BELMONT — The Wisconsin Historical Society announced that the First Capitol State Historic Site will open Saturday and be open Saturdays and Sundays through Sept. 5.
First Capitol was one of the state historic sites closed for the year in early April due to what WHS director Christina Overland called budget restraints, temporary staff reassignments with other state agencies, and insufficient time to prepare for opening before the tourism season began.
The others in Southwest Wisconsin were Stonefield in Cassville, Pendarvis in Mineral Point, and Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien. The others statewide were H.H. Bennett Studio & Museum in Wisconsin Dells, Wade House in Greenbush, Reed School in Neillsville, and the Madeline Island Museum in Lake Superior.
The web pages for Pendarvis, Stonefield and Villa Louis report those sites will open in August, with “details coming soon.” Madeline Island reopened July 22.
Though the sites have been closed all year, work has been going at all of the sites, including the walkway project and replacing the kitchen floor at Villa Louis, brush clearing from Mine Hill and creating interpretive panels for the Mine Hill trail at Pendarvis, and repairs to the Stonefield Gazette, School House and Dewey House buildings and Farmstead fencing, plus exhibit work in the Wisconsin Agricultural Museum, at Stonefield.
The historic site closings have been one of the numerous political battles between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Thirty WHS employees were reassigned last November.
After the announcement of the historic site closings, the state Assembly passed a bill authored by Reps. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), whose Assembly district includes First Capitol and Pendarvis, and Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City), whose Assembly district includes Stonefield, to direct the governor to open all of the historic sites using American Rescue Plan Act funds.
“Beyond the appreciation for the historical significance of these sites, reopening is crucial for the local economies of Belmont, Mineral Point, and the other affected communities as their local tourism industries recover from the pandemic,” said Novak in a June 22 news release. “Unfortunately, efforts to work through Wisconsin Council on Tourism to persuade the governor to fully reopen the sites have not been successful to date. I have not received an update from the Governor’s Office as to whether they are any closer to fixing this issue.”
Two days later, the WHS announced it was receiving $1 million in ARPA funds to reopen the closed sites.
“Our historic sites are vital to the tourism economies of their communities and we are pleased that this funding has come through to help us open the doors,” said Overland in the WHS news release. “We would also like to extend our thanks to the Administration, local legislators, the Governor’s Council on Tourism and local com
