Author Archives: Joe

Lake Michigan Counties

Satellite view of Lake Michigan on February 4, 2012 from NOAA

Wisconsin has 11 counties which are on Lake Michigan. I just thought it would be nice to have a post that groups all of these counties together. It might be handy to have if you are thinking about doing the Lake Michigan Circle Tour for example. I have included counties along Green Bay in the list; after all Green Bay is an arm of Lake Michigan. This leads to the unusual situation for Kewaunee County which has a shoreline along both Green Bay and Lake Michigan, which is interrupted by Door County. So I’ve included Kewaunee County twice, before and after Door County.

Here is the list, starting from the border with Upper Michigan and working our way south to the Illinois border:

Trempealeau County Links

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Here are my links for Trempealeau County:

The Trempealeau County official web site
The Trempealeau County Historical Society
The City of Whitehall web site
The City of Osseo web site
The Whitehall Chamber of Commerce web site
The City of Arcadia web site
The Norske Nook Restaurant & Bakery

Portage County Links

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Here are my links for Portage County:

The official Portage County web site
The Portage County Historical Society web site
The Portage County Business Council web site
The City of Stevens Point web site
The University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
The UW – Stevens Point Athletics web site
The Village of Plover web site
The Village of Amherst web site
The Stevens Point Brewery web site
The Central Waters Brewing Company in Amherst
The O’So Brewing Company in Plover
The Hilltop Pub and Grill in Stevens Point
The Stevens Point Area Convention & Visitors Bureau web site

Marathon County Links

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Here are my links for Marathon County:

The official Marathon County web site
The City of Wausau web site
The Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce web site
The Wausau / Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau web site
The Rib Mountain State Park page on the Wisconsin DNR web site. Rib Mountain is the second highest “peak” in Wisconsin and is located near Wausau.
The Friends of Rib Mountain web site
Bull Falls Brewery in Wausau
Red Eye Brewing Company in Wausau
The Wausau location of The Great Dane Pub
The Friends of the Mountain-Bay Trail web site. The biking and hiking trail is 83 miles long, from Green Bay to Rib Mountain and passes through Brown, Shawano and Marathon counties.
The Mountain-Bay State Trail page on the Wisconsin DNR web site
The Wausau Center Mall web site

Langlade County Links

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Here are my links for Langlade County:

The official Langlade County web site
The Langlade County Historical Society web site
The Antigo / Langlade County Chamber of Commerce web site
The City of Antigo web site
The Langlade County Economic Development Corporation web site. This has some nice information on tourism and activities in the county.
The Gardner Dam Scout Camp web page on the Bay-Lakes Council (Boy Scouts of America) web site.

Lancaster Photos

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We visited the Grant County courthouse in Lancaster on Wednesday August 12, 2015. It was our final courthouse visit on our day trip. The courthouse was built in 1902 but has been recently remodeled and restored. We went inside and took some photos of the restored interior as well.

: The Grant County courthouse

: The main entrance to the courthouse

: The first Civil War memorial, built in 1867

: A fountain with a Union soldier

: Close up of the main entrance

: The Grant County Administration building across the street

: The main staircase inside the courthouse

: The dome makes a fantastic skylight

: Paintings around the dome

: Paintings around the dome

: Paintings around the dome

: Paintings around the dome

: Glad we stopped to see the Grant County courthouse

Dodgeville Photos

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We visited Dodgeville on Wednesday August 12, 2015. I had never been in Dodgeville before, as far as I can remember anyway. The courthouse is very nice; it is the oldest courthouse still in use in Wisconsin. The problem is that there is no courthouse square or anything, so it is difficult to get a good photo of the courthouse. I did my best, and you can judge for yourself how well I did.

: Veterans Memorial on the courthouse grounds

: Historical marker: the Iowa County courthouse is the oldest courthouse still in use in the state.

: Side view of the courthouse

: The main entrance

: A side view of the main entrance

: There are a lot of trees near the courthouse

: The Iowa County courthouse from across the street

: One last look at the Iowa County courthouse

Darlington Photos

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We visited Darlington on Wednesday August 12th, 2015 to see the courthouse and also to have lunch. The courthouse is in good shape and is located on a small hill. It’s a magnificent setting and I think I got some good pictures of it. Across the street is the Darlington municipal building. We stopped for lunch in downtown Darlington, a few blocks form the courthouse and not too far from the Pecatonica River. We ate at the Towne House restaurant and had a great lunch.

: The Lafayette County courthouse

: The front of the courthouse

: The main entrance to the courthouse

: The Lafayette County courthouse

: The Darlington Municipal Building

: The Lafayette County courthouse

: Downtown Darlington looking back towards the courthouse. The Towne House restaurant is on the left.

First Capitol Photos

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We visited First Capitol State Park near Belmont on Wednesday August 12th 2015 on our way from Darlington to Lancaster. It was a beautiful day and we were the only tourists on the site of the restored buildings that were the first Wisconsin Territorial Capitol. Honestly, there’s not all that much to see here, but it is kind of interesting. I remember visiting here when I was about 10 years old. Not much has changed, except now there are additional historical markers for with Wisconsin’s 150th anniversary as a state.

: At the First Capitol near Belmont

: Historical marker from Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial

: Another historical marker from Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial

: The original historical marker

: Both of the buildings were restored and moved to the current site.

: The Council House: the legislature met here

: The lodging house, sometimes called the courthouse

: The first capitol buildings

Montello Photos

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We visited Montello in the late afternoon on Tuesday July 28, 2015. We were running behind schedule so we only made a brief stop for a few pictures of the Marquette County courthouse. I would love to have the chance to spend some more time in Montello and see how the granite quarry has been redeveloped.