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Dodge County Attractions
Settled
in the early 1800's, Dodge County is a unique blend of natural
beauty, a rich agricultural heritage, picturesque communities,
historic sites and state-of-the-art industrial technology. Founded
in 1836 by Territorial Governor, Henry Dodge, many of the county's
communities were settled well before Wisconsin became a state,
and most offer historical sites and museums that highlight their
long and colorful histories.
The county is
best known for its natural attractions, including the Horicon
Marsh, the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States.
Known as the "Little Everglades of the North," Horicon
Marsh was formed by a glacial lake and is part of the Ice Age
Reserve. Here, visitors will find over 219 species of birds and
waterfowl, including magnificent trumpeter swans returning from
near extinction and a 100-year absence from the marsh. Other species
found in abundance include egrets, herons, cormorants, sandhill
cranes, several species of migrating ducks, tundra swans, and
Canada Geese by the thousands.
Dodge County's
many lakes and streams provide four seasons of outdoor fun, including
water skiing, ice fishing, sailing, boating, canoeing, swimming
and duck hunting. There are enough trout, walleyes, muskies, northern,
bass, catfish, perch, crappies, bluegills and other panfish in
the county's waters to keep the anglers coming back for more.
Boats, canoes, tackle and bait are available from outfitters throughout
the county, and public and private boat ramps provide easy access
to great fishing adventure.
The county's many
public hunting grounds provide plenty of room and an abundance
of deer, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, pheasants, geese, other fowl
and small game to challenge every hunter, from beginner to seasoned
veteran.
The county is
criss-crossed by hundreds of miles of hiking, bicycling, snowmobiling,
ATVing, horseback riding and cross-country ski trails ranging
in difficulty from the easy grade of the well-groomed Wild Goose
Trail to the marked but ungroomed cross-country trail through
the Horicon Marsh. Altogether, Dodge County boasts more than 500
miles of snowmobile trails connecting to corridor trails in Dane,
Columbia, Fond du Lac and Washington Counties.
Golfers will find
a number of picturesque and challenging courses in Dodge County
complete with pro shops, restaurants and 19th hole hospitality.
The area also boasts a number of driving ranges, golfing centers
and miniature golf courses for family enjoyment. Many area parks
also offer tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, picnic sites
and shelters, children's playgrounds and restroom facilities.
Casual browsers
and serious collectors are sure to enjoy the antiques, collectibles,
furniture, linens, vintage clothing, quilts lamps, fine art, art
glass, dolls and recent treasures offered by more than 230 dealers
in antique and collectibles shops and malls throughout Dodge County,
from Watertown to Waupun. Here, too, shoppers will find one of
Wisconsin's oldest and largest craft and hobby shops, quilting,
sewing and fabric stores, craft outlets and enclosed general merchandise
malls.
Outdoors in Waupun,
"The City of Sculpture," stand seven heroic bronzes,
including James E. Fraser's historic and world-renowned depiction
of a weary warrior mounted on his exhausted pony at the "End
of the Trail". Throughout the county there are more than
300 historic and architecturally significant structures waiting
to be rediscovered; from the nation's first kindergarten building,
an 1848 four-story octagonal mansion, 1850's neo-gothic churches,
an 1852 Gothic Revival prison, a fanciful 1880 Queen Anne-style
park pavilion, and late 19th century Italianate commercial establishments
to a 1925 Art Moderne lannon stone gas station complete with turret.
Whether you want
to dine in style or eat on the run, there's a Dodge County dining
establishment to serve you, including an historic inn, rated one
of Wisconsin's ten best by the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel's food
critic, family restaurants featuring fresh Dodge County ingredients
and home cooking "better than Grandma's", fast food
outlets, old-fashioned drive-ins and authentic ethnic restaurants.
Dodge County offers
visitors a wide range of lodgings from campsites under the stars
to luxurious accommodations in a restored 19th century inn or
Victorian Mansion, full-service RV parks, economy motels, resort
cottages and country hide-aways.
A
trip to Dodge County offers a perfect destination for the nature-lover,
the history buff, the outdoor adventurer, and, in fact the whole
family!
Museums and Historic
Sites Back to top
Hollenstein
Wagon & Carriage Factory
Museum and Home
German Street, Mayville
920-387-5233
Visitors to the 1878 Hollenstein Wagon and Carriage Factory will
find six original wagons and a carriage manufactured here, along
with historical items and photographs of Mayville's past. Also
featured is a home constructed in 1876 and furnished in period
style with a millinery display, clothing and toy collections;
a fire house with artifacts of Mayville's Fire Department; memorabilia
from Mayville's churches; and depictions of an early barber shop
and the Brunke Cigar Factory.
Mayville Limestone
School Museum
North Main & Buchanan Streets, Mayville
800-256-7670
Housed in a magnificent 1857-1877 Greek Revival building listed
on the National Registry of Historic Places, the Mayville Limestone
School Museum presents glimpses of the past displayed in ten rooms
and galleries, including a furnished and restored 19th Century
classroom, the Edgar G. Mueller Photo Gallery, Hugo Fenske Wild
Game Room, Elsmer Pieper's Boy Scout Memorabilia, the Charles Henderson
Collection of Indian Relics, the Dick Ruedebusch Jazz Exhibit,
the Cap Blohm Art Gallery, Ted Bachhuber's African Collection,
and the "When Iron Was King" History Room. Open May-October
on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month, or by appointment. Call Don Bauer, 920-387-2593, or email him at
info@mlsm.org.
Dodge County
Historical Society Museum
105 Park Ave., Beaver Dam
920-887-1266
The Dodge County Historical Society Museum is located in a Richardson
Romanesque building, towered and turreted, built of sandstone
and limestone in 1890 to hold the Williams Free Library. The exhibits
housed within are as impressive as the museum's exterior, including
the first new car delivered to Beaver Dam in 1902, Indian artifacts,
railroad memorabilia, a fine doll collection, and local history
exhibits, railroad memorabilia, a fine doll collection, and local
history exhibits. Open year-round from 1 pm - 4 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
Satterlee Clark
House
322 Winter St., Horicon
920-485-3200
Learn about Horicon's history through the exhibits housed in the
Intalianate Satterlee Clark House, built in 1863, featuring restored
rooms and displays.
Fox Lake Historical
Museum
211 Cordelia St., Fox Lake
920-928-3777
Housed in a restored railroad depot, this museum features an extensive
collection of Native American Indian artifacts.
John Hustis
House
134 N. Ridge St., Hustisford
800-414-0101
Built in 1851 for the founder of the village of Hustisford, this
Greek Revival home museum displays artifacts from the Hustis family
and exhibits focusing on the early development of the community.
Dodge Center
Historical Society Museum
Oak and Depot Streets, Juneau
800-414-0101
Exhibits at this museum depict this community's early heritage.
Neosho Historical
Museum
Neosho
800-414-0101
The Neosho Museum's collection includes artifacts from an early
bank, fire house and iron mine.
Juneau Homestead
and John Scheifer Home
Main St., Theresa
800-414-0101
This museum, in the home he built in Theresa, contains furnishings
and displays of Solomon Juneau, the founder of the City of Milwaukee.
Seippel Homestead
& Center for the Arts
1605 N. Spring St., Beaver Dam
920-887-8879
Operated by the Beaver Dam Arts Association, the
Center at the Seippel Homestead presents a variety of collections
throughout the year, including a fiber arts exhibit, wildlife
exhibit and Christmas gift gallery.
Parks and Nature Centers
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Horicon Marsh
Dodge County
National Refuge, Mayville 920-387-2658
Wisconsin DNR, Horicon 920-387-7860
World famous for
its annual geese migrations, the marsh also provides annual habitat
for over 219 species of birds and waterfowl, including giant Canada
geese, a separate subspecies that nest in Wisconsin, egrets, cormorants,
sandhill cranes, eagles, osprey, herons, hawks, grossbeaks, rails,
and yellow-headed blackbirds. Here, too, fortunate viewers may
spot the most recent inhabitants -- magnificent trumpeter swans,
returning from near extinction and a 100-year absence from the
marsh.
Seasonal migrations
bring more -- peregrine falcons, ducks, tundra swans, warblers,
vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, plovers and sandpipers. In winter,
marsh visitors may spot snowy owls, short-eared owls, bald eagles,
snow buntings and a variety of finches as well as overwintering
Canada geese, red-tailed and rough-legged hawks, and horned larks.
An extinct glacial
lake, the Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh
in the United States. Known as the "Little Everglades of
the North", the marsh is a unit of the Ice Age Reserve and
one of only fifteen U.S. sites designated as "Wetland of
International Importance". Stretching 13 ½ miles from
Horicon north to East Waupun, and five miles wide, the 32,000-acre
marsh consists mostly of open water and cattail marsh. The southern
one-third, about 11,000 acres, is owned and managed by the Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources. This section is designated the
Horicon Marsh Wildlife Area. The northern two-thirds, an additional
21,000 acres, is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. fish and Wildlife
Service and is known as the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.
The marsh can
be viewed from the Horicon Marsh Parkway that encircles the entire
wetland area. To view its inhabitants at their natural, close-up
best, you can hike, snowshoe, cycle or cross-country ski, canoe
or boat the marsh on a self-guided tour or take a guided interpretive
cruise.
Dodge County
Wildlife Areas
Back
to top
800-414-0101
Westford Wildlife
Area
County Rd. CC & Poplar Ridge Rd., Westford
Shaw Marsh
Wildlife Area
South
Crystal Lake Rd., Beaver Dam
Mud Lake Wildlife
Area
County Rd. G, Mud Lake
Waterloo Wildlife
Area
Port Rd., Town of Portland
Horicon Ledge
Park
County Hwy. TW between Horicon and Mayville
920-386-3700
Horicon Ledge Park covers 83 acres along the Niagra Escarpment,
a natural rock ledge that divides the park into upper and lower
areas and provides a breathtaking overlook of the Horicon Marsh
and surrounding countryside. The upper portion is heavily wooded
and offers expansive picnicking and play areas, hiking trails
and campsites. The lower portion also offers facilities for picnicking,
hiking, and a group camping area. The hiking trails wind along
the ledge, between and over interesting and unique rock formations
and through heavily wooded areas. The park's many features include
hiking, biking, swimming, picnic shelters and areas, playgrounds,
electric and non-electric campsites, firewood and a resident Park
Attendant. Located in the north central part of Dodge County between
Horicon and Mayville, just off of Cty. Hwy. TW, Horicon Ledge
Park is a convenient place to stay while exploring the Horicon
Marsh, Wild Goose State Trail and many other Dodge County attractions.
The park is open year round for day use activities and open for
camping May 1 through November 1.
Derge Park
Beaver Dam Lake
920-386-3700
Located on the west central shore of 6500-acre Beaver Dam Lake,
Derge park is ideally suited for group picnics, family reunions
and other events for larger groups, and, an ideal location for
hunters and anglers looking for easy access to Beaver Dam Lake.
Park features include a boat ramp, fishing, enclosed group shelter,
playground, picnic areas, electric campsites, firewood, showers
and dump station. The park can be reached by following Business
Hwy. 151 or Hwy. 73 to County Hwy. G, then to Hwy. CP to the lake.
The park is open year round for day use activities and from May
1 through November 1 for camping.
Astico Park
Cty. Hwy. TT, East of Columbus
920-386-3700
Astico Park is 61 acres of woods and prairie on a peninsula bounded
by the historic Danville Mill Pond on the Crawfish River, located
three miles east of the City of Columbus. There is easy access
to the park from County Hwy. TT off of State Hwy. 60. Park activities
include fishing, canoeing, hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing.
Amenities include electric and non-electric campsites, showers,
dump station, artesian wells, playgrounds, group shelters, picnic
areas, and firewood. Large open playfields accommodate group activities
and the expansive shoreline provides good canoeing and fishing
opportunities in a scenic setting. The park is open year round
for camping and day use activities. Winter camping is subject
to site availability.
Wild Goose
State Trail
Juneau - Fond du Lac
920-386-3705
Linking the City of Juneau, "Gateway to the Wild Goose Trail"
and the City of Fond du Lac, this 34 mile compacted limestone
trail on an abandoned railbed traverses oak woodlots, fertile
farm fields, prairie remnants and sparkling streams as it runs
through the rural countrysides of Dodge and Fond du Lac Counties
and skirts the western edge of the internationally known Horicon
Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.
Wildlife, varied
scenery, and a level surface provide easy and enjoyable biking,
hiking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. ATV's are also
permitted on designated sections in Dodge County at designated
times, and horseback riding is permitted on a separate equestrian
trail section available at the southern trailhead at State Hwy.
60, at the Northern Trailhead on Rolling Meadows Drive in Fond
du Lac, and numerous points in between. Picnic areas and campgrounds
are also available in parks and nature centers along
and near the trail. Shuttle transportation services are also available
at the trailheads and the Horicon Trail Junction.
Points of Interest
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Wisconsin's
First Iron Smelter
Main Street, Mayville
262-387-5776
Visit the ironworks, the site of the iron smelter that first provided
the raw material for Mayville's still-flourishing metalcrafting
industry.
Swan City Park
Pavilion
South University Ave., Beaver Dam
262-887-8879
Visitors to historic Swan City Park are delighted by the ornate
and picturesque Queen Anne pavilion that serves as its centerpiece.
This quaint Spring House features the mineral water spring around
which Dr. George E. Swan founded a resort in 1880. The spring's
"Vita Water" was sold for its healing properties and
attracted people from the area for many years. Although the resort
buildings were removed in the 1940's, the Spring House still stands
and attracts admiring viewers from around the world.
City Sculptures
Waupun
920-324-3491
Only a handful of U.S. cities - all large metropolitan areas -
have more pieces of outdoor sculpture than Waupun, "The City
of Sculpture". There are seven bronze statues in Waupun,
one on private property just north of the city, all sculpted or
commissioned by early Waupun industrialist Clarence Shaler, including:
James E. Fraser's historic and world-renowned depiction of a weary
"Recording Angel" at the grave of Shaler's wife, Blanche
Bancroft Shaler, in Forest Mound Cemetery; Shaler's three-figure
tribute to his mother, "The Pioneers", located in Wilcox
Park at 426 S. Watertown Street; and "Dawn of Day",
located at 201 E. Main Street.
Wayland Academy
N. University Ave., Beaver Dam
Founded in 1855, Wayland Academy is one of the highest-ranking
college prep schools in the nation. College Hall, a brick-constructed
Greek Revival building once a dormitory, is an outstanding example
of mid-nineteenth century design.
Special Things To
Do Back to top
Farmer's Market
Enjoy farm fresh produce, meats, cheeses, baked goods, jams, jellies,
preserves, syrups, and more. In season, gardeners will find a
variety of bedding plants, annuals and perennials. Non-gardeners
will find fresh cut flowers and vegetables. Amidst the food, fun
and flowers, market-goers may also find unusual art and craft
items, music and entertaining street performers. Dodge County's
Farmers Markets are:
Juneau: Dodge County Courthouse Lawn, Fridays, June through September
(later, weather permitting)
Mayville: Historic Main Street, Wednesdays and Fridays, 7:00 a.m.
- noon, June through
October, 920-387-5776
Horicon Marsh
Bird Festival
Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area and National Wildlife Refuge
920-485-3200
During the second weekend in May, at the peak of the spring bird
migration, when well over 100 different kinds of birds can be
sighted on a single day, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, area bird clubs, Chambers of Commerce
and the Fond du Lac Convention and Visitors Bureau host the Horicon
Marsh Bird Festival. This marsh-wide event offers a wide variety
of outdoor activities, field trips, marsh tours, bird-banding
demonstrations and other events. Special activities are offered
for families and children. Entertainment, food and other special
events offered through local chambers of commerce round out the
weekend activities.
Must-Skis Waterski
Shows
Tahoe Park, Beaver Dam
920-887-8879
From Memorial Day through Labor Day, Beaver Dam's
Must-Skis Waterski Team performs, thrills and entertains at Tahoe
Park. Must Sunday shows begin at 6:00 P.M. Click here for complete schedule with
show times.
Fox Lake Historical
Days
Fox Lake
920-928-3223
In July, Fox Lake celebrates its heritage with Civil War battle
re-enactments, Confederate and Union encampments, a quilt show,
fine arts show and sale, old-time music, dance, tour of homes,
children's fish-a-ree, Ecumenical Sunday Service in the park and
Sunday afternoon pie and ice cream social and pontoon boat rides.
Call for dates and schedule of events.
Dodge County
Antique Power Show
Cty. Hwy. B & I, Burnett Corners
920-386-2441
In August, ancient, mighty and monstrous machines chug to life
at the annual Dodge County Antique Power Show. Witness the gigantic
and powerful engines of old - steam engines, antique tractors
and gas engines - ploughing, threshing, powering sawmills and
battling for best in an antique tractor pull; shop the flea market and
craft show, peruse the farm toy collection, enjoy the pedal pull,
relish the food, sweet corn and other refreshments.
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