Welcome to the Iron County Historical Museum

Originally built in 1893 as the town hall for the Town of Vaughn, this mixture of architecture styles designed by Lyman Howland Ruggles became the Iron County Courthouse the following year. When a new courthouse was constructed at Hurley in the 1970s, the Iron County Historical Society saved this building from the wrecking ball.

Today it is open for your discovery. The museum offers you three enormous floors filled with exhibits reflecting the history of iron mining, lumbering, domestic life and the veterans from the north woods. There is also a gallery of photographs taken by the pioneering Emma A. Sackett and a research center to browse more than a century of local newspapers on microfilm.

The museum is included in the National Register of Historical Buildings. And it serves as the keystone in Iron County's designation as a Wisconsin Heritage Area.

This privately funded institution is primarily supported through the volunteer efforts of many good folks. In particular, the volunteers who bring history to life every day that the museum is open by weaving rag rugs on century-old looms provide the basic funding to operate the museum through the sale of their quality rugs. For more information about the rugs, check out the Weaving Room. Volunteer time and volunteer financial contributions have made this a real community treasure in Iron County.

To get an idea of the kinds of exhibits awaiting your discover, visit Page 2 for some tempting samples.

If you want to research the local history or your genealogy, visit our Research Page.

Finally, to learn more about our historical clock in the tower, visit the Clock Tower.

 

 

An old photo of the courthouse shows how the first floor once served as a stable to the fire department. When the fire bell rang, the horses would be harnessed to the rig and gallop out the front arch on their way to local emergencies.