A new exhibit has opened in museum for the 2011 season. Prepared by Curator Rita Frakes and Research Historian Virgil Matz, it portrays in photos, text, and artifacts the role area people played in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. This year, 2011, is the anniversary of the beginning of the conflict that erupted in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861.

Within a month of Lincoln's call for volunteers on April 15, 1861, Lucius Fairchild, Governor of Wisconsin, came to Mazomanie to give a speech supporting the raising of troops requested by Lincoln. Area men responded and enlisted in Companies A and G of the Wisconsin Infantry. By the time the war ended in 1865, over 200 local men had served in the 11th, 14, 17, 23, 35, 40, and 49th Wisconsin Infantry, the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, and the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery.

Among other objects, the exhibit contains a musket, sword, and uniforms used in the conflict and many stories and photographs of the men who were killed, wounded, and taken prisoner. Detailed efforts taken by local people in support of the men in the field are also displayed. The exhibit will remain in the museum through several seasons as the nation commemorates the war that divided the country 150 years ago.

The Mazomanie Historical Society Museum is now open for the Summer. Summer hours for the Museum are Sundays from 1-4 pm. The Research Center, as always, is open by appointment.