Crandon Area Historical Society, 105 W Jackson Street, Crandon, WI (2026)

Earlier this year, the Forest County Historical and Genealogical Society Board filed paperwork to legally begin doing business as the Crandon Area Historical Society. This change was decided upon after months of research and negotiations between Board members about the best way to represent ourselves to the community we serve. What exactly does this name change mean for area residents, visitors to our museum and our members? First off, local area residents interested in learning more about the history of the Crandon area will continue to be able to visit our museum and learn from our programming which will focus on Crandon area history. We will continue to research, collect and preserve historical items related to Forest County, but our focus will be on the Crandon area townships of Argonne (North Crandon), Lincoln, Crandon and Nashville with an emphasis on the City of Crandon. This historic house museum is located in a structure over one hundred years old. The rooms of the home reflect the time period of the early 1900’s. You begin the tour in the old fashioned kitchen with its wood burning cook stove and antique refrigerator. As you leave the kitchen you enter the dining room and parlor area. The parlor reflects back to a time when after a Sunday dinner families would gather around the radio. Located off the dining room is the one room school house exhibit. There are many photos of early Forest County residents and the schools they attended. The semi-permanent display room adjoins the kitchen with objects from the early telephone company, the lumber industry, farming, and moon shining.

10/15/2026

The Crandon Area Historical Society held it's Annual Meeting on Thursday, October 7 at the Historic Hotel Crandon.

This year's meeting was all about celebrating our society's volunteers. During our meeting, the Historical Society Board honored volunteer Sandy Plummer as our 2026 Volunteer of the Year!

Over the past year, Sandy has spent countless hours preserving and beautifying our community’s history—from digitizing archival photos and researching Crandon’s earliest railroads to digging in and filling the museum’s flower gardens with beauty and care. Her hard work behind the scenes and in the gardens keeps our history alive and vibrant. Please join us in thanking and congratulating Sandy Plummer for her dedication to our community.

Sandy is pictured accepting the award along with co-garden volunteer April Hayes.

09/10/2026

Congratulations to the Crandon Lions Club on making 80 years of History!

80 Years of Leadership 1946-2026
Today, Gary Mueller Sr. serves as our 2026 president, continuing a line of leadership that began 80 years ago with Albert Rusch in 1946.
As we celebrate this milestone, we extend our appreciation to every past president of the Crandon Lions Club and to the members who served alongside them.
Do you recognize a name on this list? Maybe a father, grandfather, friend or neighbor?

07/03/2026

Thanks to a generous donation, we are thrilled to add 10 additional historic banners to Crandon's main street this summer! (Just in time for our July 4th parade!)

Even better, these wonderful donors have pledged ongoing funds to make this an annual tradition that will beautify our downtown, celebrate our shared history, and foster community pride for years to come.

If you are interested in donating towards this project, please visit our website for details.

06/16/2026

A few years ago while conducting research at the Forest County Courthouse, a 2-page document titled "Forest County Farms, 1965" was found tucked inside a drawer in the Register of Deeds office.

What was unique about this document was that it listed the farm names, owners and the legal description of the farm. A few of the farm names made us chuckle ('Jus-A-Mere Farm') but most made us wish we could go back and learn more about these farms, and the farmers that made up our county 60+ years ago.

Jump ahead to 2026, a summer researcher reached out via email about researching her grandparents farm from 1925, and we wanted a way to share the location of her family's farm so we created an interactive Google Map of the farms.

Please understand that the legal description of each farm has not been verified. The original document listed the Quarter Section, Section, Township and Range which is 160 acres. The map details the quarter section, meaning somewhere in the 160 acres there was a farm of unknown size. To document the exact location of a historic farm, researchers will need to visit the Forest County Register of Deeds office.

It is unknown why there are a few Crandon businesses included in the list, and why certain farms were chosen to be included as more than likely there were additional farms at the time, especially in the south-eastern part of the county near near Wabeno and Carter.

Check out the map here: https://www.crandonareahistory.org/farm-names/

06/11/2026

We hope...this is a start of a new summer tradition! Historic photos on main street welcoming residents and visitors to our downtown. We kicked off this program with a collage of City photos while next year we hope to expand the number of banners, and feature specific local landmarks.

Thanks to Airhead Designs for the help with the project, the City Crew for putting them up and Jill Krueger for her inspiration for the project!

Anyone interested in sponsoring a banner this year and/or helping us with next year's landmark photo, please give us a holler!

Address

105 W Jackson Street
Crandon, WI
54520

Telephone

+17154785900

Website

http://www.crandonareahistory.org/

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