HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Editor’s Note: This website is not affiliated with the Princeton Historical Society. The following information is provided as a community service for those interested in historical research. Much of the infrastructure of this site has not been updated since the society opened the remodeled and expanded museum in 2022. It’s on my list for 2024.

Princeton Historical Society Inc. has been a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax-exempt organization since 1983. The designation is defined as follows:

Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn’t provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Donations to 501(c)(3) organizations are tax deductible.

The Princeton Historical Society is governed by a six-member board. Board members serve three-year terms; two board members are elected each December. The board elects its officers.

MEETINGS: Third Monday of the month.

MUSEUM HOURS: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the third Saturday of June, July and August.

ADDRESS: 630-632 W. Water Street, P.O. Box 328 Princeton, WI 54968

PHONE: 920-295-4927 or 920-295-3469

EMAIL: PrincetonHistSociety@gmail.com

Please note before proceeding: The information in the opening paragraph of the plan for the society’s museum is false. The building was not originally a general store in St. Marie. It was not pulled over land by oxen and horses in the dead of winter. It did not house a feed and seed store for over 100 years. I see a sad irony in a historical society not knowing, or ignoring, the history of its own museum building. The building was built in 1876 by Gardner Green as a lumber/hardware store, as recorded by the Wisconsin Historical Society in its Architecture and History Inventory. Several posts on this site relate the real story of the building at 630 West Water Street. The “folklore” version of the building’s history was created by society leaders in the 21st century as a marketing tool for the museum’s fundraising efforts.