- CHOCOLATE CITY USA - AND
HOME OF THE FIRST HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN RACINE COUNTY.
THE SOCIETY CELEBRATED ITS 80th ANNIVERSARY IN 2008.
BURLINGTON IS ALSO THE
HOMETOWN OF TONY ROMO Romo starred in
football, basketball, and golf at Burlington High School, graduating in 1998. Tony was on the Little League Roth All-Star
teams in 1991 and 1992.
IF YOU ENJOY
THIS SITE AND / OR YOU FIND THE INFORMATION POSTED ON THIS SITE HELPFUL,
PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE SOCIETY. THE DUES ARE VERY MODEST --
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP IS $10.00 A YEAR; CONTRIBUTING MEMBERSHIP IS $25.00 A
YEAR.
CLICK Join Us TO LEARN MORE AND THEN FILL
OUT AND SEND IN THE
Membership Form.
THANKS.
Featuring:
-- Museum Being
Re-Roofed
-- The First – and Only – Airmail Flight From Burlington
-- Chug A Chug A Choo-Choo and HO! HO! HO!
-- Cornering the Market at a Box Social
The Society's book of Burlington
photographs is available for sale. The book, titled
"Burlington," is part of the Images of America series published by Arcadia
Publishing Co. of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
About 230 of the thousands of photographs in the Society's collection are
featured in the 128-page soft-cover book, together with captions describing
the scenes and giving some history of the subjects shown in the photographs.
A short historical sketch of Burlington introduces the images. The
photographs are grouped in seven categories:
-- Cityscapes and Street Scenes
-- Stores, Shops, and Business Vehicles
-- Manufacturing and Processing Plants
-- Houses - From Humble to Grand
-- Churches and Schools
-- Landmarks and Municipal Facilities
-- Nearby Lakes
The book makes local
history available to everyone. A meander through the pages will bring
revelation for the young folks and both recollection and reminiscence for
the young at heart.
The book is for sale at Fidelity Title Co., 101 E.
Washington Street, Monday-Friday during business hours. The Society's price for the
book is $21.00, including State sales tax.
For a mailed copy, a postage and handling fee of $3.00
will be added, making the cost $24.00 per book. Send order to the
Burlington Historical Society, 232 N. Perkins Blvd., Burlington, WI
53105; or click on "Publications for Sale" under the masthead above.
The book, with a cover price of $19.99, will also be
sold (with the appropriate sales tax added) at various retail outlets in
Burlington and elsewhere and on the Arcadia Publishing Co.'s website.
"The BuR SPUR"
"The BuR
SPUR of Wisconsin'S
Underground Railroad"
The Underground
Railroad
was the first "railroad" to reach the Wisconsin Territory. And the
Burlington,
Rochester,
and Spring
Prairie
area - which has been named
The BuR SPUR
-- had several way-stations on the route.
A tour guide, laying out a part walking and part driving tour of more
than 25 places in Burlington, Rochester, and Spring Prairie associated
with Underground Railroad and abolitionist activities, has been
developed with the help of several Society members and the graphic
artistry of Sherry Schenning Gordon. The full-color guide, in the
format of a folding road map, is now available - free of charge - at the
Museum, the Chamber of Commerce office, the Library, and other sites in
Burlington and Racine. Copies are also available at several nearby
libraries and other locations, such as Wisconsin Welcome Centers and
some motels.
Mailed copies can be obtained from the Burlington Area Chamber of
Commerce, 113 E. Chestnut St., Burlington, WI 53105 (phone
262-763-6044).
The first-hand accounts of
the Underground Railroad journeys of Joshua Glover and Caroline Quarlls,
as recounted by their "conductors" (Chauncey C. Olin and Lyman Goodnow,
respectively) are found
here
and
here.
ROOTS OF FREEDOM -
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN RACINE COUNTY
Another
Underground Railroad publication that the Society has cooperated in
publishing is the "Roots of Freedom Underground Railroad Heritage Trail"
brochure, which covers Racine County UGRR and abolitionist sites.
The brochure is available from the Racine Heritage Museum, the Racine
County Convention and Visitor Center (in Ives Grove), the
Burlington Historical Society, and other sites, including the
Burlington, Rochester, and Waterford libraries.
PEOPLE OF
BURLINGTON AND VICINITY(many
entries include dates of birth and/or death, name of
spouse, and burial information) February
2007, to include references to the records
(generally through 1920) of several area Catholic
Churches
If you have a
Burlington Public Library card or a card from other
libraries in the Lakeshores Library System, census
information is available from a Heritage Quest link
on that site -
click here
to visit the library links page, then click on
"Click Here to Enter Heritage Quest Online" and
type in your library card number.
Sunday: 1:00 -
4:00 P.M.
(except major
holidays)
Monday - Friday:
By Appointment Note:
Because of
remodeling, the
Museum is closed
for several
months. However,
there is usually
someone at the
Museum on Sunday
afternoons.
About Us
The Burlington
Historical Society of Burlington,
Wisconsin, was established in February 1928 to
collect and preserve historical records and artifacts
pertaining to the Burlington area. It was the first
historical society in Racine County. The Society is a
private, not-for-profit organization run entirely by
volunteers.
The Museum, on the
corner of Perkins Boulevard and Jefferson Street, is
open most Sunday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. and at
other times by appointment. It contains
-- Historical and genealogical information on, and
historical artifacts from, Burlington and the
surrounding area.
-- An extensive photograph and negative
collection.
-- Several Al-Vista panoramic cameras - this
camera, one of the earliest panoramic cameras, was
invented by Peter Angsten in 1896 and made in
Burlington by the Multiscope & Film Co. from 1897
through 1908.
-- Artifacts from the world famous Burlington
Liars Club.
-- Information on the Mormon settlement at Voree
established by James J. Strang.
-- Information on the Burlington area
connections on the Underground Railroad.
-- A turn-of-the-century kitchen and
Victorian-era parlor display.
The Legacy Garden, next to the Museum, is maintained
by the Burlington Area Garden Club.
The Society's Pioneer Log Cabin is one block north of
the Museum in Wehmhoff Square (a downtown park). It is open from mid-May
through mid-October on Saturday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m., during some
special Burlington community activities, and by appointment. The cabin
is furnished as a post-Civil War farming family's home. Adjoining the
cabin is a display of the area's agricultural history and period tools,
along with a flower garden - called the Vintage Garden - and a kitchen
garden where, depending on the year, vegetables or other crops are
grown. The Vintage Garden is maintained by the Burlington Area Garden
Club.
The Society also maintains an 1840 brick school house,
called Whitman School, which is open by appointment.
The Museum and Cabin, just a block apart in mid-town
Burlington near the Public Library, are both ADA accessible. Whitman
School, on Beloit Street in the southwest part of the city, is not.
There is no admission charge at any of the sites, although donations are
accepted.
GENEALOGICAL GLEANERS AWARD
The BURLINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY website has been awarded
the GENEALOGICAL GLEANERS AWARD, which is given to websites that feature
free vital information for the online genealogical community. It recognizes
the hard work performed by volunteers in bringing genealogical data
to the web for the use of others.
February
2007, to include references to the records
(generally through 1920) of several area Catholic
Churches
