Museum

The mission of the Stoughton Historical Society is to bring together those interested in Stoughton's history, and to collect, preserve and display objects and documents that illustrate that history. The Historical Society is a volunteer-run self-supporting not-for-profit organization. The Stoughton Historical Society was organized in 1960 and is a public charity 501 (c)(3). Our Museum is open Saturdays, 11:00am to 3:00pm during the summer from Syttende Mai weekend in mid-May to Labor Day ...

Luke Stoughton House

In 1974, a group called "Luke Stoughton Society" formed. Their mission was to save the Luke Stoughton pioneer home from being razed. The home was built around 1848 and was originally located at 130 East Main Street. In 1875 it was moved to the North West corner of Forrest and Jefferson and in 1974 the house was then moved to it's current location at 315 North Division Street. The Luke Stoughton Society rented the home for twenty years before the City of Stoughton gave the house to the Stoughton ...

Stoughton Railroad Depot

From 1988 to 2025, our Agriculture and Transportation artifacts were housed in the Stoughton Railroad Depot.

When the City sold the Depot in 2025, we relocated many of those collections to new homes in our primary museum, Luke Stoughton Pioneer Home, Mandt Park and we are planning a future new home for our 19th century wagon collection.

Information about the Depot history may be found on our Depot History webpage, click here.

Per Lysne

Rosemaling Revival‎

The revival of rosemaling in the Norwegian-American community is often credited to Per Lysne. He was born December 8, 1880 in Laerdal, Sogn, Norway. His father, Anders Olsen, was an artist whose work was recognized at the Paris Exposition in 1893 and it was from him that Lysne learned rosemaling. Lysne immigrated to Stoughton, Wisconsin with his wife in 1907 ...

TG Mandt and Mandt Wagon

Targe G. Mandt's family came to America from Telemarken, Norway in 1848 when he was just 2 1/2 years old. They settled on a farm in Pleasant Springs about six miles northeast of Stoughton in the newly created state of Wisconsin. As Targe grew up he helped his father in the workshop turning the hand-powered lathe, watching him work and learning the proper use of tools. By the time he was sixteen years old he had completed a wagon unassisted doing both the wood an metal work ...

Stoughton Light Guard

7th Wisconsin Volunteers, Company D "Stoughton Light Guard"
Stoughton has a strong history of military service beginning with the participation of Stoughton residents in the Civil War. In 1861 when President Lincoln issued the call for Union volunteers, men from Stoughton and the surrounding area came to Stoughton to enlist in the army. Muster rolls list men from Dunkirk, Rutland, Dunn and Stoughton. By early September 1861, Company D of the 7th Wisconsin Volunteers,know as the ...

Luke Stoughton

The man who founded the little village of Stoughton was born in Vermont in 1799 and was a mechanic by trade. He and his wife, Eliza Page Stoughton, moved to a farm seven miles north of Janesville in 1838.

Later he moved to the village of Janesville where he was in the merchantile business and bought and sold real estate.

He had a vision of a perfectly situated little town named after him. It would have a sawmill, a store, an inn, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter shop, a doctor, a school and ...

Project Memories

Project Memories preserves first hand accounts of the past for future generations. Project Memories is primarily the work of Stoughton Historical Society members and dedicated volunteers Kathy Thode and her husband George.

Kathy interviewed local senior residents about their childhood, youth and teen years in or around Stoughton. These personal accounts provide invaluable insight into a history few books expound upon. Though admittedly biased by personal perspective, these narrations also express the individual feelings and temperament of the moment...

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Exhibits

The military cases contain mementos of locals who fought in the Civil War, the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. On display are uniforms from all wars that have taken place which involved the United States. The Civil War uniform is our only reproduction as uniforms from that war are hard to find.

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Stoughton Family

Luke Stoughton was born in Vermont in 1799. As a youth he learned a mechanic's trade and traveled around the east working at his vocation. In 1836 he married Eliza Page, a Vermont girl, and settled down in Vermont. Tales of fertile farmland in Wisconsin to be had for almost nothing ...

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Exhibit -General Store

Example of early general store.

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Exhibit -Printing Room

The printing press in this room had to be run all by hand. All the type was set and the ink applied with a roller. The press was used to print newspapers and flyers. It still works.

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Exhibit- Schoolroom

Years ago there were schools in the country for the farm kids and schools in town the city kids could walk to. There were no school buses. This one-room schoolhouse has a map of all the one-room schoolhouses located in the country around Stoughton.

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Exhibit -Kitchen

Lots of hard work wen on here. The dry sink would pump up rainwater that was stored in the basement in a room called a cistern. Only a few things could fit in the icebox. Ice was taken from the lakes and the Yahara River in the wintertime and stored in hay in an icehouse during the warmer months. The stove was heated with wood.

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Exhibit -Doctor's Office

The doctor's office has a collection of the different kinds of equipment doctors would have used over the years. Years ago doctors would come to your house when you were too sick to go to the doctor's office which was often part of his home.

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Exhibit -Parlor

The current display in the parlor will

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Museum

Luke Stoughton House

Stoughton Railroad Depot

Per Lysne

Rosemaling Revival‎

TG Mandt and Mandt Wagon

Stoughton Light Guard

Luke Stoughton

Project Memories

Welcome to the Stoughton Historical Society of Wisconsin

Exhibits

Stoughton Family

Exhibit -General Store

Exhibit -Printing Room

Exhibit- Schoolroom

Exhibit -Kitchen

Exhibit -Doctor's Office

Exhibit -Parlor

New Webpage Articles

Museum

Luke Stoughton House

Stoughton Railroad Depot

Per Lysne Rosemaling Revival‎

TG Mandt and Mandt Wagon

Stoughton Light Guard

Luke Stoughton

Project Memories

Welcome to the Stoughton Historical Society of Wisconsin

Exhibits

Stoughton Family

Exhibit -General Store

Exhibit -Printing Room

Exhibit- Schoolroom

Exhibit -Kitchen

Exhibit -Doctor's Office

Exhibit -Parlor

New Webpage Articles

Per Lysne

Rosemaling Revival‎