Middleton Historical Museum

Middleton, Wisconsin is now wholly considered to be a suburb of Madison, but it began as it's own economically seperate community. At the turn of the 20th Century, a railway was built through Middleton, which brought tremendous prosperity into the small town. The railway connected the Mississippi River shipping channel and Madison, directly through Middleton, and brought with it the ability to distribute goods at a much more rapid pace than ever before. The railroad still runs through Middleton, and it has remained a prosperous small town outside of the Madison city limits.

This photo postcard below is an image of the railway in Middleton, during the turn of the century.
My visit to the Middleton Historical Museum began on a late Saturday afternoon. Pictured below is the museum, located in the Middleton Rowley House, which was built in 1867 by Dr. Numan C. Rowley. The Rowley House is a century home, meaning that it was owned and lived in by one family for over 100 years. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

The museum's collection faithfully recreates what the house would have looked like during the earlier portion of its existence. Its kitchen is equipped with an immaculate wood-fire stove and other implements and utensils from the late 1800s through the 1940s. Other rooms include a parlor room with Victorian-era cushion chairs, a child's room, bathroom, and doctor's office, all with early 20th Century features and artifacts.

The postcard collection housed at the Museum belonged to a local resident Wilfred Harris. Mr. Harris was a lifelong associate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he obtained an MA from the College of Letters and Science. He worked at the University his entire career, from 1927 to 1975 in the Registrar's Office, excepting for his WWII service. Though the postcard collection was arranged chronologically by year, the photo postcards here are in no special order. They are primarily from the "postcard" and "divided back" eras of postcard production (1901-1915).

The above photo postcard is a street scene from Middleton, Wisconsin, inscribed along the bottom portion of the image, circa 1905.


The above photo postcard is inscribed and titled: "Old Windmill, Middleton Township Wis." Circa early 1900's.

The above photo postcard also includes an inscription: "BO Middleton, Wisconsin." This postcard features well-dressed men of both of European and African descent (possibly performers?) standing along the sidewalk, outside the store fronts.

The above photo postcard of a school room is the first I've seen in the collections I have looked through. I was not even sure at first it was a postcard, but it is. The inscription reads: Room Two, Public School, Middleton, Wis.

Last but not least, above is a display of leather postcards from the early 1900's. These postcards have been sewn onto the fabric and are hanging in the upstairs hallway wall of the Museum. The postcards all have quirky images and phrases painted on them. My personal favorite, top row, second card reads, "Here's a Girl with a Peek-a-Boo waist and the Clock, upon her Stocking Supposing I were to ask the time, would it be so very shocking." This seperate collection of postcards are all from Wisconsin, mainly Madison, Milwaukee, and Middleton. At some point, they were sewn together onto the tapestry and became an interesting piece of folk art in their own right. Unfortunately, the Museum did not have any information about this particularly unusual collection.

Images courtesy of the: Middleton Historical Museum

Much appreciation and thanks to: Jean Skinner, of the Middleton Historical Museum and Cathy Jacob of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives

Entry complied by: Elizabeth Fox-Corbett