Sussex-Lisbon Area Historium

Sussex Lisbon Area Museum [originally called the Depot Museum, later the Fred H. Keller History Museum] came into being after Sussex Village Historian Fred Keller sent a February 2001 letter to the Village Board, stating that he wanted to donate his collection of area history items. He stipulated that a historical society had to be formed, and said he hoped that a local museum would be purchased sometime.

After members of the local communities met, the Sussex-Lisbon Area Historical Society, Inc., or SLAHS, was formed, and immediately sought a suitable location to be used as a museum to hold and exhibit Fred’s massive collection, which started back in 1946 when he was only 14 years old.

Come See Our Exhibits!

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Music Polka and Dance

Join with us to view local Sussex-Lisbon-Menomonee Falls music history; from polka and dance to rock n' roll. The Museum is building a collection of Wisconsin based recording studios and their vinyl record labels. The collection will expand to include cassettes, CD's and digital audio media.
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Kewpie
Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The Mammoth Springs Canning Company in Templeton/Sussex licensed the Kewpie character to use on many forms of business advertising. Historian Fred Keller accumulated a large collection of this memorabilia housed within the Museum.
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Land O Lakes Baseball
Our local area has a rich history of Land O' Lakes Baseball. This exhibit provides the league formation history, along with local teams, Lannon Stone Men, and Sussex Cardinals. 100th anniversary in 2022!
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Masonic

In 2015, the Sussex based Ashlar Masonic Lodge was torn down for expanded parking space for a nearby building. The Lodge began in 1874, and members built the structure in the 1920s. Lack of membership growth caused dissolution of the Lodge and subsequent building sale. Come see the many artifacts save before its destruction.
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Music Rock n Roll

Join with us to view local Sussex-Lisbon-Menomonee Falls music history; from polka and dance to rock n' roll. The Museum is building a collection of Wisconsin based recording studios and their vinyl record labels. This collection will expand to include cassettes, CD's and digital audio media.
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Pioneer
For over 70 plus years, historian Fred Keller has accumulated many artifacts of farm, business, and family life in the local area. There is something for everyone, including tools to shave a hogs hair off.
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Native American
The Sussex-Lisbon-Lannon area has a rich Native American history that is once again being explored. Our projectile point [spear points and arrowheads] collections are growing. Come see early stone tools found locally, 1950s Wisconsin Dells memorabilia, and the efforts of a Boy Scout in the late 1940s who crafted an Indian dress and tools to earn his Eagle Scout award.
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Railroad

Our area had three major railway lines coming thru the area, beginning in the early 1880s, with the third one completed in 1911. See Milwaukee Road [now the famous Bug Line], Chicago & North Western, and Wisconsin Central aka SOO Line memorabilia and history.
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Fossils

Our Museum is fortunate to house a collection of fossils found in local quarry mining operations. Recently other fossils have been discovered in farmers' rock piles from the time when the area was covered by warm salt water sea.
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Local Notable Women

Local women were often times ignored for their accomplishments in life; not so any more in our area. Two women are chosen each year to be represented and praised in our Local Notable Women Wall of Fame exhibit. Each exhibit is up for six months.