Appleton Historical Society - A.H.S.

Emily Gilbert shares the history of the Appleton Public Library

Mission: To Preserve and Share the History of The City of Appleton

Cindy Czarnik-Neimeyer shares the history of Bellaire Court

The Appleton Historical Society was formed February 2010 by a group of Appleton area residents
who would like to see Appleton's History preserved and made accessible to the public.

Goals:

Encourage the preservation and display of Appleton historical items.
Regularly present public programs, such as history fairs, history walks and other public events.
Encourage the development of and assist in the operation of a museum that would specifically cover Appleton history.

Our Links page has a lot of info about the Appleton area. If we are missing a source, please let us know.
If you wish to receive our monthly e-mail updates, please send us an e-mail or call.

For your privacy, we don't share or sell e-mail lists. You can have yours removed at any time.

Ongoing Activities:

Meetings are open to everyone! Come join us for whatever type of historical interest you may have.
If you have ideas for activities or speakers at our monthly meetings, please e-mail us.

Next Meeting: February 15th, 7:00pm at Atlas Coffee Mill. Map to Atlas (click here)
Atlas Coffee Mill and Café,(next to Fratello's) 425 W. Water St. Appleton. Great food/refreshments available.

Meetings and Other Events:

February 15 – Brad Brautigam, Appleton Firefighter will discuss the history of the Fire department
March 3 – Appleton Historical Society’s History Fair, Downtown Appleton Indoor Farmer’s Market, 9:00-12:30
March 21 – Tom Boldt of Boldt Construction will discuss the Life of Harry Houdini
April 18 – Ivan Spangenberg , retired conductor of the Appleton City Band will discuss its history

You can now find Appleton Historical Society on Facebook!
And on YouTube!
Upcoming events, meetings and any other news will be posted there.
Feel free to create discussion groups based on your interests.

Also on Facebook, check out the Appleton page created by Kim Hanagan.
Remembering Appleton: Pictures from 1950's - 1970's Photo Page
Post your photos of Appleton for others to talk about, this site is great!

Get Involved

Attention members and non-members! Your talents are needed!
Because of growing interest in the Appleton Historical Society.

We need help with:

Dropping off brochures or flyers as needed (1.5 hours /month). E-promotion(1-2 hours /month)

People to write down, record, or video area residents that would like to have
their memories of Appleton preserved for all of us to enjoy(call or email us).

Also the Appleton Public Library is always in need for volunteers
to help preserve documents to add to their Appleton collection.

Someone to do a short presentation on Appleton Wire Works, Appleton Railroads,
or any current business that has a long history with Appleton.

Research:
If you have information about the following, Please email us!

E.C. Schmidt Cigar makers and Railroads of Appleton (any info).

Looking for any old pics of Riverview Country Club.

Looking for pics of businesses on Wisconsin Ave.

Also pics of College Ave. businesses in the area between Richmond and Mason St.

Pictures:
If you have interesting old Appleton pictures that you can't part with, let us scan them for others to see!
(this is a free service)

A BIG Thank You to our members and the other individuals that made our 3rd History Fair another great event!
Over 200 people attended to view the potpouri of items from Appleton history.

If YOU have ideas for other events or programs you would like to see for future events, please contact us.

Membership! Join the Appleton Historical Society
Individual $15, Family $25, Business $50, per calendar year.
Membership requires no special commitments, be involved as much or as little as you like.
Download Membership Application Here

Appleton Artifacts Collection on display on the 2nd floor of the Appleton Public Library in the Wisconsin area.
This is just a part of a collection that belongs to one of our members, very extensive, please stop up there for a look!
The Historic Zuelke Building has asked us to do a display there in the main lobby.
Stop in to check out old Appleton items from downtown, as displays will change periodically.

Other Activities and Goals:
A.H.S. volunteer to speak on a local radio station monthly/bi-monthly about Appleton history.
Help others that are interested in preserving their photos, artifacts, or memories of Appleton.
To make our website a complete source for preserving and information about the Appleton area.

Appleton Downtown Christmas Parade: Nov. 23, 2010
We would like to thank those that stopped by the old Conkey's store for our first event!
Thankfully we had enough cookies and hot coco for everyone.
A BIG Thanks to everyone who made this event possible ! Pictures

Video:
Appleton had the world's first commercially succesful streetcar powered by locally generated hydroelectricity, beginning on August 16, 1886. The last run of the trolley was April 6, 1930 when the system was replaced by city buses. The video on YouTube is just an edited version. The full version of the first and last run of the Appleton trolly can be purchased on DVD from the Appleton Historical Society for $20
Click here to see the video on YouTube

Other Video:
View other Appleton related videos and presentations from our monthly meetings at
youtube.com/apphistsociety

Pic of the week (click for larger picture)

Vintage P38 toy airplane made by the Joplin Co. of Appleton, about 1942. It was made from hardwood turnings
and vineers. Thanks Arthur from Mo. who sent us this recent photo, he got it from Santa back in '42

The Appleton Historical Society website is hosted by Fox Cities Online.

This site is for historical reference and is only as accurate as its sources. Any documents or photographs posted here are the property of their rightfull creators unless ontherwise noted. Some of the artwork, photographs or documents posted here may have copyrights and only be copied for personal use.