Langlade County Historical Society

10/22/2026

The Society would like to thank Darin Fischer and his crew from Fischer Maintenance for donating their time once again in touching up the 440 engine this summer. They have been doing this for us the last 3+ years. They also keep the museum grounds looking great all summer long.

10/06/2026

Join the Langlade County Historical Society on Thursday October 8th, 2026 when journalist and historian Lisa Haefs presents “Charles de Langlade, the Man versus the Mystery” a presentation as part of the society annual meeting.
The presentation is open to the public and will be held at North Star Lanes at 6:00pm.
So come and learn the interesting history of Charles de Langlade, for which Langlade County is named after.

10/02/2026

20 years ago, the grounds at the Langlade County Historical Society changed with the arrival of the 440 locomotive that the society purchased in 2005.
The 440 story cannot be told without coupling it to the story of Antigo railroading. Antigo was originally called Springbrook in 1879. Francis Deleglise the founder of Antigo settled in which would become Langlade County and started building his town. Within a year, Mr. Deleglise learned that the Milwaukee,Lake Shore & Western railway was laying down lines from Eland to Ashland, Antigo was bypassed, Mr. Deleglise saw the benefits a rail line could bring and convinced the company to alter the route with an offer of eight blocks of land in the center of Deleglise dream town, a deal was forged and tracks were laid. In 1880, the first of thousands of trains chugged into town, within months the initial rail buildings were built. For 100 years it remained the beating heart of the community.
In 2005, the Langlade County Historical Society looked into seeing if we could get a locomotive for our grounds since the society already had a 1955 steel bay window caboose on its grounds that was gifted by Barney & Doris Lazewski in 2001 in memory of Doris’s father E.V, “Ed” ‘Marx a long time engineer with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. The society tried to get the 175 locomotive, the last Northwestern locomotive that came through Antigo. It was owned by Clint Jones, a former Milwaukee road employee and historical locomotive buff. However, it was sold to an Owossa Michigan company for restoration much to our disappointment. In place of the 175, Clint Jones
sold us a locomotive that was located in New Freedom, Wisconsin near Baraboo, Wisconsin it was in the process of being scrapped and many of her parts had been stripped. This locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive in New York in 1900. Her 1900 Baldwin boiler plate number was 18435, but she was numbered 1660 by the Union Pacific. As Union Pacific 1660, she spent her entire time working in Nebraska and Kansas. In 1915, the 1660 was reconfigured into a single steam locomotive and was re-numbered X440, the number she still wears today. In 1955, she was retired from active service and went on display at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. She was donated to the Mid-Continent railroad museum in North Freedom in 1975. Once the society brought the locomotive it was time to kick off the society’s fundraising drive. A private fundraising effort to raise $75,000. Donors of $100 or more became a member of the “440 Club”. Donors would have their name, business, civic club or a memorial listing included on a bronze plaque that would be on display on the museum grounds next to the train. In preparation for the locomotive, Antigo Construction brought in a backhoe and dug a hole approximately 18” deep- well past the frost line so the tracks won’t heave. We filled the hole with gravel for drainage, sand and top soil and then laid 100 feet of track. The locomotive came in two parts, the chassis and then the boiler. Lund transport hauled the chassis, and we hired a 100 ton and a 75 ton crane from Rhinelander to lift the chassis from the flat bed truck onto the tracks. Then the boiler was lifted and placed on the chassis. It took 18 months to refurbish the 440. A new cab was constructed to replace the original which was so badly damaged for restoration. In 2007, a shelter was built over the locomotive and caboose. The restoration of the 440 was not only a labor of love but also of dogged determination, community pride and historical vision. Almost 700 individuals, organizations and groups banded together to provide the financial backing and back breaking labor to restore the aging engine to pristine conditions and beauty. The 440 locomotive as it looks today is the result of many volunteers and the significant resources that the late George Shinners contributed to the static restoration of the locomotive.
The Langlade County Historical Society train will remain a lasting tribute to Antigo’s major contribution to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in Northern Wisconsin. In the next couple of years the locomotive and the caboose will get a new coat of paint so they can both shimmer and shine in the bright sun.

10/01/2026

09/08/2026

Fundraiser event for the Museum :

The Langlade County Historical Society is sponsoring refreshments at the Antigo Civic Music Association event on Sunday September 13th. We encourage our members or non- members to help us with this fundraiser by contributing baked goods for this event, which benefits our organization, We welcome donations of cookies, cupcakes or bars. You can deliver the desserts to the Antigo High School by 6:00pm on Sunday September 13th.
Thank you for your continued support of the museum.

08/29/2026

A recent donation had us looking into barbershops that were located in downtown Antigo. We came across a barbershop owned by George Schoenfeldt who worked in the barber business for over 50 years, and we feel that the donated item came from his shop. George Schoenfeldt was born August 17,1896 in Antigo and attended Antigo public schools. At the age of 12 he began his barbering career at the William Davis barbershop as a shoe shine boy and all around keeper from 1908-1911. Then from 1911-1914 he was employed at the Frank Vandervest barbershop. In 1915, he worked at the Hugh McFadden barbershop. In 1916, he became employed by Frank Michealson whose barbershop was in the south side of the I.O.O.F. building (independent Order of Odd fellows lodge No.31) at 5th Avenue and Clermont Street, The barber shop was located at 533 Clermont Street, this building later became known as the Vosmek Drug Store. George Schoenfeldt purchased the barbershop from Frank Michealson on March 1st, 1920 it became the George Schoenfeldt barbershop for 41 years. George married Fantassa Hungerford of Antigo in 1914, and had four children. George retired in July 1961 and Harry Reif brought the barbershop and George assisted Mr. Reif on a part time basis. George Schoenfeldt passed away in 1970.
Now on to the donated item we received, a person who worked at Vosmek Drugstore in the soda fountain area in the store. One day he was helping clean out the basement and he saw a barber pole and he asked if he could have it, afraid that it was going to be thrown away. He was told to take it and he stored it in his mother’s storage building up until it was donated to us.
The barber pole is a Koken Model 149 with illuminated leaded glass, cast iron and porcelain-enameled frame with texture red & white stained glass panels in a signature spiral design. The barber pole was manufactured in the 1920’s by the Koken Companies of St. Louis. Since George Schoenfeldt had his barbershop fron 1920-1961 we think that this pole was located on the south part of the Vosmek building. The barber pole is in good condition with just two little cracks in the stain glass. Once the barber pole is cleaned up, it will be located in our barbershop display area that is located in the basement of the society, which also features another barber pole, shaving mugs and a barber chair.

08/19/2026

The Langlade County Historical Society joins the community in celebrating the life of George Shinners and reflecting on his loss.
George was a forward- looking man, always involved in the next big project, the next big thing, and caring deeply about the quality of lives and opportunities for its young people.
He also had a keen history of the past, realizing that a community evolves and grows based on the path that has been carved and charted by those who came before.
George was a keen supporter of the Society and was instrumental in our major projects in recent years. There would be no 440 locomotive on the museum grounds without George’s expertise; there would be no renovated Deleglise cabin without his involvement; and there would be no new north wing, which made the museum accessible to all, without his role in serving as the construction manager and general overseer.
George was hands-on in everything he did, and the museum complex and the community at large will forever be better through his efforts. Now he is one for the history books.
We will miss our friend. Our deepest condolences to his family and those whose lives he touched. Now let us continue the work George cherished and work toward making an ever-better community while honoring its past.

08/14/2026

08/11/2026

The Langlade County Historical Society Museum would like to invite the community to a book signing. The book “Follow the Signs” is a memoir about Dean Blazek “Mr. Neon” and his 70 year career in the sign industry. Written by his son Michael, the book took two years to write.
Michael who lives in Australia will be here along with his father Dean signing books and answering questions.
Date: Saturday August 15th, 2026
Time: 10:00 am-1:00 pm
Place: Langlade County Historical Society
404 Superior Street
The books is $40.00 and all proceeds will be donated to the society.

07/30/2026

A Summer Highlight:
Each year one of the highlights of summer is the Langlade County Fair and it has been so almost from the beginning of Antigo. From 1880 to 1890 Langlade County’s population grew from 685 to 9,465. In that interval Antigo grew from a small settlement to a sizable city. In 1886, part of the county’s development was the formation of the Langlade County Agricultural Society. One of its first actions of the Society was to establish a county fair. It was held on October 4 and 5, 1886. It was held at Antigo’s first Opera House which was located on the west side of Superior Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue( the building was destroyed by a fire and replaced with a new Opera House on Fifth Avenue). There was little space to show livestock but farm implement dealers did display equipment and there were presentation on agricultural topics. The first fair was not all business, planners organized horse races on a course that went south on Superior Street from the fair site to the Springbrook bridge at 10th Avenue. It was a great success and the society took steps to expand the fair the following year. The county board appropriated $1,500 to be used to purchase 40 acres of land on the north side of Antigo for use as a fairground. They erected a building at the cost of $1,300 and on October 1, 1887 the second Langlade County fair opened. The following year saw further expansion with the construction of a grandstand under the support of the Antigo Parks Association. Many changes and additions have taken place in the fairgrounds buildings and entertainment over the years since the first fair in 1886. The fair continues to be a major summer event.