Heritage Hill State Historical Park
ABOUT
Heritage Hill State Historical Park (HHSHP) is a 56 acre open-air museum located just outside Green Bay, Wisconsin. The site is a Wisconsin state park and is operated and maintained by the Heritage Hill Foundation in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The mission of HHSHP is to enrich the lives of others by sharing Northeast Wisconsin’s diverse cultural and historic ties that bind their local communities together.
The site contains 26 historical and reproduction structures, mostly endangered historic buildings moved from other locations plus a few modern reconstructions. The Park is divided into four main areas: The Fur Trade, representing the first contact and fur trade industry in Wisconsin; The Growing Community, representing Green Bay's beginnings as a burgeoning metropolis in the late 19th century; The Belgian Farmstead, a representation of immigrant farming communities in the early 20th century; and Fort Howard, a reconstruction of how Fort Howard would have stood on the west side of Green Bay in the mid-19th century.
The park features living history interpreters that enhance the visitor experience and is open year round. It has a robust school visitation program for both traditional K-12 and homeschoolers, as well as providing numerous classroom assets and curriculums for teachers.
HISTORY
The property on which HHSHP sits was used as a prison farm with orchards tended by prison labor for many years. In 1972, the DNR Board approved the establishment of a historical park, and the name Heritage Hill State Historical Park was chosen for the new historic site.
The park opened on May 1, 1977, and over the next 20 years more than 25 buildings and 15 acres of land were added to the park. Preservation of the buildings, six of which are on the National Register of Historic Places, remains a primary objective. But HHSHP also has over 9,000 artifacts in its collection, including original artwork, books, clothing and furnishings dating from the 17th century to the present that it uses to further interpret the history of Northeastern Wisconsin and its people.
In 2006, the Betsy Hendrickson and Lucyanna Hitch Education Center was constructed which allows year-round use for education programs as well as business meetings, receptions, and parties. Importantly, education programs annually draw roughly 18,000 students who acquire a first-hand look at how their early relatives worked and played.
GRANT PROJECT
The Americana Corner Preserving America Grant awarded to the Heritage Hill State Historical Park funded new uniforms and musical instruments for a growing Fife & Drum Corps as a part of HHSHP’s public education outreach program and daily interpretive programs.
HHSHP accurately interprets the life of United States soldiers of the 5th Infantry at Fort Howard during the mid-1830s, and the Fife and Drum Corps play a major role in those interpretive offerings on a daily basis at the Fort. Through those interactions, they provide visitors with an in-depth look at early America’s military music tradition in an immersive environment.
Americana Corner is proud to assist the Heritage Hill State Historical Park with its mission to preserve the Great American Story and to help our fellow citizens grow their love of country.
