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East Troy museum chronicles village's rich history

Antique cars line the square in East Troy during a recent East Troy Marketplace event. The marketplace is just one of the attractions in the village center this summer. Photo submitted.

EAST TROY — This summer, the village of East Troy is playing up some of its oldest historic assets with one of its newest ones.

The East Troy Area Historical Society opened its Kubicki Museum and Heritage Center, at 2106 Church St., May 22.

The heritage center is designed as a magnet for visitors and history buffs, who can continue to explore the area’s historic architecture, check out a neighboring railroad museum and even shop, on Saturdays, at a marketplace featuring vendors selling local products in the picturesque setting of the village square.

The historical museum showcases artifacts, maps, photos and documents from East Troy and surrounding areas, including the townships of Troy, Troy Center, La Fayette and Spring Prairie.

Some of the treasures may bring back memories, like a marquee and seats from the old Troy Theater, along with a miniature model of the movie house.

Others stretch even further into the past, like an exhibit looking at what life was like in the area between its settlement in 1836 and Wisconsin’s statehood in 1848.

“It was such a varied effort, not just farming,” said Judy Mitten, East Troy Historical Society’s president, of the village’s early settlers. “Whether it was merchants or a grist mill owner, whatever people brought into the area helped it become a thriving community.”

Volunteers in the community put in more than five months of effort, from carpentry to painting and sewing, getting the museum on the square ready to open, Mitten said.

The museum is named after Henry Kubicki, founder of East Troy manufacturer Wisconsin Oven, whose family’s donation of $100,000 helped purchase the building, the former village hall.

Read the full story in the June 6, 2010 e-edition of Walworth County Sunday, PAGE 10A.