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attractions & oddities

resources

 

1

World's Largest Grandfather Clock
at Geppetto’s Top of the Hill Shop

 

location:  Kewaunee
record holder / roadside oddity

The 35-foot-tall clock has been standing at the entrance of the now-looking-rather-closed Top of the Hill Shop since 1976.  But does it keep good time?

  Svoboda Industries
624 N. Main Street (Highway 42 N)
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-2691

Roadside America
www.roadsideamerica.com

Slow Lane
www.theslowlane.com

The State Trunk Tour
www.statetrunktour.com

book:
"Oddball Wisconsin"
by Jerome Pohlen
Chicago Review Press, Inc. (2001)
page 165

buy it at Amazon.com
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

2

Fish Ladder
at the C.D. "Buzz" Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility

 

location:  Kewaunee
fish hatchery

"At the Besadny facility, a fish ladder leads to holding tanks. Spawning fish jump up the ladder and land in the tanks, where DNR staff members can collect their eggs...The Besadny fishery has a partially underwater tank with plexiglass where you can see the salmon 'Up Close and Personal' both under water and during their last jump."
- section from City of Kewaunee Official Site


  N. 3884 Ransom Moore Ln.
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-1025

                        

hours:
• public viewing window open daily  (dawn – dusk)
• building open  (Mon - Fri)  8am – 4pm

City of Kewaunee Official Site
www.cityofkewaunee.org

Wisconsin DNR
dnr.wi.gov

Explore Wisconsin
www.explorewisconsin.com

YouTube
www.youtube.com

 

3

Tug Ludington

 

location:  Kewaunee
unique marine vessel

"Originally named Major Wilbur R. Browder (LT-4), the 114-foot tug towed ammunition barges across the English Channel during the June 1944 invasion of Normandy. After the war, the tug returned to the United States where it was renamed Ludington and served in harbor construction and maintenance for the Corps of Engineers, operating out of Kewaunee for 40 years. The Ludington is listed on the State Register and National Register of Historic Places."
- section from Wisconsin's Maritime Trails website

  Harbor Park in Kewaunee
call for hours: (920) 388-5000

City of Kewaunee Official Site
www.cityofkewaunee.org

Wisconsin's Maritime Trails
maritimetrails.org

 

4

Belgian Churchyard Shrines

 

location:  Rosiere & Lincoln
religious shrine

    
St. Hubert Catholic Church Shrine (in backyard)

St. Peter Catholic Church Shrine (in front yard)

In the Townships of Lincoln & Rosiere, there stands a pair of single-room shrines built in the yards of 2 Catholic churches.  This area was home to the nation's largest settlement of Belgian immigrants, who arrived in the nineteenth century.


  St. Hubert Catholic Church
E3085 County Road X
Casco, WI  54205
(414) 837-2852

                     

  St. Peter Catholic Church
E2681 County Road S
Casco, WI  54205
(414) 837-2852

Center for the Studies of Midwestern Culture
1. csumc.wisc.edu
2. csumc.wisc.edu
3. csumc.wisc.edu

Wisconsin Historical Society
(Belgian Settlers story)
www.wisconsinhistory.org

 

5

Big Strawberry Signs
at Kraynik's Berry Farm

 

location:  Kewaunee
roadside oddity

  N3401 Church Road
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-4786

                     

hours:
(Mon - Sat)  7am – Noon & 4pm – 8pm

Roadside Architecture
www.agilitynut.com

Savor Wisconsin
www.savorwisconsin.com

Flickr photo by Great Laker
www.flickr.com

Flickr photo by Agility Nut
www.flickr.com

 

6

Cheese Mouse Statue
at Ron's Wisconsin Cheese

 

location:  Luxemburg
roadside oddity

photo courtesy of Great Laker

  124 Main St.
Luxemburg, WI  54217
(920) 845-5330

Flickr photo by Great Laker
www.flickr.com

 

7

Replica Lighthouses
around Kewaunee

 

location:  Kewaunee
unique structure

      

photo courtesy of Great Laker

Apparently there are not enough real lighthouses to gratify the pharophiles in the area.

  Lighthouse Shop: 3705 Main Street
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-3565

           

  Kewaunee Chamber: 308 N Main Street
Kewaunee, WI  54216
1-800-666-8214

Kewaunee Chamber of Commerce
www.kewaunee.org

Lighthouse Gift Shop Official Site
www.lighthousegiftshop.com

Flickr photo by Great Laker
www.flickr.com

 

8

Parkos Oil Gas Station

 

location:  Kewaunee
vintage architecture

"The brick building was built in 1931 for Salkowski Petroleum, a Wadhams Mobilgas dealer. In 1976 the business was sold to Parkos Oil Company who still operates it today. Only two owners and Mobil products all those years. It is remarkably in very good original configuration for the most part. The owners care about the station's classic appearance. Take out those MPD's and put in a couple of Wayne 60's and you'd think you were back in time."
- section from Old Gas website

  302 Ellis St.
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-2656

Old Gas
www.oldgas.com

Roadside Architecture
www.agilitynut.com

The State Trunk Tour
www.statetrunktour.com

book:
"Fill'er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin Gas Stations"
by James Draeger, Mark Speltz
Wisconsin Historical Society (2008)
pages 108 - 109
buy it at Amazon.com
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

 

 

sighting  /  phenomenon  /  morbid curiosity

resources

 

1

Thunderbird Sightings

 
creature
location:  Stangelville



A recollection of giant birds seen in the Stangelville skies is written about in "Weird Wisconsin".  Thunderbirds are spoken of in Indian legends and are represented in many ancient petroglyphs (rock drawings) around the country.

book:
"Weird Wisconsin"
by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks
Barnes & Noble Books (2005)

pages 108 - 109
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com


general information:

Mysterious World
www.mysteriousworld.com

Thunderbird Site List
1. www.angelfire.com
2. www.angelfire.com

Out-of-Place Artifacts
www.s8int.com

 

2

The Historic Karsten Inn

 
haunted
location:  Kewaunee

"This Inn was certified haunted by Wisconsin Ghost Investigations team in March 2002. They reported orbs, ectoplasm mists and even apparitions in photos. They encountered cold and hot spots, unusual odors, sounds of breaking glass in the bar, sounds of a child running upstairs, a flute being played, undecipherable whispering, furniture moving in rooms and sounds of a woman crying on the 2nd floor. They also captured a shadow man on film with a moving object. The ghosts are that of Mr. Karsten, a young boy, a woman and another unknown male presence. Hotel rooms can still be rented here."
- section from The Shadowlands website

  122 Ellis Street
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-3800

Official Site
www.karsteninn.com

The Shadowlands
www.theshadowlands.net

Unexplained Research
www.unexplainedresearch.com

Journal Sentinel Online
article "A foreboding state" or (here)

Haunted Houses
www.hauntedhouses.com

I Am Haunted
www.iamhaunted.com

book:
"Ghostly Tales of Wisconsin"
by Ryan Jacobson
Adventure Publications, Inc. (2009)
pages 70 - 73
buy it at Amazon.com
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

3

Couple Having Sex Spot UFO  (1976)

 
UFO
location:  Luxemburg

"We both looked at each other and knew we had to
get the hell out of there. With still know (sic) clothes on my husband (at the time was my boyfreind) (sic) put the truck in reverse and got out of there as fast as we could."

- section from UFO Wisconsin report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

4

"Wisconsin Man Sees UFO Over Lake Michigan"  (1998)

 
UFO
location:  Algoma

" 'At first I thought it might be a helicopter,' he added, 'but after giving some thought to it,' he decided that nothing manmade could fly at such speed or perform such maneuvers."
- section from Weird Wisconsin report
Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wi.com

 

5

Stone Ax Found?

 
oddity?
location:  Birchwood

This 300-pound artifact was discovered in the soil.  (note:  Could the ax have been found in the city of Birchwood in Washburn County instead?)

UPDATE:  According to the book "Reminisces and Anecdotes of Early Taylor County", a similar-sounding stone ax was unearthed near the town of East Troy in Walworth County.)

Weird Wisconsin
www.weird-wi.com

 

6

Kewaunee UFO Sightings

 
UFO
location:  Kewaunee

"As it came opposite from where I was standing, it stopped, and hovered with no sound, lights or propwash whatsoever!! After about a minute a greenish light appeared towards the rear of the craft and two "things" came into view."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

 

"Ghosts of America" Haunted Location Reports
(take with a grain of salt)

 
ghosts
location:  statewide

The reports on this site are presumably fiction, using random Wisconsin place names in the stories listed there.  Even so, you might get a kick out of reading them.

"The phantom of a guy with the sign of the devil etched into his nose may frequently be distinguished burying a body by a sizeable boulder in Bruemmer County Park at night. One of the residents confidently argues that this ghost is probably the undeceased ghost of a resident who used to have a home here in Kewaunee. In any case, this ghost certainly is terrifying; one that you shouldn't go trying to locate."
- section from Ghosts of America website

Ghosts of America
www.ghostsofamerica.com

 

 

 

taste of local history

resources

 

1

Kewaunee County Historical Jail Museum

 

location:  Kewaunee
museum

      


"Inside the museum are three floors of fascinating local history exhibits and displays, including a group of life-size basswood statuary depicting Pere Jacques Marquette's 1674 landing in Kewaunee; a model of the U.S.S. Pueblo an electronic surveillance ship built and launched in Kewaunee in 1944 and captured in 1968 by the North Koreans; "Custer's Last Stand" -- a monumental three-dimensional, wood carving and a truly fine work of art; and, of course, the original 1876 jail with dungeon-type cell block of 5' X 6' cells secured with riveted strap-iron lattice-work doors and partitions - it is one of the last remaining examples of the kind in the United States."
- section from Explore Wisconsin website


  613 Dodge Street
Kewaunee, WI  54216
(920) 388-4410 or (920) 388-7176

                    

hours:
Memorial Day thru Labor Day  (daily)  Noon – 4pm

City of Kewaunee Official Site
www.cityofkewaunee.org

Packer Country - museums
www.packercountry.com

Portal Wisconsin
www.portalwisconsin.org

Explore Wisconsin
www.explorewisconsin.com

book:
"Wisconsin Curiosities"
by Michael Feldman and Diana Cook
Globe Pequot Press  (
3rd ed., 2009)
pages 56 - 59
buy it at Amazon.com
buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

 

2

Kewaunee Pierhead Lighthouse

 

location:  Kewaunee
lighthouse

The 1891 lighthouse tower is closed to the public, but the grounds are open to visitors. 

  at the end of the pier at the mouth of the Kewaunee River 

Lighthouse Friends
www.lighthousefriends.com

Seeing the Light
www.terrypepper.com

Kewaunee Chamber of Commerce
www.kewaunee.org

book:
"Lighthouses of Wisconsin"
by Bruce Roberts & Ray Jones
Globe Pequot Press (2006)
page 32
buy it at
Amazon.com
buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"Wisconsin Lighthouses"
by Ken Wardius & Barb Wardius
Big Earth Publishing (2000)
pages 82 - 83
buy it at
Amazon.com
buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

 

3

Algoma Pierhead Light

 

location:  Algoma
lighthouse

The 1908 lighthouse tower is closed to the public, but the grounds are open to visitors. 

  at the end of the pier at the mouth of the Anahpee River 

Lighthouse Friends
www.lighthousefriends.com

Seeing the Light
www.terrypepper.com

Algoma Chamber of Commerce
www.algoma.org

book:
"Lighthouses of Wisconsin"
by Bruce Roberts & Ray Jones
Globe Pequot Press (2006)
page 33
buy it at
Amazon.com
buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"Wisconsin Lighthouses"
by Ken Wardius & Barb Wardius
Big Earth Publishing (2000)
pages 82 - 83
buy it at
Amazon.com
buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

 

More Kewaunee County historic sites listed at:  Explore Wisconsin

 


updated 08-25-09  •  all images excluding those attributed to others are property of Wisconsinosity.com