DH and I went on a short adventure on Saturday to a nearby historical site, the Wade House! The Wade House is halfway between Sheboygan and Fond du Lac and was built as an inn where stagecoach passengers could stop for a rest and a meal break in their travels. Apparently, it used to take 10 hours to travel this distance back in the day, though it’s an hour now by car.
Once you check in at the visitor’s center, you take a horse-drawn carriage ride to the site.
Guided tours of the Wade house happen once an hour. While we waited for the next tour, we checked out one of the other building there, the blacksmith forge.
It was very interesting, as the guy doing the blacksmithing had a good deal of knowledge about blacksmithing and also the history of the area. My own Dad took up blacksmithing as a hobby at a very similar historical village in Florida in the last few years he was alive. So it did my heart good to see an older guy cracking Dad jokes while having fun in a forge.
Then on to the Wade House tour!
We got to see both the public and private family rooms of the inn, along with the original 1800’s kitchen and all the domestic tools people had to use for daily living. The place was absolutely loaded with quilts, though I didn’t get any good pictures of them, sadly.
Then back to the visitor’s center, which houses the Jung Carriage Museum. This sounds like it would be boring, but if you are into history, it is not. There are examples of all kinds of horse-drawn vehicles – wagons, carriages, stagecoaches, sledges, fire-fighting wagons, self-unloading coal wagons, hearses, and more.
It was really well done!
And then on to the gift shop! Amongst the Wisconsiniana and the usual tchotchkes, I found these:
There is a farm area with various types of animals – including sheep – around the Wade house. And friends, my yarn magnet was working, because they are selling yarn spun from their own sheep! I did not get the heritage rug yarn, but I did get some of the white and gray fingering weight yarn. Because history and yarn!
So all in all, if you are interesting in lifestyles and transportation modes in the mid to late 1800’s (and who isn’t?), then I would recommend a visit to the Wade House!
Quite A Yarn 
Sounds like a lot of fun!
BTW, I got blue ribbons on the lace shawl and the sweater, and I got Superintendant Choice on the shawl.
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Wow!! Congratulations! That is awesome!
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History and yarn FTW! I would have been tempted by the sheep plushies I see in that second yarn photo, too. 😉
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Yes! I was definitely tempted by the sheep plushies, but managed to resist
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You’re stronger than I would probably have been… 😉
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My husband distracted me with souvenir magnets and I was able to break away. Or else it would be sitting right here next to me 🙂
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LOL!
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All that history and yarn too! A great day for you!
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Yes! Two of my favorite things 🙂
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That looks like fun. “Sheboygan!”
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Sheboygan – LOL!
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They snuck some yarn in to lure you! I enjoyed your photos and I love visiting historic places like that it reminds me of fun school field trips when I was young!
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LOL – yup! If anyone ever needs to set a trap for me, they know what they need to put under the box 🙂
I love that sort of historic place too – they are kind of charming!
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You know there is a secret committee just planning these things 😉
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LOL! I’m happy to make it easy for them. (Speaking into the hidden microphone – “Yarn”.)
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What a great place and yay to finding some yarn in a place I wouldn’t have expected. Always an exciting thing to find yarn for sale when you weren’t searching.
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Yes, it’s an unexpected thrill!
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