The History Museum at the Castle
Inside the walls of the History Museum, the past comes alive through the stories, photographs and artifacts of people of the Fox Valley. Our mission is to inspire appreciation for the rich history of the Fox River Valley area communities through the collections, exhibits and education at the History Museum at the Castle. Owned and operated by the Outagamie County Historical Society, the History Museum holds the collections representing the history of the Fox Valley dating back to 1840s.
Museum exhibits weave national and local events and periods together to provide both perspective and local relevance. The History Museum presents education programming related to our exhibits and workshops for adults, families and students.
The Building
The History Museum building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was originally a Masonic temple. Learn more about the building.
Education
The History Museum offers programs for families throughout the year, including papermaking programs, magic workshops with Houdini holiday events and other historic activities. The Museum hosts tours for elementary school classes, adult and youth groups. We also offer online and in-classroom activities, as well as teacher resources relating to the history of the Fox Valley.
The History Museum offers an elegant and historic venue for your event. The events held at the museum include weddings, sales meetings, staff retreats, family reunions, recitals and any other event that requires an ambience that is unique.
The entire History Museum may be rented so that your guests can explore the exhibits and the historic Masonic Temple which houses the History Museum.
The library and archival collections of the History Museum at the Castle focus on the social, economic, agricultural and industrial history of Outagamie County and the Lower Fox River Valley, (between Wrightstown and Neenah) especially following European settlement.
Our library contains published histories, city and county directories, atlases and plat maps as well as "vertical files" (subject based collection of research papers, notes, clippings and other ephemera).
The archival collection contains approximately 800 cu. ft. of manuscript collections from individuals and families, as well as records collections from business, clubs, and government offices. Approximately 35,000 photographic images are contained in the photograph collection.
Digital Collections from the History Museum and the Appleton Public Library are available in the Historical Photo Reproduction Gallery or Fox Valley Memory.
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