Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

Mount Horeb, Wisconsin is proudly known as the "Troll Capital of the World." The town celebrates its Norwegian heritage through the mythological trolls that are so prominent in Scandinavian folklore. Troll statues greet visitors as they visit the area.

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

Last Wednesday was a picturesque autumn day, and a lovely afternoon to visit the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society. I traveled along the trollway (Main Street) to "troll" for some historic postcards at this historical society. For 34 years, the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society has collection items to reflect the heritage of this area in southern Wisconsin. While the museum exhibit space is housed in a converted hardware store, the archives are located across the street in the Municipal Building. The museum exhibits on display reflect the heritage of the people who brought their culture with them as they settled in the area. The museum collections and archival material continue to grow as the town continues to celebrate its vast heritage.

I met with Laurie Boyden, who runs the archives and the museum of the area historical society. She introduced me to the postcard collection of the historical society. The postcards represent scenes from the area, or include postcards sent to Mt. Horeb over the years. Most postcards have been donated, but the historical society in the past has purchased postcards from antique shops and other sales to keep up with collection development. Since the cards come from a variety of sources, they are kept in one large collection and are sorted into subject areas. These subject areas reflect the heritage and celebrations from life in the area, and include subjects like holidays, local tourism, area businesses, and buildings.

During my visit of the museum and archives, it became clear that preserving and celebrating the area's rich cultural heritage were very important to the Mt. Horeb area. These values were reflected in some of the interesting postcards that have become a part of the postcard collection.

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

The above postcard is from a local historical site that celebrates the area's Norwegian heritage. Little Norway is the homestead of a family from Norway that settled into the area in the mid-1800s.Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

The above photos come from a book of postcards of various buildings and landmarks in Mount Horeb. While I was not able to pin point a date, these "souvenir letters" reflect how Mt. Horeb once looked.

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

Many of the postcards in the collection include those that were sent to residents in the area. I found the postcard in the above photo to be rather unusual. The postcard's message was written along the perimeters of this tiny card.

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

The connection to the area's Scandinavian heritage was also reflected in the postcards. The above photos was perhaps my favorite find of the day: a Norwegian-themed St. Patrick's Day postcard written in Norwegian! The picture below is the back of the post card written in Norwegian.

Image courtesy of Mount Horeb Area Historical Society

Many thanks to Laurie Boyden at the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society for letting me take photos of the postcards, and for giving me a fascinating behind the scenes tour of the historical society's collections.

Mount Horeb Area Historical Society
138 E Main St
Mt Horeb, WI, 53572
Phone: (608) 437-6486
Email: usemeum@mhtc.net
Web site: www.mounthoreb.org
Museum located at 100 South Second Street, Mount Horeb, WI 53572
Archives located at 138 E. Main Street, Mount Horeb, WI 53572

Images courtesy and copyright of the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society.

Entry complied by: Danielle Taylor