Exploring Minocqua Wisconsin and another Refreshment Break

From Tomahawk, we drifted a bit further north on US Hwy 51 to the town of Minocqua Wisconsin…and actually drove all the way up to Boulder Junction, which is located just a few miles south of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  However, we did stop to shop and look around in Minocqua.

Minocqua is a tourist/vacation orientated town!  For a place with a population of about 4,500 people, downtown Minocqua was a busy place.  Lots of vacationers wandered along the sidewalks and in and out of the stores… Although the town was organized in 1889, the town doesn’t seem very old. 

Proof that Minocqua is a tourist destination is everywhere.  Plenty of the buildings project that ‘German Bavarian’ look and then there are these painted ‘buildings’ in view along Oneida Street… Cute!

The fact is that a great many buildings in the center of town were destroyed by a big fire in 1912.  Many of the buildings on Oneida Street…Minocqua’s main street…were designed and built after the fire.  

Like many towns that we visited throughout central Wisconsin, the local Chamber of Commerce and local businesses did a nice job of brightening up the business section of town with lots of hanging flower baskets & planters of flowers.

By the late 1800s, this was a logging town.  Of course, construction of railroads was critical to early growth in the area.  They were of course built to provide access to the timber.  Later the railroads catered to sportsmen and tourists and Minocqua was transformed into a vacation destination.  It obviously still is! 

It’s hard for me to reconcile the look of this gift shop with the fact that Depotmaps.com shows a photo of this building as a surviving depot…having been built by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. (Better known as the Milwaukee Road) I almost didn’t take a photo of it despite the fact that it is currently referred to as “the Old Depot Shops”.  It has been really modernized and, in my opinion has lost much of its character… I did find a photo that indicated that the depot existed ca. 1919.

 

Note:

·         The former railway right of way and the 2 trestles that brought trains to Minocqua are still in use, but not for railroads.  They provide the basis for the Bearskin State Trail, which provides hiking and biking in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter.  To learn about this trail, just go to https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/bearskin/.

Wandering off Oneida Street onto Milwaukee Street, I came across this attractive home.  A sign on the home stated that it had been built in 1894 from lumber salvaged from the first rural school house that had been built in the area… 

This distillery was right across the street from that old home.  This is the home of Northern Waters Distillery, a ‘very small batch’ distillery that produces vodka, bourbon, gin and moonshine.  A typical batch for this small distillery yields less than 100 bottles.  All mashing, fermenting, distilling and bottling is done by hand. 

To learn more about this distillery and their products, you can go to: http://www.northernwatersdistillery.com/.

Then I noticed the Minocqua Museum on the other corner!  Well, the ladies were shopping and exploring so I decided to do my own exploring. The women who were on duty on the first floor told me that I’d probably enjoy looking at the model train set-up in the basement.  So off I went!

These are just 2 photos taken from the 10 or so that I took of the model train layout.  It filled the entire basement of the museum and another volunteer was on duty operating the trains.  Fun!  The layout depicts the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s when the logging industry was king.

For all you railroad buffs out there, the Northwoods Model Railroad Club has posted a video of their creation at the Minocqua museum and they provide some railroad history as well.  Check it out at http://www.northwoodsmodelrrclub.org/museumtour.

Upstairs at the museum, there are several areas of interest broken up into compartments.  There is even another small railroad layout…at the right of the photo.

The military is well represented with manikins in uniforms, photos, old posters, news clippings and various other related items.

Love the old kitchen, don’t you?   What I like best about it is that it actually predates yours truly!  Look how thick that refrigerator door is…

I’ve seen a lot of old cars in a lot of automobile museums, but I’ve never seen this one before!  This is a 1908 Cameron Model 9.  This beauty had 3 speeds forward, a 4-cylinder engine producing 16 – 20 horsepower, could reach speeds of 45 miles per hour and it was a ‘great hill climber!’  This auto company operated in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and in Connecticut where its last auto was manufactured in 1920.

The Minocqua Museum is located at 503 Flambeau Street.  Call for open hours.  Phone: 715-356-7666.  I’m sure that this museum is operated by volunteers.  Admission is free but donations are accepted.  The museum is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Minocqua-Museum-558319464193373/.

After all of our exploration it was only logical that we would stop for a little refreshment.  I’d already been down by the Minocqua Brewing Company and taken this photo.  I should have asked our waitress what this large and sturdy building had been in the past but it slipped my mind...

In my earlier walking visit to this area of town, I took a couple of photos of the lake by the brewery.  Part of the attraction for the town of Minocqua is the fact that the town is really located on an isthmus that extends into the middle of Lake Minocqua.  It’s not a small lake either, as it covers 1,339 acres with an average depth of 23 feet.

Back to the Minocqua Brewing Company and Restaurant… These days it seems like breweries, wineries and distilleries are just about everywhere.  The Minocqua Brewing Company offers an extensive menu as well as a lounge menu in the area where we were seated.

In keeping with the north wood theme, the craft beers on the menu were named the “Largemouth Blonde”, “Minocqua Pale Ale”, “Roadkill Red”, “Bear Naked Brown” and the “Pudgy Possum Porter”.  I don’t remember which ones we tried but they were better than average.  We didn’t sample their menu...

The Minocqua Brewing Company is located at 238 Lakeshore Drive.  Phone: 715-356-2600.  Website: https://minocquabrewingcompany.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave