Fond du Lac Wisconsin

Galloway House and Village

As with every family, spirit members sometimes
prefer to hang around or perhaps just visit.

DESCRIPTION

The Galloway House is a lovely 1880, thirty room, mid-Victorian farm home, with many Italiante details, that showcase the success of Edmund Galloway. The Galloway House is part of The Galloway House and Villlage Historical Park that also offers tours of the other historic structures that were moved here and restored as well by The Fond du lac Historical Society.

I highly reccommend taking the tour of this lovely house, where one can learn how people in the past lived, as well as see the period furniture and decorum, and the house lay-out, and other novel things that you won’t see every day.

The Fond du Lac Historical Society did a fine job in renovating and restoring this grand old lady, though some small projects still need to be done. Thank goodness for historical societies who save old structures from the wrecking ball, or from suffering the fate of a complete remodeling job which destroys its original personality.

The older part of the house is well-laid out and practical in nature, with no wasted space. The add-on, mid-Victorian additions are lovely, and well-done: a great example of a mid-Victorian home with Italiante details. These details include inlaid and carved wood, and other very nice artistic touches typical of the Italiante style of architecture and design.

This historical society had rescued this Victorian home and bought some of its farm land as well, making it a place to move other rescued historical buildings, creating a nice village, made up of a church, photographers’ shop, townhall, newspaper print shop, and one-room school house.

I highly recommend taking the tour of this lovely house, where one can learn how people in the past lived, as well as see the period furniture and decorum, and the house lay-out. The Fond du Lac Historical Society did a fine job in renovating and restoring this grand old lady, though some small projects still need to be done. Thank goodness for historical societies who save old structures from the wrecking ball, or from suffering the fate of a complete remodeling job which destroys its original personality.

The older part of the house is well-laid out and practical in nature, with no wasted space. The add-on, mid-Victorian additions are lovely, and well-done, a great example of a mid-Victorian home with Italianate details, and inlaid and carved wood, and other very nice artistic touches.

I found out some interesting details about the Galloways.

Though Mrs. Galloway had a cook and servants, she served her dinner guests herself, taking the food from the window where the food to be served was placed when ready, from the kitchen.

There is a beloved dog, a stuffed black retriever, which is laying down in the living room.

In the tower area, they kept the ornate family coffin, used for wakes in the home, when one of their own passed on. The staircase accommodated the occasional need to take the coffin down from the attic, into the parlor for viewing of the deceased.

HISTORY

French explorers first visited the Fond du Lac area in the early 1700s and established a trading outpost on the south shore of Wisconsin’s largest body of water Lake Winnebago.

The Galloway House was the family abode for three generations of the Galloway family. In the beginning, the first generation of the Galloway family were strictly farmers; buying land and building a regular, wooden farm home, average garden variety, until this part of Wisconsin was opened up to settlers.

Edwin Galloway invested in lumber after 1854, when the Native Americans gave title to their forest lands to the government, that was located around the lakes. Edwin made his fortune selling lumber to new settlers or people who built the homes for these new folks.

Slavery wasn’t the way people ran farms, or had help, even in the early days in Wisconsin. There was plenty of hired help available; mostly Frenchmen.

If someone moved with slaves from the South or Missouri into this area, the pressure was on them to release them or not treat them as slaves, but members of the family. The practice of slavery was strongly discouraged, and any harsh treatment definitely wasn’t tolerated by the people of Wisconsin.

It is highly unlikely that the Galloways had slaves. No mention of the practice is in evidence in the museum or the property itself, let alone the tour.

As the Galloway’s prospered, new grander additions were added; finally finishing this lovely Victorian home in 1880. This Victorian forever home became a place where the Galloways raised their families, entertained others; perhaps hosting events as well.

In 1926, the grandson of Edwin Galloway moved his family out of the Galloway forever home, and into a 1910 Queen Anne Victorian in Fond du Lac, because his wife wanted to live in town.

Edwin sold the property out of the Galloway family. Various other people lived here. Eventually, the Galloway forever home became empty of the living; slipping into a fixer upper opportunity state, needing restoration and TLC; in danger of being torn down.

The Fond du Lac Historical Society rescued this historic gem JIT, and even bought some of the land that came with this property. They had the grand idea of making it a place to move other rescued historical buildings; creating a historic museum made up of historical structures which they restored.

The Fond du Lac Historical Society created a nice village of historic structures, made up of the Galloway House, a church, a photographers’ shop, a townhall, a newspaper print shop, and a one-room school house.

I found out some interesting details about the Galloways.

Though Mrs. Galloway had a cook and servants, she served her dinner guests herself, taking the food from the window where the food to be served was placed when ready, from the kitchen.

There is a beloved dog, a stuffed black retriever, which is laying down in the living room.

HISTORY OF MANIFESTATIONS

As with every family, people eventually die, and sometimes prefer to hang around their earthly things or forever home, instead of passing over to the other side. Or, perhaps they like to just visit their family home.

Morgan House, Mass (Members of the Morgan family decided to remain in their family home).

Moss Mansion, MT (Members of the Moss Family like to visit and enjoy their forever home).

Whaley House, CA (Members of the Whaley family still enjoy their home as they couldn’t live here very long while they were alive).

Galloway House, WI (Family members are thought to still enjoy their forever home, not minding having to share it with throngs of people who take the tours offered; being hospitable now as much as they were while they were alive).

Children who die from illness or accident, sometimes like to stay in a structure that they felt love and comfort; like the family home.

Jordan House, IA (A little girl broke her neck sliding down the banisters, but she still loves to play here).

Stone Lion Inn, OK (A small child accidentally was given too much medication to treat her whopping cough and she died, but still likes to play here with the living children’s toys).

Collinwood Art Center; Gerber House, OH (Three children who died from Cholera still play hide and seek here).

Galloway House (Galloway children or youngsters from later families who died from probably a disease epidemic still have fun playing in the nursery area).

When items and possessions of spirits who once owned them are put on display in a house museum, the spirits who originally owned them can be drawn back to visit them and enjoy them once more.

Perry House Museum, PA (Spirits of the Perry clan like to visit their items on display and perhaps have decided to reside here).

Buffalo Bill Ranch State Park, NE (It is no wonder that the spirit of Buffalo Bill has moved right in after all his mementoes of his life are on display).

Pittock House Museum, OR (The spirits of Mr. and Mrs. Pittock are thrilled with all their things on display in their retirement home).

Galloway House, WI (Many items that belonged to various people in the three generations of the Galloway clan are on display as being part of the house museum; from the stuffed family pet to other personal items, furniture and housewares).

When a delapitated house is restored to its former glory or reconstructed, spirits who are attached to this structure can be drawn back to this world and this place.

Hartford Twain House (The Twain family moved back into their restored dream home, not minding having to share it with throngs of folks coming to see it).

The Custer House, ND (When the Custer House was reconstructed according to General Custer’s original blueprints, suddenly a lot of spirits came to stay!).

Pioneer Village Yellow Victorian, AZ (After the house was moved here, and restored to its Victorian best, spirits who were attached came back to reside there).

Galloway House, WI (Spirits who loved this home, probably members of the Galloway clan were thrilled that their home was restored and have probably moved back in or like to visit a lot).

Servants of a household have been known to decide to stay where they worked after they passed.

Brumder Mansion, WI (Spirits of two house managers still help the living owners manage living employees as well as give advice in their own way).

Stanley Hotel, CO (A spirit of a maid who was very loyal to Mr. Stanley, still performs her duties, including a few new ones of her own choosing).

Menger Hotel, TX (A spirit of a maid doesn’t let the fact that she was murdered by her husband stop her from going about her job).

Galloway House, WI (Perhaps a spirit of a former maid still is helping the spirit of the spectral mistress of the house by doing chores like the dishes and kitchen clean up).

MANIFESTATIONS

Housekeeping Never Ends

Sensitive people have heard dishes clattering in the kitchen.

They probably hear some concentrated sweeping in the kitchen as well.

Sounds of Spirit Children

People have heard giggling coming from the upstairs playroom.

Staff who do repairs in the house when it is closed to tours may hear little feet running around upstairs.

Unseen Spirits Carrying on

People have heard unseen presences moving around in various parts of this house.

People have heard disembodied voices of unseen presences talking amongst themselves in many places in this lovely house.

People have probably felt benign unseen presences keeping them company as they make repairs or take a tour, like a polite host with good midwestern manners would do.

PARANORMAL FINDINGS

Undisclosed sources have reported feelings and sounds of unseen presences listed above under the Manifestations section.

No official paranormal investigations have been allowed in this historic structure, probably because the Fond du lac Historical Society doesn’t want to draw ghost hunting groups. They want the Galloway House to be seen as a historical house museum.

Besides, they know who the spirits would be; probably the Galloway family who have been good sports about the house tours. Ghost Hunters may rile them up by annoying behavior.

STILL HAUNTED?

Can’t say for sure.

No other reports from more reliable sources have substantiated these accounts. No tell-tale cold spots or other stronger manifestations besides the auditory ones have been reported by anyone.

The sounds coming from the kitchen may just be residual energy, that plays in a loop and when it is out of energy, these manifestations will stop. The sounds coming from the upstairs nursery could also be residual energy.

Usually, entities seek attention from the living, while getting some chuckles at the same time.

These spirits could be really benign and gentle, well behaved and just going about their business, or perhaps some people may have an active imagination.

Of course, the home is closed to the living after 4:00 pm, giving the home to any entity who may be lingering about. During the evening hours, many entities become active. Being closed and empty of the living, spirits are freer to be themselves and fully enjoy their home.

LOCATION

336 Old Pioneer Road
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935
(920) 922-6390 or (920) 922-1166

The Galloway House is part of a historical park, The Galloway House and Villlage, found on Old Pioneer Road. Its cross streets are East Pioneer Road and South Park Avenue. If traveling down East Pioneer Rd after turning off Martin Avenue just take a right turn off of East Pioneer Road, onto Old Pioneer Road. If you miss this turn, you can continue down East Pioneer Road until you see S. Park Avenue where you turn right, going north. Continue until you find the other end of Old Pioneer Road, and turn right.

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