J. S. Tripp Memorial Museum

Tripp Memorial Museum located at 565 Water Street in downtown Prairie du Sac is our primary museum site having two floors of display area, museum office, and basement storage area. This building is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The picture above shows the building a few years after construction.

    In 1912 J. S. Tripp donated $10,500.00 to build a public library and village hall. The first floor was the library and the second floor was the village hall. When the village hall moved to a new building, also housing  the Volunteer Fire Department, on Park Avenue behind the Tripp building the second floor was made available to the Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society for museum space. In 1997 the the fire department moved to larger quarters in the Prairie du Sac Industrial Park, the village hall moved to larger quarters in a former bank building and the former Fire Department and Village Hall building was remodeled into new quarters for the Public Library . After considering possible uses for the Tripp building the Village of Prairie du Sac sold the building to the Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society on January 31, 1998.

    The first floor is home to:

Historic displays including dentistry; millinery; 1880s Bed Room; Early 1900s Parlor including an1864 rectangular piano; Photo exhibit of the construction of the Prairie du Sac Hydroelectric Dam; Native American; and J. Stephens Tripp

Museum office and gift shop where numerous books of local history may be purchased.

    The second floor is home to:

Displays of  more then 300 mounted birds and other animals most of them done by self taught taxidermist, Ed. Ocshner; Civil War;  pioneer school; handcraft items; old china; 1890's vintage upright piano.

    The basement is an artifact storage area.