Overview

Artistic objects rooted in places and cultures reveal something special about communities.

Since 1975, the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society has consciously collected examples of locally produced and locally owned works of art. Considered chronologically, these artful artifacts illustrate continuity and change in the identities of Southwestern Dane County’s ethnic communities—Norwegian-Americans especially.

From rosemaled trunks and handcrafted mangle boards cherished by first-wave immigrants, to artifacts hailing from the Little Norway site and the Song of Norway pageant, to the whimsical gnome-like carved citizenry of the (now trademarked) “Troll Capital of the World,” the artistic transformation of area ethnicity is evident.