Horicon Historical Society Hosts Annual Ice Cream Social and Classic Car Cruise-In Open House at Satterlee Clark House

The Horicon Historical Society hosted their Annual Ice Cream Social event on Sunday Aug. 30 where they also had live music, hosted classic cars for visitors to see and gave tours of the house of Satterlee Clark, a very prominent man in Horicon and Wisconsin history.

Satterlee Clark first visited what would be Horicon when he was just 13-years-old, and quickly became liked amongst the Native Americans in the area. It was because of this friendship he made that brought him and his family back to the area in the mid 1850s where he started a trading post in his home where he traded with the local Native Americans. Before that, Satterlee was also a lawyer, politician and a sutler for Fort Winnebago at just the age of 13.

The Satterlee Clark house was bought by John Deere in 1974 and the Historical Society has been leasing it from them since not long after. The Historical Society chose this location because of its rich history with the town, not just with the house–which has bricks from the very first brickyard in Dodge County, Chandler Brickyard–but the families that have lived in it as well.

The Historical Society also has two other buildings on the same property as the Satterlee Clark House: a schoolhouse that was originally in Hustisford and relocated to the Horicon location; and a shed that holds many other museum artifacts and even a working blacksmith where they give live demonstrations. The shed, however, is currently closed as they are remodelling and preparing new exhibits. However, the house and the schoolhouse are still open for visitors, with new exhibits and items often in rotation. What you see now may not be what you see a few months from now, and they are hoping to open up the shed again in the near future.

The Historical Society gives in depth tours of the Satterlee Clark house, talking about the rich history of the house and Satterlee Clark himself. They focus a lot on specific events, like their Horicon Living History Days on Mother’s Day weekends, and their Horicon Haunted History Tours happening this year on Fridays and Saturdays from Oct. 16-Oct. 31. They will be having an open house around Christmas, with a small admission fee, and are also looking at adding more events and open houses in the future.

You can find out more about the Horicon Historical Society by visiting their Facebook pages: at www.facebook.com/horiconwihistoricalsociety; www.facebook.com/horiconlivinghistorydays; https://www.facebook.com/HoriconHauntedHistory. Tours can also be made by appointment by calling (920)485-0483 or emailing horiconhistoricalsociety@yahoo.com.