Beyer Home & Carriage Museum
Location
Hours
Guided Tours: Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day
Open Daily: Noon to 4 pm
Research by appointment only May 1 – October 15. Contact Us to schedule a group tour or research.
Admission
Adults: $5
Students (6-18yrs): $2
Family (max 2 adults): $10
Under 6: Free
Discounted prices available for adult groups of ten or more.
Discounted prices available for school groups at $1.00 per student.
Beyer Home
This historic house was built in 1868 by Cyrus and Kitty Hart; it is believed to be one of the first brick homes in the county with the bricks being shipped to Oconto from DePere. The building passed through several owners before becoming the home of George and Fanny Beyer in 1878. Though the original structure was an Italianate-style, the Beyers remodeled it into a Queen Anne style home adding a wrap-around porch, three-story tower room and entry, a south bay addition, and new windows, many of which included leaded glass.
In 1940, the county acquired this home and turned it over to the county historical society with the stipulation that it become a museum for all to enjoy. During the 1970s, the society undertook a complete interior restoration of the home to the 1890s. Now the building is open to the public as a fine example of how the small town wealthy lived. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Carriage House
The Historical Society is forever grateful to the Leon H. & Clymene M. Bond Foundation for its kind donation which provided the Society sufficient funds for the construction of the Carriage House attached to the rear of the George E. Hall Annex. Completed in 2016, this museum addition includes a 3,200 square foot display room showcasing some very rare horse drawn carriages, antique electric cars, and Leon Bond’s fully restored 1958 Ford Fairlane 500 hard-top convertible. There are also exhibits for the Oconto Brewing Company, the Stanley Toy Company, and Military History with artifacts dating as far back as the Civil War.
The Carriage House also has a gift shop, plus a meeting room with warming kitchen and amenities available for rental.
George E. Hall Annex
In 1952 Donald Baldwin came upon human remains to the west of Oconto near Suzie’s Hill. This presented an issue to the Oconto County Historical Society as to how to best display the artifacts that were unearthed. Up to this time the rooms in the Beyer Home Museum had various displays such as military and religious. This was not the ideal presentation of the home or the artifacts. It was proposed, then, to build another building on the grounds that would accommodate items that did not fit in the home, as well as serve as an office and meeting area.
Donations were first solicited in 1954. Jeannette Holt pledged $5000 to honor her father, W. A. Holt. On July 8, 1955 a committee met to settle on a plan. The plans originally called for the front room to be divided into several areas, but the present layout was finally selected, except for the Waterways room. Several portions of the building were salvaged from area buildings to be used. Most of the store fronts in the Main Street display were taken from actual stores in Oconto. Doors and wainscoting from the Oconto County Courthouse were installed upstairs. The front door was taken from Joseph Hall house. The bricks from the Pierce Hotel were used to face the building.
Although they did not have all the funds needed they decided to break ground on September 9, 1957, with confidence that funding would be found. The last payment was made from the bank account in September 1958. A balance of $10.93 was left when the bank account was finally closed in 1960.
In 1978 it was decided to make two additions to the Annex. One was a chapel on the west side. An extra room was also added to the north side, called the Wellington-Wilson addition, and displayed a parlor scene.
In 1979 the OCHS Board honored Jimmie Hall by renaming the building as the George E. Hall Annex. As Duane Ebert announced at the dedication “For a lifetime of devotion to a cause, to a community, to people, and for an ideal, it is only fitting and proper that we should dedicate this day, and this building to Jimmie Hall. For all here, and for me may this honor to you express our appreciation and admiration.”
After issues with leaking and flooding these additions were removed in 1981 and a new addition was put on the west end that was connected better and more stable. It houses the Waterways Exhibit. The Copper Culture displays were moved to the Werrebroeck home at the Copper Culture Park when it was opened in 1982.
Quick Links
