Vernon County Museum Notes: Reflections on early Ontario, Whitestown

Turning again to the business directories on the 1878 Vernon County plat map, today we’ll look at the town of Whitestown. Of the five businesses listed in this directory, four are in the village of Ontario.

Palen Park: Before and after

Although Ontario has diminished since the August 2018 flood and the subsequent removal of many downtown buildings, one bright spot […]

St. Luke’s to be placed on National Registers

On Saturday, Oct. 1, St. Luke’s Church, located at 30013 Oxford Road in rural Elroy, invites everyone to join them to celebrate being officially listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

An icy day in Wilton in 1922

Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of a severe ice storm that swept the area. Herbert Anderson took this photo of downtown Wilton on that day. (Photo contributed by Alice Brandau)

Monroe County Retired Teachers Association, 1992

A remembrance: Elroy’s opera house

There’s an empty corner lot on Elroy’s main street these days.

Oil City country school, 1948–49

These students attended the Oil City country school in 1948-49.

F&M Bank, 1929

Manager George H. Robertson stands in Farmers & Merchants Bank in Kendall in 1929.

Oden School, 1944

This photo, courtesy of Jeanette Berg of Tomah, offers a peek back at Oden, one of Vernon County’s forgotten towns

Oden/Ontario Homemakers, 1950s

Shown here are the Oden and Ontario Homemakers in about 1955.

A thaw in Wilton, 1930s

Runoff from a spring thaw covers Highway 131 just south of Wilton, looking south, in this circa-1930s photo by Herbert Anderson.