Marathon County Historical Society Announce Plans for Expansion of Woodson History Center

Friday, July 12th, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) The Marathon County Historical Society has announced plans for an expansion of the Woodson History Center.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Executive Director Blake Opal-Wahoske says the group has run out of space to store items. “We are just completely out of room. We have nowhere to store Marathon County’s history anymore. So for us to further preserve Marathon County’s history and meet our mission, we need more space.”

That mission is to preserve artifacts for future generations. Opal-Wahoske says he’s always believed that history is relevant when it comes to understanding the present.

“We need to know where we’ve come from so we know where we are going in the future. If we don’t know the past, we don’t know how we got to the present.” Others say the expansion is vital to allowing the MCHS to fulfill their educational responsibilities.

“This will afford us greater opportunity to show artifacts that we hold but the public doesn’t get to see,” said President Russ Wilson. “In fact, the exhibit we have on display right now is called ‘A Peak Inside’ is all about- things people generally wouldn’t get to see.”

It will also allow more space for curators to rotate displays. Wilson says that is a process in itself. “We will have a workshop and staging area because when exhibits are switched out for new exhibits there is a lot of carpentry work that has to be done.”

It will also mean more room for the documents and photos that make up the wide majority of the collection. Wilson says. The museum recently took in a manual telephone switchboard from the Mosinee Telephone Company, which Opal-Wahoske and others say took up the last of their available storage space.

The expanded space will feature state-of-the-art security, fire protection, climate control, and a more efficient display space. Construction will be completed in two phases beginning next year with a new 30,000-square-foot John and Carolyn Sonnentag Legacy Center, which will go up on a lot near the current History Center. Design plans for that building are currently being finalized.

The second phase involves the expansion of the current History Center and reconfiguration of current storage facilities. The project will also bring expanded on-site parking. No completion date has been set.

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