History

The Green County Historical Society was formed as an educational organization in 1937 with Carl Marty, Sr. as its first president. Since its formation, the group has preserved the historical and cultural resources of Green County. The society continues to collect, preserve, and make these resources available to the public.

Here is a historical timeline of the Society:

1937:  dues were set at $1.00 per year and remained the same until the 1964 annual meeting

1942:  600 visitors attended the dedication of the “community house,” the first building of the pioneer village in New Glarus.  This was the Society's first project.

1946:  the "community house" became so crowded, Mrs. May Luchsinger, granddaughter of Arabut Ludlow, offered the use of the carriage house on the Idle Hour Farm in Monroe for storage.

1946:  Mrs. Luchsinger had offered the society the historic Ludlow home, with five to six acres of land, as a permanent home for their museum. Alice Acherman offered the society her home at 1732 16thStreet, along with $10,000 for maintenance, to be operated as the Beller-Acherman museum. Both of these offers were declined.

1950:  the collection grows to such an extensive amount that two front rooms were used for exhibits in the carriage house on the Idle Hour Farm

1958:  the society had to remove all of their possessions from the Idle Hour Farm. This building was extensively damaged a few years later during the Palm Sunday tornado.

1965:  the society proposed to lease the former City Hall near Spring Square for $1.00 a year. The city did not accept this offer. At that time the possessions of the society were stored in the former Franklin and Sanders Schools in Cadiz Township.

1966 the: City of Monroe accepted the Universalist Church under a long-term lease so the Green County Historical Society could maintain a museum at that location. The members set up displays, held a dedication on December 16, 1966, and have occupied that building ever since. 

1971:  the former Bethel School was moved from Monroe Township onto the grounds, renovated, and dedicated on October 31, 1971. 

1982:  the area of downtown that the church building is located in was  added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982