Eagle River Historical Society

Eagle River Historical Society We have two free museums open on Mon. Thurs. & Fri. from 11-3 PM or by appt

The Eagle River Historical Society serves as the foremost repository for preserving our local northwoods history, culture, & heritage for past, present, & future generations.

On Thursday, September 24th the Northern Wisconsin Heritage Council will be hosting its first ever Regional History Conf...
09/04/2026

On Thursday, September 24th the Northern Wisconsin Heritage Council will be hosting its first ever Regional History Conference!

For those of you not aware of what the NWHC is, it is a coalition of 18 history and culture organizations north or surrounding Highway 8. The group reaches as far as Barron County all the way to Vilas and Iron Counties and are focused on preserving not only regional history but being a support network for these local organizations.

On Sept.24th they will be hosting a conference on how to use AI for small non-profits, how to build a more resilient historical organization, and how to start a Legacy and Planned giving programs.

This conference is not exclusive to history organizations, we encourage Performing Arts, Libraries, Nature Groups, to attend this conference as there will be a lot of transferable skills to be learned!

The conference will be held at Nicolet College and and dont forget LUNCH AND BREAKFAST ARE INCLUDED! You can learn more about the conference by registering or going to the NWHC website:

https://www.nwiheritage.org/2026-conference/

WE HAVE AN EXCITING HERITAGE CENTER UPDATE!As many people in the community know, we run two museums in the Eagle River a...
09/02/2026

WE HAVE AN EXCITING HERITAGE CENTER UPDATE!

As many people in the community know, we run two museums in the Eagle River area, one is our Depot Museum in downtown Eagle River and our Main Museum on Hwy 45 S. and if you have driven by the Main Museum, you may have noticed a lot of construction going on.

Since late June of this year, we have begun work on the new addition to the Main Museum that will serve as Eagle River's new Heritage Center! For those of you who are not aware of this massive undertaking, the new Heritage Center will serve the Community in the following ways:
- An expanded space to host lectures, rotating exhibits, reunions, and school groups
- A new research library with computers, light tables, scanners, and research materials
- Proper climate controls for our collections (like the newly acquired Vilas County News-Review Collection) and archives to ensure artifacts are being properly taken care of
- Better insulation, repairs, window enclosure, and utility updates of the existing building that will allow the museum to be open to the public all year round!

We are beyond excited for this new facility to open to the public as there has been a huge surge in interest surrounding local history and we are committed to preserving our local history, culture, and heritage! Here are some pictures of the progress we have made so far.

If you would like to learn more about this project and support our efforts in preserving local history and lore, click the link below!
https://www.eagleriverhistory.org/our-new-hertiage-center

ALSO - PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THE MUSEUM AT THIS TIME - IT IS CURRENTLY A CONSTRUCTION SITE!

WE ARE TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM REACHING OUR GOAL!Since early July the Eagle River Historical Society has been working with a...
08/31/2026

WE ARE TWO WEEKS AWAY FROM REACHING OUR GOAL!

Since early July the Eagle River Historical Society has been working with a group of dedicated volunteers and a local family to Save the Tilden Log Cabin! The Godding Family has stepped forward to donate a 1903 Cottage to our Heritage Center Campus as it is part of a unique part of north woods history!

As part of the first wave of resorts in the area, the Tilden Resort was nestled on Meta Lake and as the years have progressed the resort has been subdivided and dismantled, this Cabin is one of the few buildings left from the resort.

The Cabin, being part of the initial resort era in our community is built with Vertical Logs which often made them unstable and susceptible to being torn down. Many buildings of that style, by and large did not survive the later half of 20th Century. So to have one intact and able to be preserved for future generations to enjoy and learn about is a rare opportunity for the community!

If you would like to Save the Tilden Log Cabin, click on the Go-Fund me link below!
https://gofund.me/1c93259f5

Learn about the Tilden Story here and why we are trying to save it:
https://www.eagleriverhistory.org/tildencabin

On Saturday, Sept. 19th, at 1:00pm we will hosting the second history talk in our 2026 Fall Historic District Lecture Se...
08/29/2026

On Saturday, Sept. 19th, at 1:00pm we will hosting the second history talk in our 2026 Fall Historic District Lecture Series!

Join us for our Historic District Lecture Series - Eagle Wings Sportswear!

We will be going all the way back to 1890 to talk about Eagle River's first three story building, nicest hotel, and longest operating grocery stores - Holperin's SuperValu! - THIS LECTURE WILL BE HELD AT THE Vilas Cinema!

This lecture is free to the public to attend! If you do plan on coming, please RSVP:
https://zfrmz.com/ghUVo2WENTH7wBfUEA68

Want to see what other lectures are coming up this Fall? Click Here!
https://www.eagleriverhistory.org/historic-district-lecture-series

Last Photo Credit: John Solvie

THROWBACK THURSDAY!With school starting next week for the community, how many people remember the old Eagle River High S...
08/27/2026

THROWBACK THURSDAY!

With school starting next week for the community, how many people remember the old Eagle River High School? Built in 1923 and hosted classes until 1976 which it was then torn down shortly after. Does anyone remember going there?

Here is an excerpt from the 1923 Highschool Yearbook describing the features of the new school:

“The building is fitted with every possible convenience. It is beautifully located. From its windows one can see Silver Lake, Eagle River and the Hirzel- Bond addition on Yellow Birch Lake. “The front part of the building has two floors and a basement which is used for class rooms and laboratories. The rear of the building is devoted to the gymnasium and the main auditorium. The basement of the building is occupied by the fan room, locker rooms, showers and gymnasium, home economics department and manual training rooms.”

WANT TO LEARN ABOUT OLD EAGLE RIVER?Join the Eagle River Historical Society on our HISTORIC DOWNTON WALKING TOUR, where...
08/25/2026

WANT TO LEARN ABOUT OLD EAGLE RIVER?

Join the Eagle River Historical Society on our HISTORIC DOWNTON WALKING TOUR, where we will take you through the history of every building on Wall Street! We cover the following history:
- Bar Fights
- Movers and Shakers
- Fires and Explosions
- Nostalgia for your favorite old time stores!

Come explore 140+ years of Eagle River History! Tours are about an hour long and we bring along over 100+ Historic Pictures!

- GET TICKETS HERE! https://www.eagleriverhistory.org/historic-walking-tours

Starting on Monday, Sept. 14th, at 1:00pm we will be launching our Fall Historic District Lecture Series!Join us for our...
08/22/2026

Starting on Monday, Sept. 14th, at 1:00pm we will be launching our Fall Historic District Lecture Series!

Join us for our Historic District Lecture Series - Timmy's Holiday Corner!
We will be going all the way back to 1885 to talk about the Dickinson and Cook General Store, how it caught fire and was later replaced by the famous Elko Lunch Stand!

This lecture will be held inside of Timmy's Holiday Corner & Timmy’s Division Street Pizza & Sandwich Company, which the owner, Tim Richards will very generously have some snacks available!

This lecture is free to the public to attend! If you do plan on coming, please RSVP:
https://zfrmz.com/ghUVo2WENTH7wBfUEA68

Want to see what other lectures are coming up this Fall? Click Here!
https://www.eagleriverhistory.org/historic-district-lecture-series

OUR MOST POPULAR LECTURE SERIES IS BACK!Join us for our 3rd Annual Historic District Lecture series, where we work and p...
08/20/2026

OUR MOST POPULAR LECTURE SERIES IS BACK!

Join us for our 3rd Annual Historic District Lecture series, where we work and partner with local downtown businesses to share the history of downtown stores and buildings with the public! We will go as far back as our records, sources, & photographs can go and from there we work our way up to the current owners!

We ask this question, every year, have you ever wondered walking in down town Eagle River, how old one of your favorite stores is? Maybe when was it built or who used to occupy our historic store fronts?

Starting on Monday, Sept. 14th, we will be giving presentations in historic downtown buildings, however we have partnered with Vilas Cinema this year and will be hosting over half of them in the old Movie Theater!

Lectures Held at Original Locations:
- Timmy's Holiday Corner & Timmy’s Division Street Pizza & Sandwich Company - Sept. 14th at 1:00pm
- Salon and Spa on Railroad - Oct. 11th at 1:00pm
- The Daily Grind - Oct. 25th at 1:00pm

Lectures Held at the Vilas Cinema:
- Holperin's SuperValu (Eagle Wings Sports) - Sept. 19th at 1:00pm
- Tourist Cafe/ Jim & Judy's Cafe (UpNorth Gifts) - Oct. 17th at 11:00am
- The Mint Bar - Nov. 7th at 1:00pm
- Brandner's Meat Market - Nov. 14th 11:00am
- AGAIN THESE LECTURES WILL BE AT THE THEATER -

All of these lectures are free for the Public to attend and will last no more than 45 minutes. Most lectures are "standing room" only, we will bring some seating, but we advise guests to bring a chair or walker.

If you do plan on coming, please fill out this RSVP Form!
https://zfrmz.com/ghUVo2WENTH7wBfUEA68

REMINDER to all of our Members that we will be hosting our Annual Membership meeting at BuckShot's Saloon!This is a Memb...
08/18/2026

REMINDER to all of our Members that we will be hosting our Annual Membership meeting at BuckShot's Saloon!

This is a Member's Only event where the Eagle River Historical Society hosts its Annual Member's Meeting. Since we have been extremely busy this year with events and especially with the construction of the new Heritage Center at the main museum, we are forced to host our Annual Membership meeting off campus.

Please RSVP by emailing us at [email protected] and we will send you the ballot form for voting for new board members!

Address

1181 Highway 45 South
Eagle River, WI
54521

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 3pm
Thursday 11am - 3pm
Friday 11am - 3pm

Telephone

(715) 337-0811

Website

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