Kettle Moraine State Forest—Southern Unit
Historic Sites

The Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest has three restored log cabins and America's largest outdoor museum of rural life.

A traditional split-rail fence surrounds the Emerson log house.
DNR Photo

Old World Wisconsin [exit DNR], has many displays such as ethnic farmsteads that include furnished houses and rural outbuildings and crossroads villages with their traditional small-town institutions.

The three other log cabins stand in the original sites. Information about the family that lived there, their journey, and the homestead can be found at each cabin. Check at the forest office for dates and times that cabins are open for guided tours.

• Gotten Cabin
  Built by German Immigrant Henry Gotten
  County Highway N, just north of State Highway 59
• Emerson Cabin
  Built by Norwegian Immigrant Barne Emerson
  Young Road, west of County Highway H
• Oleson Cabin
  Built by Norwegian Immigrant Ole Oleson
  Duffin Road, north of U.S. Highway 12

For more information, ask:

Kettle Moraine State Forest--Southern Unit
Forest Headquarters
S91 W39091 Hwy 59
Eagle, Wisconsin 53119
(262) 594-6200

Paul Sandgren, manager

Ottawa Lake Visitor Center
Camping Open All Year
(262) 594-6220 (Memorial Day to Labor Day)

Horserider’s Campground
Camping from April 1 to December 1
W830 Little Prairie Rd.
Palmyra, WI 53156

Whitewater Lake Visitor Center
Camping from Mid-May through Mid-October
(262) 473-6427 (Memorial Day to Labor Day)