This is NOT a stuffy ol' museum!…read more When logging was the primary industry in northern Wisconsin (late 19th - early 20th Centuries) the logging was all done in the winter. The ground was frozen and logs could be moved without slogging down in the mud that would happen during Spring and Summer. A camp would spring up until the area was fully logged out, then over the summer, the camp would be relocated, anywhere from four to ten miles further away, in the next stand of lumber. Camps were sometimes named but often just numbered. Often a town would spring up around the camp but die off as soon as the camp was moved. Some survived, Laona is an example. In Laona's case, the Connor Family built a successful sawmill here, which is still in operation. When Camp 5 was logged out and moved on to Camp 6, a farm sprang up so the company could supply the camps with meat and vegetables for lumberjacks with voracious appetites. Descendents of the family that started it all decided to preserve the old lumber camp and farm, and formed a foundation to operate and preserve Camp 5. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, and you'll find the historic farm (some of it still operational) and a logging museum as part of the old logging camp. Special events are held throughout the season (check the website for schedules) and it is all very educational while being fun! There's a guided tour of a managed forest that shows you how modern logging operations differ from the clear-cut-and-move-on method of logging from the 19th Century. You'll find displays of stump pullers, skids, water tanks and other logging equipment from the past. Check out the retired, heavy equipment and a Wisconsin Central switch engine that you can enter. Kids will enjoy the petting zoo, although the managed forest tour might not hold the attention of youth who haven't learned about the history of logging in Wisconsin. Be sure to visit the operating blacksmith shop! There's only one way to enter the museum, and that's by steam train! Climb aboard the Laona and Northern Railway for the three mile ride to the museum. You can sit in an open-air observation car behind the locomotive, or opt for riding in an antique passenger car or a caboose. (Yes, you can ride in the cupola.) The season runs from mid June to almost Labor Day each season, plus some Fall dates. Check ahead. A flyer with coupons is available at most hotels and tourist info kiosks in a 50 mile radius. There is a gift shop and lunch is available with a limited menu (freshly grilled burgers, brats and hot dogs) at prices you might expect in a captive situation. All in all, it's a fun couple of hours for the family. (Don't tell the kids they'll be learning something!)

This is not your average museum. There's no big fancy building with a marble entryway and…read moredressed-up docents. There *is* a big old steam train to ride on (you can even climb up a little ladder and see what's what). My husband went here as a kid and was dying to share it with our little rascals. You buy your tickets then hop on the train (it leaves maybe five times a day) for a short ride (15 minutes?) to an old logging camp. There are a couple of buildings with old equipment and pictures (and a buffalo hide rug that grossed my kids right out), which are good to browse through for a little while. Then you can pay extra for a pontoon boat ride (they take you on this very muddy river, tell you about the logging camp history, and hope for some wildlife) or take the included-with-train-ticket wilderness tour. We didn't take the wilderness tour because the kids were having too much fun in the petting zoo. There were goats, chickens, ducks, a little cow, and turtles to look at in their enclosure. They had adoptable kittens, too, but we resisted their fuzzy adorableness. There is a concession stand on the grounds (crazily expensive, as they all are) and the old camp slaughterhouse, which was eerie. There is a little nature trail with signs, but the bugs made sure we didn't get much out of that. There is a store they call the Cracker Barrel store, but it had zero in common with Cracker Barrel restaurants. It was full of souvenirs and candy (fudge and gummy), and that's where you buy the pontoon boat tickets. Next to this building is the Nature Center, which is a taxidermist's dream come true. Lots of dead stuff in there (again, the kids found it gross) but also some cool minerals and ammonites (I loved them!). We were there for about 2.5 hours and were ready to go by then, but it was a fun little place. It's staffed mostly by high schoolers, with train enthusiasts running the steam engine. We hopped back on the train for the return to the depot, where the kids got to line up and blow the horn. That was COOL. The guy in charge enjoyed it more than the kids, I think.

I had never visited this museum in all the years I've spent up north, so when my mom was here…read morevisiting, we decided to stop, as this kind of stuff is right up her alley. It's a small house with lots of nostalgia items from the era; games, TV Guides and a soda shoppe recreation in one of the rooms. The rest is dedicated to Dr Kate Newcomb, who famously traveled the northern WI area delivering babies and doing it many times in snowshoes. She was also honored on the old show "This is Your Life" with Ralph Edwards. It's an interesting way to spend an hour or more while visiting the area. It's run by volunteers and gratefully accepts donations, so pony up some cash to support this lovely local attraction!

I am pleased to inform you that the Museum has expanded over the years and has changed for the…read morebetter. A historical home is set up with period furnishings. Also two additional exhibit halls are featured. I think the current set up will appeal to a broader range of people. Photographs are still featured but not as many as before. They now have period displays such as snowmobiling and fishing. The Summer hours are still Tuesday through Saturday 11 to 3PM. I think the hours posted on Yelp are wrong. A big sign is displayed in front of the Three Lakes Library during opening hours.

What an awesome little museum tucked behind the library. A great way to spend an afternoon when you…read moreare tired of the water. Every building offers amazing historical artifacts about early life in 3Lakes. I especially like the displays of the Northernaire and the resorts. Excellent selection of books related to the area are located in the new visitor's center, located in the back of the library. If you are visiting 3 Lakes or live there and want something new to do--visit the Three Lakes Museum. They also have a fun Wine & History event held on Labor Day weekend with wine provided by the Three Lakes Winery!

If you are interested in Native American history and culture, past and present, the George W…read more Brown, Jr. museum is an excellent place to learn about the Lac du Flambeau band of the Lake Superior Ojibwe (a.k.a Chippewa). The focal point of the museum revolves around four life size dioramas depicting aspects of traditional Ojibwe life in every season. Smaller displays around the perimeter of the museum feature things the Lac du Flambeau band is known for, including: traditional spearfishing decoys and equipment, moccasins, bead work, basketry, birch bark canoes, wild rice harvesting, and maple syrup production. Contemporary tribal history is also well documented -- in particular the struggle to continue to exercise their treaty rights (including spearfishing) in the ceded territory. Though it is a small museum, we spent nearly an hour examining the artifacts and reading the detailed descriptions of everything on display. I would encourage everyone living or visiting in the north woods of Wisconsin to visit the museum to learn about and respect the First Nation people whose land is now a vacation destination for urbanites from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.

I've been coming back to Minocqua at least once every summer for the past 13 years. Finally made it…read morea point to come check out this museum, and I'm glad I did. The information was interesting, and everyone working there was friendly. If you have an hour or so, be sure to stop by and check it out! Also, if you have a kid who likes trains, there's a large scale model train set as well.

Very nice older gentleman showed us around the museum and showed us all of the different stuff they…read morehave from Minocqua's history. It looks small from the outside but looks can be deceiving, they have tons of stuff from an old classroom to a old car and huge train display of Minocqua. Definitely worth the trip, super nice folks.

Great way to spend a day with family…read more We stay in cabins in Fay Lake and this makes a great day trip. If you little ones there isn't much better: petting zoo, real steam train to ride, nature trail, hay ride, old trains and big construction equipment they can climb on and play on, museum, ice cream, tours and more. My 4 year old grandson had a blast. Price is high. $20 per adult, $10 for kids over 2.

I happened to see a small advertisement for this place at a cabin we were staying in Eagle River…read more I am happy I did. About an hour away was a place that was so much fun to visit. We took an old fashioned steam train to a logging "town". Toured a museum on the logging industry in WI (very interesting) they had a working blacksmith, a petting zoo, a tour of the forest (very cool) and a general store. It was so much fun, my 6 year old loved it. People were so nice, the place was so clean. We did not do the walk to the one of the houses (no time but we will next time). We had so much fun and I am so glad that we found this place. I am now telling everyone to go visit this really cool gem in the north woods.