Tom Boldt, Houdini aficianado, shares stories of Harry Houdini

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

Chloe Siamof shares the history of Appleton High School & West

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:

1. Encourage the preservation and display of Appleton historical items.
2. Regularly present public programs, such as history fairs, history walks and other public events.
3. 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 Appleton. If we are missing a source, please let us know.
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:
May 16th, 7:00pm at Atlas Coffee & Cafe' or Paper Discovery Center.
For a map, click here(next to Fratello's) 425 W. Water St. Appleton.
Great food/refreshments available.
We have a P.A. system for hearing our speakers.

Upcoming Meetings and Events:

1. May 16 — Joe Gaerthofner
   Appleton's Bloodiest Day — recounts an incident in the Civil War during 1863
2. June 20 — Chris Mehring
   Director of Media Relations/Radio Announcer for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
   Appleton Professional Baseball and It's History
3. July 18 — Ken Syring
   Appleton area, aviation history

For a printable list of upcoming events, click here
We encourage individuals to print and display flyers, with permission,
at local businesses to get the word out about our free monthly presentations and other events.

Recent Events:

1. March 3, 2012 – Appleton Historical Society’s History Fair at the Downtown Appleton Indoor Farmer’s Market
   A BIG Thank You to our members and others that made our 4th History Fair another great event!
   Over 150 people attended to view the potpouri of items from Appleton history.
2. April 18th, 2012 – Ike Spangenburg, the Appleton City Band history
   Thanks Ike for the great presentation ! 

Find the Appleton Historical Society on Facebook and on YouTube!

Tom Boldt, Houdini aficianado, shares stories of Harry Houdini

Chloe Siamof shares the history of Appleton High School & West

Emily Gilbert shares the history of the Appleton Public Library

Cindy Czarnik-Neimeyer shares the history of Bellaire Court

Harlan Kiesow & Anne Biebel share the history of Appleton's locks

Check out the Appleton Facebook page created by Kim Hanagan
Remembering Appleton: Pictures from 1950's - 1970's Photo Page
Post your photos or questions about 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:

1. Dropping off brochures or flyers as needed (1.5 hours /month). E-promotion(1-2 hours /month)
2. 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)
3. The Appleton Public Library is always in need for volunteers
   to help preserve documents to add to their Appleton collection
4. Someone to do a short presentation on any current business or organization that has a long history with Appleton

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

1. E.C. Schmidt Cigar makers and Railroads of Appleton (any info)
2. Looking for any old pics of  Riverview Country Club
3. Looking for pics of businesses on Wisconsin Ave
4. Also pics of College Ave. businesses in the area between Richmond and Mason St

Pictures:
If you have interesting old Appleton pictures you can't part with, let us scan them for others to see (a free service).  We have recently been granted access to scan a personal collection of old Appleton pictures. Contact us if you would like to help us have a scanning party.

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 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.

On YouTube:
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 YouTube video is an edited version. The full version with footage of the restoration of a streetcar, can be purchased on DVD from the Appleton Historical Society for $20 Click here to see the video on YouTube.

View other Appleton related videos and presentations from our monthly meetings at
youtube.com/apphistsociety
Videos are viewable for free through the link on our website, but can also be purchased.  
We encourage retirement communities or other organizations to show past presentations.

Matthew P. Payne has volunteered countless hours videotaping and editing meetings. 5 meetings are on You Tube,
with more added each month.  Thanks to Matthew for all of his hard work.

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.