ozaukee county pioneer village

We brought our Cub Scout pack to Pioneer Village on a Saturday afternoon when there were no special events going on. It was very peaceful (other than our boys running around making noise) and very pretty. There was a self-guided tour with an excellent map and then various docents would join us in some of the buildings to share interesting facts. The schoolhouse was particularly cool and the boys had a blast "getting in trouble" and sitting in the corner with the "Dunce" cap or writing on paper with an old quill pen. There is also a nice covered picnic area by the train car where we gathered and had a snack that we brought along. Cost is $2/student and $6/adult but they gave our group a special rate of $2/person on the spot when we asked.

This is a much smaller version of Old World Wisconsin. The docents at the Trading Post entrance gave us a scavenger hunt for my granddaughter to do while we looked through the buildings. It made us look at all the cool stuff in the buildings. They met us at the school house to tell us a little more about the place, and give us some personal history. Then another docent met us at one of the other houses and told us about the house and the family that used to live there. It took us about 2 hours to tour the entire grounds which was perfect for our 9 year old granddaughter. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes pioneer history. The price is right too.

The key to getting the most of your visit is to go during a special event when there are plenty of docents. We went for the free opening weekend and really enjoyed it. My son made butter, washed clothes and hung them to dry, watched the blacksmith, did lessons in the school room and enjoyed an ice cream social. The quilts on display were beautiful. There were several craftsman doing various chores using older equipment. It was very educational. It's very much like Old World Wisconsin, but the beauty is that it's much smaller so it's doable in a couple of hours and is easy for small children and adults who don't walk that well any more. I will definitely go again for the Revolutionary War Event in August.

Unfortunately the items and individuals remind me of when little kids dress up to pretend and forfeit the authenticity element of the role playing. The village seems to be more of a gimmick to equate the city as an old time place worthy of tourist dollars. Skip the charade and go to a real historic place (e.g. Bunker Hill, Chicago Fire-Water tower, Golden Gate Bridge et cetera) or a national park.

I went here a few years back and it was just OK; not much to do or see, and horribly hot and humid. A lot of bees, too. It was interesting to see all of the old buildings and the surrounding area is beautiful, though. Worth a trip - once. :-)

We went on opening weekend which was free.It is like a mini version of Old World Wisconsin.My kids love playing the old fashioned games.