Polk County Historical Society & Museum

Polk County Historical Society & Museum Preserving the past for future generations in Polk County Wisconsin. www.polkcountymuseum.org
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We've been perusing the Polk County Again page (highly recommend if you haven't started following it!) and we g...
09/02/2026

We've been perusing the Polk County Again page (highly recommend if you haven't started following it!) and we got some inspiration for today's

As with many of the items in our archives, we often discover videos highlighting new exhibits, like this one from June 2...
08/31/2026

As with many of the items in our archives, we often discover videos highlighting new exhibits, like this one from June 2014 when the Bison occidentalis bones were returned to the Polk County Museum. Check out the video below to learn more about the discovery and their journey back to Polk County.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzIgit5KoTQ

Special shout out to Russ from the Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society for uploading and sending us the link!

The garden work continues! We got the large shrubs and the giant telephone pole removed, thanks to the Balsam Lake Villa...
08/30/2026

The garden work continues! We got the large shrubs and the giant telephone pole removed, thanks to the Balsam Lake Village workers. Now, on to the rest of the plants!

More beautification in and around the museum! We've had an old air exchanger removed but it left a few open ducts that w...
08/29/2026

More beautification in and around the museum! We've had an old air exchanger removed but it left a few open ducts that we figured could get covered up. So we decided to make it a bit of an art project!

Since the ducts were in our art/craft exhibit room we decided to try our hand at a little bit of rosemaling/dalmalning. For first timers we're pretty proud of ourselves! Come check them out when you're at the museum next!

Someone dropped off a bunch of items, including these old Balsam Lake event buttons. Out of curiosity, does anyone have ...
08/28/2026

Someone dropped off a bunch of items, including these old Balsam Lake event buttons. Out of curiosity, does anyone have a full collection of Freedom Fest and Winter Fest buttons? Because we think we're getting close!

Balsam Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

Since we're gearing up for our first History on Tap this week at the Balsam Lake Brewery we figured we'd test your knowl...
08/26/2026

Since we're gearing up for our first History on Tap this week at the Balsam Lake Brewery we figured we'd test your knowledge on ol' Hell's Belle herself before the event.

We hope you stop by the Brewery this Thursday, August 27, at 4:00 for History on Tap!

New event, coming at ya! We're partnering with the Balsam Lake Brewery to host History on Tap! We don't know about you b...
08/24/2026

New event, coming at ya! We're partnering with the Balsam Lake Brewery to host History on Tap! We don't know about you but we dig some true crime stories. And we also have a LOT of newspapers. So what better way to hear about some true crime than through our own historical accounts?

This week's event features "Hell's Belle" Gunness as reported on by the Polk County Press. Come check it out, especially if you're headed over to the Balsam Lake Chamber of Commerce meeting right after this event! 🍻

Balsam Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

We are so excited, we got a grant to turn our garden into a native plant and pollinator friendly garden! It's going to b...
08/23/2026

We are so excited, we got a grant to turn our garden into a native plant and pollinator friendly garden!

It's going to be a bit of a labor-intensive process but we aren't afraid of a little hard work. Plus, it'll help us stretch our grant funding to purchase some really awesome outdoor signs to teach people more about native plants in Wisconsin.

We started by removing the old wrought iron fencing surrounding the space and boy does it already feel more inviting. Next we'll remove/kill all of the remaining plants as they're almost all non-native or invasive. Then in the late spring of next year we'll plant all sorts of native plants and watch them grow!

Thanks to the for seeing our vision for this space and for awarding us the funds to make it happen. We're so pumped to get started!

As we wrap another year of Pioneer School we want to share a couple of photos of the awesome participants. We also want ...
08/22/2026

As we wrap another year of Pioneer School we want to share a couple of photos of the awesome participants. We also want to thank school marm Tammy for her six years of teaching and we want to welcome Stephanie as our new school marm! It was an awesome year and be sure to stay tuned for next year's dates!

Address

120 West Main Street, PO Box 41
Balsam Lake, WI
54810

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12pm - 4pm
Thursday 12pm - 4pm
Friday 12pm - 4pm

Telephone

+17154859269

Website

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