Caledonia Historical Society

Annual Caledonia Historical Society Fall Festival!

Mark September 8th and 9th on your calendar.  It soon will be time for the CHS Fall Heritage Festival.   The theme for 2018 is “Early Caledonia.”  The hours are 10 am to 4 pm.  Admission is free but a parking donation is suggested.  The buildings located at the Caledonia Historical Village will be open with docents available.

There will be saw mill demonstrations, blacksmith demonstrations, canon demonstrations, civil war re-enactors, spinning wool and loom demonstrations, a tractor display, an antique car display,  a bake sale, a pie auction at 1 pm each day, a meat raffle thanks to the donation of Danny’s Meats,  and so much more.  Visit Sherry at  her Chix with Chainsaw work area and watch her create amazing chainsaw art.

Sunday Only–The Veteran’s Tiny House Travel Unit will be site and open for tours!

There will be lots of activities for the children:  barrel train rides, rope making, and other various era appropriate activities.

Tickets will be available at the Festival for purchase for a full chicken dinner that can be picked up at the Caledonia Historical Village on September 15th from 4 pm until 5 pm.  The dinner includes 4 pieces of fried chicken, German potato salad, cole slaw, rice krispie treat, and a drink of water, coke or sprite.  The chicken dinner is a bargain at $12 and you will be supporting the machine shed project.

Come to the CHS Open Houses at the Caledonia Historical Village! 

The Caledonia Historical Society invites everyone to the monthly open houses held the fourth Sunday of the month through September.  The next open house is September 23rd.  The buildings in the Caledonia Historical Village just east of Hwy 38 on 5 Mile Rd will be open from 11 am to 3 pm.  Docents will be available in the buildings to share the history of the buildings and of Caledonia.  Bring the family, have a picnic, enjoy the historic atmosphere.  There are many historic artifacts housed in the buildings, and each building has an interesting history. The open houses are free to the public, but donations are appreciated so that the Village can be maintained.  The Caledonia Historical Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit.

Artifacts Housed at the Caledonia Historical Village!

The CHS has many, many artifacts that are currently being inventoried.  One item of interest is this cast iron 20 inch trade mark sign for the Horlicks Malted Milk Corporation of Racine.  Brothers James and William Horlick of England moved to Racine for better opportunities.  They formed a company  in 1873 to manufacture their own brand of infant food.  Ten years later they earned a patent for a new formula enhanced with dried milk.  They trademarked the name “malted milk” in 1887.  Did you know that Admiral Richard E. Byrd named a mountain range in Antarctica after William Horlick?  Explorers appreciated the lightweight, non-perishable, high-calorie qualities of the malted milk and started carrying it on their treks worldwide.

Visit the CHV Garden, Visit the CHV Mural at Regency Mall!

The heritage garden next to the 1840’s Log Cabin is lovely and very productive.  Stop to view the interesting foods and flowers including blueberries and blackberries.

The Regency Mall has updated the interior walls with murals.  One of the murals is a display from pictures taken at the Caledonia Historical Village.  Stop and take a look!

Come Join Us!

The Caledonia Historical Society meets the third Thursday of every month, and the next meeting is September 20th at 6:30 pm at the 1902 Milwaukee Road Depot in the Caledonia Historical Village just east of Hwy 38 on 5 Mile Rd.

The meetings are open to the public, and everyone is welcome.  Become a CHS member and envelop yourself in the history of Caledonia.  Help CHS spread the word!  Membership forms can be downloaded from the ABOUT page on this website.