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HISTORICAL SOCIETY continued from 45
Broad support from benefactors and the community enabled the Society to build the 18,000-square-foot, $ 3.2 million Brown County History Center without a mortgage. Coulter said the furniture was donated, the electrical system vendor knocked off a large chunk of the cost, and organizations such as the Community Foundation and Lion’ s Club helped with grants.
Architect Kirkwood Design worked together with General Contractor Dunlap Co. Local artisans Paul Bay and Sons installed 100 tons of Brown County stone. Construction included 91 tons of structural steel, 48,000 feet of wiring and a“ highefficiency variable refrigerant flow system with zone control.”
The building’ s first floor houses a gift shop, meeting room, historic displays— including dolls, snake skins and a turtle shell— and a storage room for artifacts, from old typewriters to paintings and printing presses.
The second floor holds a larger meeting room that generates revenue by hosting events such as
wedding receptions. That floor also houses the temperature-and humidity-controlled room that preserves tin type photos, high school graduation photos going back to the 1940s, a cabinet with old road and plat maps, court records and old newspapers. Dunn said older newspapers hold up surprisingly well, as they used to be printed on cotton rather than the flimsier tree pulp.
The oldest documents date back to 1848, a leather-bound volume of tax records that show the names of the taxpayers, how many acres they owned and how much they paid in taxes. Some records show people had to pay extra taxes if they owned a dog, horse, carriage, or pocket watch.
Despite the building’ s prominent location, at 90 Gould St., a five-minute walk from the Brown County Playhouse, Coulter said many people still don’ t know the building exists. And despite a dedicated core of volunteers, the society is struggling with an aging membership as Brown County increasingly becomes a haven for retirees.“ We could always use help,” Coulter said. You can get involved by contacting the Brown
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