Welcome to the Caledonia Historical Society website!!
Caledonia Historical Society Current News
SUMMER AT THE CALEDONIA HISTORICAL VILLAGE
Volunteers!
Volunteers are always needed at the Caledonia Historical Village which is located just east of Hwy 38 on 5 Mile Rd in Caledonia. The Caledonia Historical Society owns and operates the village as a 501(c)3 non-profit with only volunteers. Volunteers are needed to groom the grounds surrounding the village, to help maintain the buildings located in the village, and to renovate the early 1900’s Botting Road machine shed. Volunteers are normally in the village on Monday and Thursday mornings from 9 am to around 11:30 am. Come join them; learn about the history of the village; help preserve that history.
Events!
The CHS website is undergoing construction. Check the calendar for events and soon there will be an active events tab. The next monthly meeting will be held July 18th at 6:30 pm in the 1902 Milwaukee Road Depot located in the Caledonia Historical Village. The public is welcome.
History of Linwood Park!
Linwood Park today is a piece of property just east of the Caledonia Historical Village on the west bank of the Root River. The land was originally used by Caledonia as the town dump. Linwood Park was opened in 1965 and was the first park fully owned and operated by the Town of Caledonia. A naming contest for the park was held in 1968 and Mrs. Otto Lorence and Mrs. LeRoy Schmidt were declared the winners. They both suggested the name Linwood Park as a fitting testimony to the area’s large and influential Bohemian community. A shelter was added in 1989 and since then a number of benches have been added overlooking the Root river. Information provided from the book, “Journey To A Village, Caledonia 1835-2008.”
CHS EVENTS AND LINWOOD HISTORY
Events!
Please note that all upcoming events are posted on the calendar on this website.
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 from 10 am to 4 pm. 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 Elveda Morrill at her email which is [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. Donations can be dropped off on May 16th between 10 am and 4 pm or May 17th between 10 am and Noon.
Also mark your calendars for May 26th, the first open house of 2019 held at the Caledonia Historical Village, just east of Hwy 38 on 5 Mile Rd. The buildings with docents will be open from 11 am to 3 pm, and admission is free, but donations are welcome.
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, May 16th, at 6:30 pm at the Caledonia Historical Village, 7330 5 Mile Rd. The public is welcome.