Places

A list of museums and historical societies in Wisconsin and beyond, including database contributors, sites I’ve visited and inspiring institutions.

For a comprehensive listing of the more than 360 local and county historical societies affiliated with the Wisconsin Historical Society, consult the Directory of Local History Organizations.

For more information on museums in Wisconsin, see the Wisconsin Federation of Museums. Portal Wisconsin also offers an extensive list of Wisconsin historic sites and museums.

Links to the ten historic sites operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society can be found here.

IN WISCONSIN

Brillion Historical Society
Brown County Historical Society, Green Bay
Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion, Milwaukee
Chazen Museum of Art, Madison
Chippewa Valley Museum, Eau Claire
Design Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dodge County Historical Society, Beaver Dam
Douglas County Historical Society, Superior
Dunn County Historical Society, Menomonie
Elmbrook Historical Society, Brookfield
Fairlawn Mansion, Superior
Fort Winnebago Surgeons’ Quarters, Portage
Grant County Historical Society, Lancaster
Green Bay-De Pere Antiquarian Society
Hawk’s Inn, Delafield
Heritage Hill State Historic Park, Green Bay
Historic Indian Agency House, Portage
History Museum at the Castle, Appleton
Hoard Historical Museum, Fort Atkinson
James Watrous Gallery, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, Madison
John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan
Kenosha Public Museum
Little Norway, Blue Mounds
Manitowoc County Historical Society
Marathon County Historical Society, Wausau
Mayville Historical Society
Milwaukee Art Museum
Milwaukee County Historical Society
Milwaukee Public Museum
Mineral Point Historical Society
Mining Museum and Rollo Jamison Museum, Platteville
Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society
Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend
Neville Public Museum of Brown County, Green Bay
New Holstein Historical Society
Oshkosh Public Museum
Oconto County Historical Society
Peshtigo Fire Museum
Rock County Historical Society, Janesville
Rusk County Historical Society, Ladysmith
Sauk County Historical Society, Baraboo
Sheboygan County Historical Society
Ten Chimneys, Genesee Depot
Two Rivers Historical Society
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum, Milwaukee
Wilson Place Museum, Menomonie
Wisconsin  Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts, Cedarburg
Wrightstown Historical Society

BEYOND

American Folk Art Museum, New York
Art Institute of Chicago
Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Hermitage, Nashville
Holland Museum, Michigan
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture, New Braunfels, Texas
National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, Iowa
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware