EXHIBITS
The Driftless Historium Museum is an award winning Interpretive Center telling the story of Southwestern Dane County from pre-history to modern day. Over 3,000 square feet of space is dedicated to sharing the lives of our rich cultural heritage. The story is told through carefully chosen artifacts, documents and photographs from the Society's extensive collection. Visit all three of our exhibit areas.
Come and share the fun and learn about the unique Driftless Area of Wisconsin. Hours daily 10am - 4:00 pm. (Weather Closing Policy)
Come and share the fun and learn about the unique Driftless Area of Wisconsin. Hours daily 10am - 4:00 pm. (Weather Closing Policy)
Permanent Exhibit
The Driftless Historium premiered its permanent exhibit in the renovated 2000 square foot exhibit hall, located in the facility’s north wing.
A year and a half in the making this fascinating walk through history will take visitors on a journey from the great glaciers to the present. Along the way meet American Indians, miners, innkeepers, farmers, cheese makers, sports men, preachers, school teachers, shop keepers, tourists and Civilian Conservation Corps participants as you discover their stories through words, documents, photos, and hundreds of artifacts.
The exhibit incorporates all levels of the museum experience from diorama settings, hands on stations, interactive questions, and media outlets. There is something for all ages!
A year and a half in the making this fascinating walk through history will take visitors on a journey from the great glaciers to the present. Along the way meet American Indians, miners, innkeepers, farmers, cheese makers, sports men, preachers, school teachers, shop keepers, tourists and Civilian Conservation Corps participants as you discover their stories through words, documents, photos, and hundreds of artifacts.
The exhibit incorporates all levels of the museum experience from diorama settings, hands on stations, interactive questions, and media outlets. There is something for all ages!
A sampling of subjects you'll discover:
Driftless Land
Immigraton
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Ebenezer Brigham
Cheese Factories
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Tourism
Civil War
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Aslak O. Lie
Agriculture
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NOW SHOWING in the Special Exhibits Gallery through March 30, 2020
“Within the Driftless,” a special exhibition spotlighting rural Mount Horeb-based artist Kathy Hofmann, opens Saturday, February 15 at the Driftless Historium. The fine arts gallery show will feature new paintings by Hofmann, as well as a photographic study by local photographer Ron E. Lutz II. This installation will show daily, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. free of charge, through Monday, March 30, 2020.
The public is invited to a Gallery Opening & Artist Reception on Saturday, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Both contributing artists will be present and refreshments will be served. Reservations are not required.
Wisconsin native Kathy Hofmann has spent the past decade in the Driftless area painting local rural landscapes. Hofmann’s quiet, intimate paintings recall the work of the Barbizon painters and Luminist style of the Hudson River School. As with those painters, Hofmann reveres and finds inspiration in the land. Her desire to document this unique region is spurred by both a reverence for the land, and an awareness of inevitability of human impact and natural processes—she knows the landscape can and will change.
A series of photographs by Ron Lutz II add even more depth to the exhibit. With a background in museum and gallery work (including time in the Exhibits Department of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Lutz traveled with Kathy for weeks across the countryside of southwestern Dane County, documenting her artistic journey as she sought out and captured the Driftless vistas, views and animal inhabitants that would be featured, in spirit or substance, in her paintings.
“Within the Driftless” is, then, both an homage to our natural surroundings, and an insightful look at the artistic birthing process of this homage.
Kathy Hofmann holds an MFA in Painting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her work is exclusively represented by Milwaukee’s Tory Folliard Gallery. All “Within the Driftless” works will be available for sale, with a portion of proceeds donated to the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society.
For more information on this special exhibit or the related February 15, 2020 Gallery Opening & Artist Reception, call 608-437-6486 or email mthorebhistory@mhtc.net.
The public is invited to a Gallery Opening & Artist Reception on Saturday, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Both contributing artists will be present and refreshments will be served. Reservations are not required.
Wisconsin native Kathy Hofmann has spent the past decade in the Driftless area painting local rural landscapes. Hofmann’s quiet, intimate paintings recall the work of the Barbizon painters and Luminist style of the Hudson River School. As with those painters, Hofmann reveres and finds inspiration in the land. Her desire to document this unique region is spurred by both a reverence for the land, and an awareness of inevitability of human impact and natural processes—she knows the landscape can and will change.
A series of photographs by Ron Lutz II add even more depth to the exhibit. With a background in museum and gallery work (including time in the Exhibits Department of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History), Lutz traveled with Kathy for weeks across the countryside of southwestern Dane County, documenting her artistic journey as she sought out and captured the Driftless vistas, views and animal inhabitants that would be featured, in spirit or substance, in her paintings.
“Within the Driftless” is, then, both an homage to our natural surroundings, and an insightful look at the artistic birthing process of this homage.
Kathy Hofmann holds an MFA in Painting from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her work is exclusively represented by Milwaukee’s Tory Folliard Gallery. All “Within the Driftless” works will be available for sale, with a portion of proceeds donated to the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society.
For more information on this special exhibit or the related February 15, 2020 Gallery Opening & Artist Reception, call 608-437-6486 or email mthorebhistory@mhtc.net.
Virtual Tour of the Mount Horeb Area: History in 3D!!
View the exterior, interior and grounds of the Norway Building, constructed for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. At the end of the fair, the building was moved to a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin estate later owned by the Wrigley family of chewing gum fame. Eventually it was moved to Little Norway, a local attraction in rural Blue Mounds.
When Little Norway closed University of Wisconsin - Madison students filmed the building and grounds. The building has since been moved back to Orkanger Norway, where it was originally crafted.
Also on view are the historic Springdale Lutheran Church and a local "hanging" dairy barn, now part of Rare Earth Farm, owned and cared for by Charles Bauer and Charles Beckwith.
View the exterior, interior and grounds of the Norway Building, constructed for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. At the end of the fair, the building was moved to a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin estate later owned by the Wrigley family of chewing gum fame. Eventually it was moved to Little Norway, a local attraction in rural Blue Mounds.
When Little Norway closed University of Wisconsin - Madison students filmed the building and grounds. The building has since been moved back to Orkanger Norway, where it was originally crafted.
Also on view are the historic Springdale Lutheran Church and a local "hanging" dairy barn, now part of Rare Earth Farm, owned and cared for by Charles Bauer and Charles Beckwith.
Kalscheur Room Gallery Exhibits
Temporary changing exhibits are open during regular museum hours in the Kalscheur Family meeting room. These are small installations of various subjects displayed in cases or wall mounted exhibitions.
For additional information on some of the exhibits see our "Events" page.
Temporary changing exhibits are open during regular museum hours in the Kalscheur Family meeting room. These are small installations of various subjects displayed in cases or wall mounted exhibitions.
For additional information on some of the exhibits see our "Events" page.