News: Neillsville - 1897 Clark Co. Jail Museum (Feb Mtg - 2015)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Roberts, North, Wells

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 3/11/2015

The 1897 Clark County Jail Museum (Feb Meeting - 2015)

After the officer reports at the Feb. 3 meeting, President Steve Roberts displayed photos he had produced from a group of glass slides. They included photos of farms from about 1927. He has been working with plat maps to identify the farms located just north of Neillsville.

He has also been tracking the location of the Neillsville Post Office over the last century. Locations have included the former Berger’s Store, the Odd Fellows Hall (West and 5th, SE corner) and 631 Hewett, just north of the current location of the post office.

Plans for the Winter Carnival open house were reviewed. (The first floor was open Saturday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to display some of the museum’s photo collection. Many visitors enjoyed talking about their family’s part in Neillsville history. Visitors could share photos of events from the early part of the 20th century up to the 70s and 80s. Volunteers were on hand to scan photos and return the originals. Hot cider and hot chocolate were available to make everyone comfortable.)

The rotating temporary exhibit room on the second floor will have a new exhibit this year, as the Civil War Sesquicentennial 150th anniversary has been removed. Look for something new and exciting when the museum reopens Memorial Day Weekend.

The furnace motor has now been replaced. This cold winter has been a real test on our equipment.

New donations include boxes of photos from the North family and the O. P. Wells family. It is very important to accession the new items as quickly as possible just to keep up with the number of items.

Spring clean-up will be coming up soon to prepare for the school tours in May and the Memorial Day weekend season opening. Anyone interested in working ‘behind the scenes’ can contact the museum office and leave a message.

The next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Museum, 215 East Fifth St. Neillsville. Interested individuals are always welcome to attend monthly meetings or contact the museum by email at:
1897ccjm@tds.net  or by calling 715-743-2150 (Museum) or 715-743-6234 (Natalie Erpenbach)