Welcome to the Caledonia Historical Society website!!
Caledonia Historical Society Current News
CHS EVENTS AND LINWOOD HISTORY
Events!
Please note that all upcoming events are posted on the calendar on this website.
March 14, 2019–Dine at Panera of Racine between 4 pm and 8 pm and a percentage of all food sales when accompanied with the CHS flyer will be donated to the Caledonia Historical Society. Need a flyer? Complete the Contact Us page on this website to request the flyer.
Profit For You Tours has three upcoming tours in 2019. A portion of the tour cost is donated to the CHS. If you are interested in “The Amish Experience,” or “The Grand Hotel Mackinac Island,” or a “Smoky Mountain Tour,” contact Lori at 414-477-0155. These tours are great!
Mark your calendars for May 18th. The second annual big CHS rummage sale will be held on May 18th this year. The sale will be held in the buildings so the weather will not be a problem. If you have donations for the rummage sale, contact Linda Graeper at [email protected] We do not accept clothing and all items must be in working condition, and you must be able to provide an expected sale price.
Linwood and Linwood School!
Please note that the information provided here has been taken from the book, “Journey to a Village, Caledonia 1835-2008.”
Linwood was the most heavily forested part of Caledonia in the early 1800’s. The Linwood pocket community straddled the course of the Root River’s path through the middle of Caledonia.
While the original settlers of this heavily wooded area were Yankees, English and Welsh, by 1850 a trickle of Bohemian immigrants began to settle in the Linwood area. Several hundred Bohemian families arrived during the 1854 to 1857 time period. An 1887 map of Caledonia shows a nearly complete transformation of the Linwood area into a Bohemian settlement.
Linwood did not have a general store, but did have a post office, a school, the Holy Family Catholic Church, two cemeteries and Caledonia’s first town hall. The 1877 Town Hall is now located in the Caledonia Historical Village where it was moved in 2003 and renovated by the Caledonia Historical Society.
The Linwood school was originally a wood-frame structure that was long ago demolished. The first building was replaced by a brick structure which burned in 1929. While the replacement building was being constructed, school was held in the Caledonia Town Hall. That second school brick building is still standing and was taken over by the Lions Club in the 1960’s.
This is a picture of the second Linwood school that burned down in 1929.
The Caledonia Historical Society is dedicated to ensuring that present and future generations will not only know the significance of the area, but will also learn from the past and recognize the need to preserve the historical heritage bestowed upon them. We are our history. As John Steinbeck said, “How will we know it’s us without our past?”
Come Join Us!
The next CHS membership meeting is Thursday, March 21st at 6:30 pm at the Caledonia-Mt. Pleasant Memorial Park, 9614 Hwy K, Franksville. The public is welcome.
CHRISTMAS IN THE CABIN AND THE DEPOT
Come To The Cabin!
Yes, that time of year is quickly approaching. The 1840 Cabin at the Caledonia Historical Village will once again be decorated for the Christmas Boutique thanks to Sherry Lou Martin of Chics with Chainsaws. A percentage of her sales will be donated to the Caledonia Historical Society.
The 1902 Depot will also be decorated with a bake and craft sale on the inside and nativity scene on the outside. All proceeds from the sales in the Depot go to the Caledonia Historical Society to support the CHS mission.
Watch for more information! The dates are November 30 from 4 pm to 7 pm, December 1 from 12 pm to 7 pm and December 2 from 12 pm to 4 pm.
Fundraiser!
Mark this date on your calendar. The Kenosha Chancery restaurant once again will donate a percentage of their sales on January 31, 2019 to the Caledonia Historical Society. You must have a flyer stating this so contact this website or a CHS member for a flyer.
Thanks!
A grateful thank you to all of the businesses who have been willing to donate a percentage of their food sales on a specific fund raising day to the Caledonia Historical Society. Thank you to Blaze Pizza, Dogs and Cream, and the Chancery.
A grateful thank you also goes out to World Wide Box and Packaging Company for the donation of a custom cover for the CHS railroad handcart, and to Absolute Construction Enterprises for the donation of 200 concrete blocks for the machine shed, and to Gleason Redi-Mix for the donation of 7 yards of concrete for the machine shed.
Let’s look At Small Historical Buildings!
We talk a lot about the larger structures housed at the Caledonia Historical Village just east of Hwy 38 on 5 Mile Rd, but have you ever noticed that there are smaller historic buildings housed at the Village also. There is the wooden outhouse. Do you know why there is a Sears catalog in the outhouse? This small building would have been used before indoor plumbing became prevalent. There is also a double-walled brick ice house moved to the CHV from the Botting farm. Before refrigeration, the ice house was used to store blocks of ice to keep perishable items cool during the summer months.
Come Join Us!
The next membership meeting is Thursday, October 18th at 6:30 pm at the Caledonia-Mt. Pleasant Memorial Park, 9614 Hwy K, Franksville. The public is welcome. Join us, learn about the Caledonia Historical Society, become a member. Membership forms can be found on the ABOUT page of this website.