CALEDONIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESERVES THE HISTORY OF CALEDONIA

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Learn the history of Caledonia.  Preserve the history of Caledonia.  Share the history of Caledonia. 

The Caledonia Historical Society (CHS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing materials and information relating to the history of Caledonia.  The Society promotes the understanding of the history through the buildings of the Caledonia Historical Village and the artifacts within them.  History matters.  It connects people to something larger than themselves.  People need history to understand the world around them and to develop solutions for the future. 

The December meeting of the CHS is the CHS Christmas Potluck Dinner at the Caledonia-Mt. Pleasant Park Building at 9614 Co Hwy K . The doors open at 5:30 pm with dinner served at 6:00 pm.  Please bring a dish to pass.  The public is invited.  For more information, view this website or email [email protected].

SAVE THE DATE!

The annual Christmas in the Log Cabin Boutique and Bake Sale in the Town Hall will be held on December 7th from Noon to 7 pm and December 8th from Noon to 4 pm each day.  Visit the Caledonia Historical Village and enjoy the spirit of winter in the village. There will be a live Nativity on Saturday.  Items available in the 1840’s Log Cabin include jewelry, wood carvings, Christmas decor, fiber arts, quilts, macrame, shatter glass art and much more.  Items available in the 1877 Town Hall will be home made baked goods and craft items.  Purchase of items supports the goals of the Caledonia Historical Society.

CALEDONIA EARLY GOVERNMENT!

Caledonia became a township in 1842 and the first meeting of the government was held April 7, 1842.  The purpose of the meeting was to determine the date for the first election of town officials.  The early meetings were held in individual’s homes.  Caledonia got its first town hall in 1877 when a single-room, rectangular structure was built near the center of town on Mary O’Connor’s land along Hwy 38.  The original Town Hall fell into disuse when the new municipal buildings were constructed in Husher. It remained standing in disrepair until the CHS moved it in 2005 to the Caledonia Historical Village and restored the building. 

The restoration of the 1877 Caledonia Town Hall sparked the beginning of the non-profit, the Caledonia Historical Society.  The Town Hall was the first building moved to the Caledonia Historical Village.  You can learn more about the Town Hall on the CHS Building and Items pages on this website.

  

Fall Heritage Festival

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The Caledonia Historical Society is happy to announce that the next Fall Heritage Festival will be held on Saturday, September 7th and Sunday, September 8th from 10 am to 4 pm each day. The Fall Heritage Festival is held at the Caledonia Historical Village, 7300 5 Mile Rd (just east of HWY 38 on 5 Mile Rd).  The theme of this year’s festival is “Passport to the Past.”

The admission is free, but a donation for parking is suggested.  There will be heritage educational games and exhibits, food, music, pie auction, and crafts.  John Deere tractors will be available for you to test your tractor driving skills and hole digging skills with a small backhoe.  There will be spinning and weaving demonstrations.  There will be re-enactors with a civil war demonstration battle including cannons.  There is also a bake sale.  All of the baked items and craft items are hand made/home made.

All of the buildings will be open with docents available to answer questions.  There are many artifacts stored in the buildings as well as on the grounds of the Caledonia Historical Village.

There will be many activities that will interest children and adults.  Come and join the Caledonia Historical Society in celebrating our past.  Our past is who we are today.

Next Membership Meeting

The next Caledonia Historical Society membership meeting is Thursday, August 15th at 6:30 pm in the 1902 Milwaukee Road Depot at the Caledonia Historical Village.  The meeting is open to the public and everyone is welcome.