2025 Preparing for the Season at the Museum Site

OPENING WEEKEND

JUNE 7 & 8, 12pm-4pm

Heavy Hands Forge- blacksmithing demos on Saturday.

For eighty-three years the volunteers of the Lake Mills Aztalan Historical Society have been preparing the museum site for summer visitors.

There are dust covers to remove and shake out, displays need glass cleaned and wood oiled, hundreds of dead bugs to vacuum or sweep out of buildings, sticks and branches to pick up around our 8.5 acres, windows to wash, bathrooms to clean, septic inspection and pumping to get arranged, fire inspection to be completed, fire extinguishers to be certified and so much more in order to be ready for visitors from all over the country and even some world travelers who visit the museum and adjacent state park.

In addition to the general cleaning, we also take time to do repair work on the buildings, landscaping and weeding because the weeds don't seem to know when we are closed; taking over the flower beds early spring when we aren't looking. And with part of the property being wooded, there are always downed trees and branches to cut up and remove after a hard Wisconsin winter. And squirrels, birds, raccoons, rabbits, chipmunks and wood chucks are on the hunt to find comfy homes to raise their babies, and we have to do some evictions before the party animals damage our historic buildings and collections.

This year we are getting a new entrance sign for the museum; we have some exciting things planned for Aztalan Day weekend in July with a Civil War reenactor group and a new roof will be completed on the Marme Log Church, to name a few exciting things to look forward to.

A few displays will be changed to share new artifacts and stories with visitors, but many are the tried-and-true displays that generations of visitors have enjoyed about Ancient Aztalan and the pioneer days of Aztalan and Lake Mills.

During the season, even after the initial cleaning of the buildings, we are still battling boxelder bugs and Japanese beetles who are looking for warmer places to hang out including wasps, need we say more. . . .

The weeds keep growing and the animals continue to find our log cabins great residences so it's a never-ending task to keep the site up over the summer.

We have a hard-working core group of volunteers who help make this happen, many are Board members while some are new volunteers, but all are dedicated to helping to keep the museum site going and we are incredibly grateful for their dedication. If you are interested in volunteering please contact us, we have many opportunities for people to help.

We are looking forward for our 83rd year, come out to visit us, bring a friend, show your support for our mission of preserving and sharing our local history.

Repairs to Zickert Cabin due to animal nesting by volunteer and Board member Jeremy Stewart and Michael Taylor (not pictured)