Explore

Home / Explore

Upcoming Summer Events

About Us

This stately stagecoach inn offers a fascinating glimpse into the long-ago era of horse-drawn travel, but it’s far from the only reason to hop in the car and venture to this historic site in the scenic northern Kettle Moraine. The elegantly preserved inn is just one of many interactive attractions exploring pioneer life in the 1800s that you will find on the site’s 280 acres – so plan on making a day of it!

Plan Your Visit

to experience historic hospitality from the time of horse-drawn carriages

BOOK TICKETS

The Wade House Stagecoach Inn

The lovely Greek Revival inn, constructed in the mid-nineteenth century along the stagecoach trail which ran between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, was a welcome sight for weary travelers. Today, you can tour the inn itself and observe the still-working kitchen where Betsey Wade once prepared hearty meals for hungry guests, check out the stately guest rooms, and step up to the bar in the taproom to quench your thirst.

Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum & Visitor Center

Your first stop at Wade House is at our modern visitor center. Opened in 2013, the center features a museum store, meeting spaces, a cafe and restrooms, as well as informational displays about the site. The adjacent state-of-the-art, 20,000 square-foot carriage museum features nearly 100 carriages and vehicles, some more than 150 years old, as well as interactive and hands-on exhibits highlighting their history.

Things To Explore

VISITOR MAP

Wagon Rides

Take a big step back in time and travel the grounds in style. Visitors to Wade House are treated to rides in one of several horse-drawn carriages and wagons – including a Prairie Schooner. There’s no better way to get in the spirit of the era or to experience the bucolic scenery of the northern Kettle Moraine than from your seat in one of our authentic covered wagons. The rides will carry you through the woods and over the Mullet River, to the site’s other historic buildings and attractions

Herrling Sawmill

Revel in the fresh woodsy scent of sawdust at the Herrling Sawmill. The mill, alongside the Mullet River, is all business up front, one of the state’s only remaining working water=powered sawmills. Out back sits a millpond just waiting for your fishing lines. The mill features a working vertical muley saw, popular in the middle of the 19th century, which saws with an up and down motion.

It definitely captures all the feels of those time periods

“All of the people dressed as characters from their designated time era did an amazing job in making it feels like a portal to a world before our time. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves historical places like this.”

Amber Sharapata

Dockstader Blacksmith Shop

Follow the steady beat of hammer on anvil to the Dockstader Blacksmith Shop, just downstream of the sawmill. Smithies on site provide demonstrations of iron working skills from the nineteenth century. Interactive workshops throughout the year offer opportunities for you to strike while the iron is hot and create your own keepsake.

Grounds & Gardens

Linger and explore the grounds at Wade House on one of several trails which meander through the property. You might even come face to face with one of our farm animals, lent to Wade House by local livestock owners. Three sheep and a small flock of chickens are housed on the grounds over the summer, examples of the heritage breeds common in the 1800s. Throughout the grounds, colorful gardens are planted with varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers. You’ll learn how Betsey Wade and her staff would have used these for meal preparation, dying wool and decorating the inn. Locally grown seasonal food was by necessity in her day.

The Personal Stories of Wade House

Each visitor to Wade House will receive a Settler Profile Card. These collectible cards – for sale in the gift shop – contain brief biographies of twenty of the area’s first settlers. From farmers to teachers to nurses to stagecoach drivers, you’ll learn a little more about the real lives behind the Wade House site. A fun bonus activity – the illustrations on the cards were based on Wade House staff, many of whom are still here. Can you guess who is who?

*STILL NEED MORE INFO*