The Civilian Conservation Corps barracks had been sitting on the North Lakeland Discovery Center campus in Manitowish Waters since 1996, though its history goes back much further.
It was built in 1933 at Palmer Lake near Land O’Lakes. It moved around a couple of times before ending up at the Discovery Center where it was mostly used as storage.
That was until the Manitowish Waters Historical Society reached out to the Discovery Center with an idea to restore it and use it to teach the forestry history of the Northwoods.
“This is an experience that's more than a museum,” said Jim Bokern, vice president of the Manitowish Waters Historical Society.
It took years of fundraising and planning to restore the barracks to its former glory. It’s now home to interactive exhibits that take people through the different eras of forest management from Indigenous practices to modern-day timber harvesting.
“I would argue that within these walls are knowledge of a history and legacy that is defining to northern Wisconsin, and I think most Wisconsinites get that Wisconsin, as a state, is connected to the Northwoods, and those traditions,” said Bokern. “Here in the Northwoods, in a rural area where there isn't a whole lot of farming, the forest story remains quite strong. We hope people engage and get after it. This is a great place to learn about the best spots.”
Bokern calls the museum the “launching pad” for the Northwoods Forest History Experience. The goal is to get people out into the evolving forests in the Northwoods.
People are encouraged to scan a QR code for the CLIO app which directs visitors to sites across the Northwoods where they can experience forestry history.
“You come here, you kind of see the whole layout. You say, ‘I like that,’ and then we'll tailor an experience for you off of campus that you can go to a place like Presque Isle, or you could go to Land O'Lakes, or Lac du Flambeau, or a whole host of other areas,” said Bokern. “It's supposed to be that kind of fun spot, family forward.”
After being open for only a month, the Northwoods Forest History Experience is already adding to exhibits.
The building of a wigwam
Wayne Valliere of the Lac du Flambeau Tribe is a birch bark canoe builder and an Ojibwe language and culture teacher in the district.
He and some helpers spent all last week building a wigwam next to the barrack.
“At one time, there was many, many wigwams that stood in the Northwoods,” said Valliere.
Valliere says the wigwams were traditionally built by the women, with two being able to assemble one in 20 minutes.
It was used as a summer lodge that could be disassembled and reassembled to go where they needed in the summer.
“Say the greatest blueberry patches 20 miles from here. Well, I ain't gonna walk back and forth. I'm gonna take my wigwam over there and set it up in the summertime,” said Valliere. “I'm going to pick berries over there, and dry them, and do whatever I have to do over there, so it made more sense to have a portable lodge in the summertime.”
The entire structure is made of wood. All the wood used to make the wigwam at the North Lakeland Discovery Center was harvested from the Lac du Flambeau Reservation and Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.
Valliere explains the process of building wigwams is sustainable.
The bark is harvested so it heals on the tree. The small maples harvested make room for other maples to grow larger.
“We make sure that we use everything in a good way, and we only take what we can use, and we always make sure that we leave some for seed for the next generation,” said Valliere.
Looking to the future
After building the wigwam through high heat and humidity, followed by the hazardous air quality from wildfire smoke, which Valliere says he’s never seen in the “60 seasons” he’s lived in the Northwoods, Valliere can’t help but reflect on how much the environment has changed.
“As long as we respect the animals and only take what we can use, the spirits of the animals promise us life forever,” said Valliere. “Nowadays, are we taking the best care of our plants and our animals like we should? It's an awareness that we're talking to our children about. Finding better ways of doing things because, ultimately, we're just loaning this world from our children. It's theirs. It's not ours.”
Sitting inside the restored CCC barracks, Jim Bokern had a similar reflection about the future of our forests.
He hopes seeing the wigwam and walking through the exhibits, and taking in the Northwoods Forest History Experience gives people a greater appreciation for the forests.
“It puts it in a context where you can see it all, and hopefully see how it all fits together,” said Bokern. “We call it the Northwoods. We don't call it the Northlawn. If it's woods, we're talking forests. We should protect our forests, understand our forests, and have a plan going forward for the future.”
The Northwoods Forest History Experience is open in Manitowish Waters Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through the summer.
It’s also open by appointment for schools and other groups.
