The Seedy Little Story Behind Manor Hall

If the walls could talk at Manor Hall, located at 4344 Douglas Avenue, they would probably make you blush.

Hardworking miners, weary after a day pulling stone, came to a Douglas Avenue tavern for a beer—and companionship—according to local historial Michael Michna.  The year was 1897 and Caledonia was known as Ives Station. Miners on the northwest corner of 3 Mile Road and Douglas Avenue, came a little bit north, to the building known as Manor Hall, 4344 Douglas Ave., after work.  "It was the red light district," Michna said. "There was a livery stable and the quarry was in the area. This also served as a stopping point between Racine and Milwaukee and there were saloons and brothels in the area." Christie Kern, who owns Racine Community Acupuncture, had her business in the building a few years ago. "Well, as a matter of fact, prior to the nuns…

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PHOTO GALLERY: Caledonia Historical Society Homecoming

Honor southeastern Wisconsin's heritage by going to the Caledonia Historical Society's Coming Home event. This free event will feature the “new” 1840 Ruud log cabin and the Myers Museum.

The Caledonia Historical Society’s Home Coming event kicked off this morning  at Linwood Park, 5900 W 5 Mile Rd. The event will run until 4 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. This free event will feature the “new” 1840 Ruud log cabin and the Myers Museum. The flag raising will start off the event at 10 a.m. Saturday and the day will finish with a homemade pie auction. You can take a tour of the “new” 1840 Ruud Log cabin and the Myers Museum; listen to an Appalachian storyteller, Sari Semple, portrayed by Jessica Michna. You can also:

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Michael Michna

10:57 pm on Sunday, September 16, 2012

My sincere thanks to everyone, participants and guests, who made this event a great success. Michael Michna, President Caledonia Historical Society   more ›

Caledonia Historical Society Prepares For Homecoming Festival

Honor southeastern Wisconsin's heritage by going to the Caledonia Historical Society's Coming Home event. This free event will feature the “new” 1840 Ruud log cabin and the Myers Museum.

Step back in time at the Caledonia Historical Society’s Home Coming event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 15 and 16 at Linwood Park, 5900 W 5 Mile Rd. This free event will feature the “new” 1840 Ruud log cabin and the Myers Museum. The flag raising will start off the event at 10 a.m. Saturday and the day will finish with a homemade pie auction. You can take a tour of the “new” 1840 Ruud Log cabin and the Myers Museum; listen to an Appalachian storyteller, Sari Semple, portrayed by Jessica Michna. You can also:

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Caledonia Historical Society Coupon Card Sale Going On Now

The Caledonia Historical Society is trying to raise funds for their projects at Linwood Park and they are selling coupon cards.

Caledonia Historical Coupon Card Sale

Support the Caledonia Historical Society as they remind us of our heritage at Linwood Park.

Restoration, Construction Work Continues On Two Historical Society Structures

New museum building, train depot work in Linwood Park to be complete by the end of the summer.

Construction and restoration work is currently being done on two Caledonia Historical Society structures in Linwood Park, with the hopes the projects will be complete by the end of the summer.  The construction work involves building a new museum building, being underwritten by Royse and Barbara Myers, and interior and exterior improvements to the Sturtevant Train Depot.  "(The museum) will house a lot of our artifacts that are stuffed in any corner that we can find right now," said Michael Michna, president of the Caledonia Historical Society, which works to preserve and promote the village's history. The depot project involves painting, installing a floor in a room and installing a fireplace. The project also consists of making it more …

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Historical Museum On Hold

Caledonia officials put a stop to the project because they were upset that members of the Caledonia Historical Society didn’t seek input from the Parks Commission for any of their Linwood Park projects.

Plans to build a museum in Linwood Park were delayed after the Village revoked the Caledonia Historical Society’s building permit at Monday’s Village Board meeting. The Village Board relinquished control, maintenance and operation of Linwood Park to the Caledonia Historical Society last year. Since then, the CHS has moved a caboose to the park, built a log cabin and wanted to start building a museum with a non-working blacksmith shop. The Village Board knew about the caboose and log cabin, but not the museum/blacksmith shop. When they found out about the Historical Society’s plans, they also realized no one from the historical society had sought permission from the Parks Commission for any of the projects, said Trustee Kathy Burton. “The …

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Caledonia Historical Society Rebuilding Cabin

They know this cabin was likely built before Wisconsin became a state.

A piece of Caledonia history is being resurrected at Linwood Park on Five Mile Road just east of Highway 38. A login cabin, which was deconstructed and moved from a property on Highway 31, is now being put back together in Linwood Park. Last year the Village Board relinquished the control, maintenance and operation of Linwood Park to the Caledonia Historical Society. Now, a historical campus is taking shape and includes a one-room schoolhouse, a train depot, a caboose, and a log cabin. Plans are also underway to add a museum on the property this spring. The story behind how the Historical Society came to acquire the log cabin is unique. Al and Patty Ruud, who own about 40 acres on Highway 31 just south of Four Mile Road, wanted a house, …

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GREATEST PEOPLE: The Michnas, For Keeping Caledonia's Past Alive

Stories connect the present with the past, say Michael and Jessica Michna. Their work to keep those connections strong has made them two of Caledonia Patch's Greatest People.

Michael and Jessica Michna believe people connect with history when they can look back in time to a captured moment. Moments like those in Thompsondale, a neighborhood of summer cabins on the Root River, where bands played at a dance pavilion and residents held an annual Venetian Nights celebration. “They’d lash together canoes and hold a lighted parade along the river,” said Jessica Michna. “The dance pavilion still exists today in Armstrong Park.” Then there’s Tamarack Creek, a long-lost tributary to the Root River that now runs solely underground through Racine County residents’ basements that a farmer mentioned casually one day. “The histories of these families, of the people who lived here are so important,” Michael said. Michael is …

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Denise Lockwood

1:11 am on Sunday, October 9, 2011

Michael... glad to help.   more ›

COMMENTARY: My Impressions Of Caledonia's Homecoming

The Caledonia Historical Society did an excellent job and I was happy to be a part of it.

I wanted to take the time to point out how nice the Caledonia Homecoming was last weekend. Sure the rain made things a little interesting, but eventually the sun came out and people flocked to an event that offered up some of Caledonia’s seemingly absent sense of community. Let me qualify that statement. Caledonia seems like they are absent of a sense of community because we don’t have a downtown and we have a fragmented patchwork quilt of neighborhoods and farms. So we work, we go home, we sleep, and then repeat. If we go out to dinner, we might occasionally eat at a local joint, but not often. If we shop, we might hit up a local joint, but not often. But if you have a kid playing soccer or riding a horse, we have you covered. So we don't…

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Michael Michna

4:53 pm on Friday, September 30, 2011

To everyone who helped make out "Homecoming" a success, I say THANK YOU. Michael Michna, President Caledonia Historical Society   more ›