAGE IS FINISHED

The Fond du Lac County Historical Society is excited to announce that the $1.6 Million Dollar Capital Campaign to renovate and restore the Galloway House and Village is complete! In order to showcase these transformative updates, the Historical Society is hosting the Galloway House and Village Grand Reopening Event on Saturday, May 29th and Sunday, May 30th from 12-7pm.

Activities for the Grand Reopening are geared toward adults on Saturday, and children and families on Sunday.

Saturday’s activities include live music from the Tinker Boys, a presentation on “The Evolution of Main Street” by Tracy Reinhardt, a cornhole tournament, and a paint and sip experience with Perspective Studios.

Sunday’s experiences are geared toward families with balloon twisting and face painting, children’s story time, a magic show with Zoomalata, and guided arts and crafts for kids.

Both days include Living History Tours with performers in period costumes from 12-3pm, food trucks, a vintage candy experience with CC’s Chocolates, 50/50 raffle, and beer and wine.

Fond du Lac County Historical Society members get in free. Admission for an individual is $10, and a family ticket costs $30. A ticket covers all activities. Beer, wine, food, candy, and gift shop memorabilia are available for purchase at the event and is not included in the ticket price.

Tickets are available at www.hometowntickets.com/gallowayhouseandvillage.

The Executive Director of the Fond du Lac County Historical Society, Ben Giles, says, “This event is meant to showcase all the amazing improvements to the Galloway House and Village. We are ready to unveil these improvements to the public and show that not only are we a revitalized, dynamic village, we are also a cutting edge non-profit that aims to connect people to history through preservation, passion, education, and fun.”

The Fond du Lac County Historical Society started this multi-year capital campaign effort in 2018 with the help of generous donors and volunteers. This transformational campaign combined privately donated dollars and Fond du Lac County funding to ensure that local history is celebrated and remembered. The community funds from the campaign were used to renovate and restore over 19 buildings on our grounds. In addition to those restoration projects, the Society added a new stone gate, ornamental fencing on the North side of the grounds, paved sidewalks, and a new drainage system.

Fond du Lac County funds were invested to restore the Galloway House, one of the three historically designated buildings on our grounds. This project, spread out over three years of funding, resulted in around $500,000 worth of restoration work. The roof and chimney was replaced; railings and failing woods were replaced from the roofline down, and the entire house and gazebo were painted.

County Executive Allen Buechel won an Award of Excellence from the Wisconsin Associations of Historic Preservation Commissions for his work on the Galloway House and Village Restoration Project.

The Fond du Lac County Historical Society formed in 1949 after a meeting at the Fond du Lac YMCA. Celebrating Wisconsin’s Centennial anniversary in 1948 prompted local community leaders to form an organization that could preserve and showcase our County’s rich history. The Fond du Lac County Historical Society quickly began to grow in 1955 after the Edwin P. Galloway family donated the Victorian Mansion that sat dormant for years prior. The next five decades resulted in numerous buildings and structures being added to the Galloway House and Village grounds. Today, the Fond du Lac County Historical Society owns and operates this village that contains over 30 buildings, a museum and library, and the Galloway Mansion.

Beyond the Grand Reopening event, our opening season will run from Labor Day to Memorial Day with plenty of programs in between. The Historical Society will be open normal hours starting on Wednesday, June 2nd. Hours are Wednesday through Friday 11am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm.

Later this summer, our temporary exhibit, “Fondy: The Last 50 Years” will display history from the 1970s to the present. This exhibit will be crowdsourced, meaning individuals and businesses can donate or loan items to be showcased.

Our traveling trunks program, reimagined, showcases Civil War, WWII, Women’s Fashion, School Days, and Indigenous Artifacts in trunks at locations around Fond du Lac that include The YMCA, The Library, The Arc, and The City/County Government Building.

We’ve launched a new monthly video podcast called Fireside Chats on our YouTube Channel that focuses on oral history. Our first episode features former Fond du Lac City Council President Mark Weber as he discusses City business in the 90s – Mercury Annexation, Giddings & Lewis expansion, the razing of Rueping Leather, and a controversial Lakeside Park Ordinance.

We’re bringing back Nights Out in the Village – a summer concert series that features live music and refreshing beer. These Saturday series is June 19th, July 24th, August 14th, and September 25th from 5-8pm each night listed.

Our standing events will take place later this summer as well. Our annual Ice Cream Social is on Sunday, August 8th on our grounds and our Great Gatsby Fundraiser at the Historic Hotel Retlaw is scheduled for Thursday, September 23rd.

The Society is taking health and safety very seriously during the pandemic. Events will be socially distanced and masks are required indoors.

For more information and to view our new promo video with drone footage visit https://fb.watch/58chE8QlPP/.

 

Questions or inquiries can be directed to Executive Director, Ben Giles, at [email protected] or 920-922-1166.