The Galloway House and Village is a historical site ran by the Fond du Lac Historical Society. The House is the original Galloway Family home and the village is comprised of other buildings from around the county. The village has many buildings you would typically find in a late 1800s, early 1900s village. Each building contains artifacts specific to that business so you can get see what life was really like. Except for the Galloway House, all the other buildings are part of a self-guided tour. There is a tour guide that tells about the mansion.
When we got to the village, I was a little skeptical. There were no cars in the parking lot and the buildings looked run down. It turned out that they weren’t quite open yet because the volunteers for the morning shift never showed up. Normally they are open 10-4 on Sundays and the one volunteer was hoping the 1:00 volunteers would show up. While we were browsing the main building, another couple walked in and they decided to open.
You can actually start the tour in the museum which has artifacts from before Wisconsin was a state up through at least the Vietnam War. It was crowded and not that spectacular. Mom and I had a good laugh about the baby bassinets wondering which one we should get for my brother or if they could use a diaper washer.
or an airplane of sorts....
a police motorcycle...
or maybe this old fire box
After we checked out the museum, we started to explore the village. Some of the buildings were more exciting than others. I wish they were a little more interactive.
I did have fun sitting in school
Playing in the toy shop
And working in the print shop
About halfway through the village, we came to the Galloway House. At first I wasn’t sure it was open because all the doors were closed. However, the lights were on so I checked it out. Of course it was open… it just had the AC going. What a glorious feeling on a hot day.
The Galloway house was home to the Galloways who were prominent dairy farmers in Fond du Lac and later statesmen and furniture sellers I believe. The house started out as a small tree trunk cabin and ended up as the mansion today with 3 additions added on over the years.
Original Cabin
Our tour guide was very informative explaining the history of the house, the Galloways, as well as some of the unique features in the house including the intercom system. After explain the rooms downstairs, we headed up stairs to see the bedrooms. Edwin P Galloway, who was the last Galloway to live in the house, had his own room and all the toys in his room were his actual toys growing up as a boy. Before he died, he would sit on the front porch and tell visitors about growing up in the house. That would have been interesting to hear.
Original Carpet with G for Galloway in it
After leaving the house we continued to tour the village. However, we didn’t pay too much attention to the map and missed several buildings including the Mill, the Caboose, and the Smithy. Apparently all these buildings were behind the carriage house. I should have looked at the map more carefully. I want to go back tell them I missed all these buildings, and ask if I can get a refund. To be honest, we never saw them or a path leading to them. I kind of saw the farm but I wasn’t sure if it was part of the village or just storage.
Apparently there were scavenger hunts too. I saw the sheets after we were done. I would love a good scavenger hunt. Maybe then we wouldn't have missed all those buildings.
The hubby asked if it was worth $10 and I said if we didn’t get to go in the house, probably not but the house alone was worth the $10 admission charge. I do hope I get back one day to see the rest of it. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon with Mom and Dad.
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