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Each week a small segment of Vernon County history is published in the county papers.
For the week of 7/12/2026
by Kristen Parrott, curator
What is America? Our commemoration of the U.S. 250th continues with a talk on this subject and on "The Idea of America and the Constitutional Debates". Professor Daniel Kapust of UW Madison will present this program on Tuesday, July 21, at 6PM, at the Vernon County Museum and History Center.
Daniel Kapust teaches political science and has published widely on ancient, early modern, and modern political thought. He is interested in rhetoric, theories of liberty, American exceptionalism, imperialism, the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debates, and related topics.
The program will ask, What is America? This question was one of the central issues in the debates over the ratification of the Constitution. The Constitution was written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and has been in operation since 1789. Federalists and Anti-Federalists argued not just about whether to adopt the new Constitution, but what America was and what it might be.
Everyone is welcome to attend. Programs are held in the first-floor, wheelchair-accessible, air-conditioned conference room. Attendees are asked for a donation of $2.50 each to help cover our costs.
This presentation comes to us courtesy of Badger Talks, through the University of Wisconsin. Badger Talks reflects the tradition of the Wisconsin Idea — to extend the resources of the university to citizens of the state. Over 300 Badger Talks are hosted around the state each year, featuring faculty and staff with expertise in a variety of disciplines.
Thank you to everyone who attended our public reading of the Declaration of Independence, and to our 12 wonderful readers. We were so fortunate to be able to finish this outdoor event before the rain began. If you missed it, you can watch a recording on the Vernon County Historical Society’s youtube channel.
Our last grill-out of the summer will be held on Saturday, July 18, from 10AM to 2PM, outside Nelson Agri-Center in Viroqua. Bratwurst and hotdogs will be for sale, with all proceeds going to help preserve and promote our shared local history.
For the week of 7/5/2026
by Kristen Parrott, curator
As part of our summer celebration of the U.S. 250th, the Vernon County Historical Society is hosting a public reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8, at 5PM. This event will commemorate the first public reading of the Declaration, 250 years ago on July 8, 1776, in Philadelphia. Americans in all 50 states and 16 territories of the United States will be reading the Declaration of Independence “together” at the same time on July 8 this year.
Our reading will take place outside at the Vernon County Museum and History Center, located at the corner of S. Main St. and E. South St. in Viroqua. Many readers from the community will take part, each reading a different portion from the Declaration. Everyone is welcome to attend. In case of rain, the event will move inside to the conference room.
Gravestones will be the topic of the next genealogy class, which will be held at the history center on Thursday, July 9, at 10AM. Teacher Karen Sherry will talk about the symbols found on historic gravestones. Weeping willows, pointing or clasping hands, urns, and angels are just a few of the designs and figures found on old stones in cemeteries. Family history buffs love to wander through old cemeteries looking for ancestors, and the graves of unrelated people can be just as interesting.
New students are always welcome to join the class. Vernon County Historical Society members attend for free, and non-members are asked to pay $5 per session. Classes are held in the first-floor, wheelchair-accessible, air-conditioned conference room.
One all-American story that you can read this summer of the 250th is that of lifelong Vernon County resident Duane Hoff. His autobiography, Never Enough Wheels, has just been published this year, 2026, four years after his death in 2022. The book has been edited and distributed by family and friends. It’s arranged by decades, the 1930’s into the 2000’s, and is full of family photos and stories of local people. Duane and his wife Dana owned Hoff’s Mobil Service Station on Viroqua’s Main Street for nearly 40 years. The slim softcover book costs $10, and you purchase it at our museum’s gift shop.
Duane Hoff’s just-published autobiography Never Enough Wheels
is available for purchase at the museum’s gift shop.
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