I first heard of the Milton House Museum from The Mother of All Trips, and I was pleased when it fit into our own Wisconsin vacation.  This pioneer-era inn in the small town of Milton, Wisconsin, doubled as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and included a secret tunnel from the basement of the Milton House to a log cabin next door.  Joseph Goodrich, who built the Milton House, also donated land for many of the public buildings and parks in the Milton area.

After seeing the hexagonal-shaped Milton House and being told of its history, we were taken to the basement and then led through the tunnel, emerging in the floor of the log cabin.  The guides were excellent at explaining things to our kids, who had plenty of questions.

It’s fun to see the connections that our children make as we visit different places.  We’ve seen another Underground Railroad stop at the Graue Mill near Chicago.  The dresses of the guides at the Milton House in Wisconsin were similar to those we’ve seen at Civil War reenactment camps at Fort Ridgely in Minnesota.  We learned more about the Minnesota Civil War regiments at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  And so it goes, history becoming more real as we travel.

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