The Wittenberg Area Historical Society has announced that a building on Vinal Street that once housed a pharmacy and later a bakery will be the home of its new museum.
For several years, the society has been looking at building a new museum, as its current collection of documents, photos and other artifacts makes it difficult for people to navigate around the existing building. Originally, the society had planned to build a new building next to the German Lutheran parochial schoolhouse that serves at its current museum at 500 W. Summit St., expecting it to cost $300,000-$500,000. That project was expected to start within three years.
Then, after historical society members did a fundraiser in February to raise money for the new building, society member John Powers said they received a visit from the Nueske family. The Nueskes offered to give the building they own at 106 W. Vinal St. next to the Wittenberg Art Park for what will soon become the Wittenberg Area Historical Society Heritage Center.
“At that point, it was just a: ‘Maybe we want to do this,’” Powers said. “Over the next couple of months, we talked to them and finally (they) said: ‘Yes, we want to give you the building.’”
Even though a sign hangs over the front entrance to the building, there is still a lot of work to be done, according to Powers, one of the main driving forces for a new museum. Powers noted that the society plans to repurpose the building — not restore it to its original glory, citing the costs that would be required for such a project.
The society plans to use the main floor of the building for the museum itself, while the second floor will be utilized for researching and preserving documents, according to Powers. The basement will be used to house artifacts not currently on display.
“Storage is always an issue,” Powers said.
The old building will not be closing down, Powers said, but will instead remain as the one-room schoolhouse that shows people how children were educated more than a century ago. He noted the society still plans to build a ramp to make the building compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
“We had thought about this for three or four years,” Powers said. “Something needed to be done about the museum up there.”
Powers noted the Vinal Street building’s downtown location gives it more visibility, as the current schoolhouse is away from the hustle and bustle of the community.
The need to preserve history has been more prominent lately, according to Powers. More families in the area have come forward with family artifacts and documentation and said they need the historical society’s help to preserve the history, he said.
“Kids aren’t interested, so they ask, ‘Will you take it?’” Powers said. “We’ve started to put together family files, family history, whatever they have so we can become the area when people 20 years from now are doing research on their families. We’ve already got people coming to us and asking, ‘Do you have information on this?’” One person, for example, recently approached Powers and asked for information on the former Yaeger Garage.
Powers noted things like this are the reason the historical society is calling the new building a heritage center and not a museum. With older generations dying off and younger generations often leaving the Wittenberg area for the pursuit of a better life, it’s important to keep the history alive.
“It’s not just going to be a place to keep the old history,” Powers said. “It’s to keep the modern part of it, too, and project it into the future.”
The building was originally going to be restored by Bob Nueske before he died, according to Powers. The historical society wants to keep much of the existing structure but doesn’t want to completely renovate it, as that’s an expensive proposition, he said.
The building was built in 1901 and 1902 and served as the village’s drug store until 1969 when the Gwidt family moved out of the building. The building also served as a bakery through the 1990s and has also had apartments.
Powers said the historical society is hoping to at least have the first floor ready within a year.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm from the community,” he said. “We’re happy to see that this is going to be a structure. It’s not going to be torn down. It’ll be something that’s meant for the whole community.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
