In the late 1980s, the Outagamie County Historical Society conducted a capital campaign to raise the funds to convert the Masonic Temple into what is now The History Museum at The Castle. Since that time the Museum has presented 40 exhibitions, welcomed four million visitors including more than 175,000 students and their teachers and preserved a rich and diverse collection of 15,000 objects, 35,000 photographs and 800 cubic feet of documents.
Twenty years later, we return to the community for help on another project as important as the last. The History Museum is pleased to announce the launch of its History in the Making campaign to raise $1.57 million. This new project will provide desperately needed storage space for the Museum’s collections and create an exhibit gallery specifically designed to exhibit fragile artifacts.
The majority of the funds will go towards the restoration of a historic building adjacent to the Museum, 326 East College Avenue. The 19th century storefront will be reconditioned to create 2,800 square feet of climate and light controlled collections space and 1,400 square feet to showcase textiles and other fragile artifacts. The additional storage space will allow the Museum to resume active collection of 3-dimensional artifacts, which is currently in a 10-year long freeze. Another important component of the project is the addition of two restrooms, which are needed both for visitor convenience and for the Museum to be compliant with health codes.
Included in the project’s fundraising goal is $300,000 for the Museum’s endowment. Money from the endowment will cover the increased operational costs associated with the expanded facility. The campaign is projected to take care of the Museum’s major needs long into the future-another capital project is not anticipated for another 20-25 years.
The Museum is proud to announce that an anonymous donor has contributed up to $200,000 as a dollar for dollar match challenge. In addition, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation has contributed $75,000. A $30,000 gift was made to the endowment and the OCHS Board of Directors have pledged another $20,000, so we are off to a good start! Over the course of the last year, the Museum has acquired planning grants to hire architectural and conservation experts to guide us on how to build a safe and secure environment for the collections. Currently there are several federal, state and private grants pending for the project.
The Museum estimates it will need an additional $750,000 from the community to complete construction, create new ways to showcase and preserve collections, and to enhance educational and cultural programs. It is our hope you will contribute generously to this important project.
Coming soon!
Coming soon!
326 East College Avenue ca. 1890.
When the History in the Making Capital Campaign successfully concludes, this historic structure will be restored and adapted to become an annex to the History Museum for exhibit and artifact storage space.
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· The History Museum at the Castle
330 East College Avenue · Appleton, Wisconsin 54911 · 920.735.9370
