Autumn Celebration Weekend
Celebrate fall at Wade House with pumpkin carving, apple pressing, carriage rides, and family-friendly storytelling.
| Event Details Sat-Sun, Oct 10 & 11, 2026 | 9:30 AM – 4PM Author Talk | Saturday, Oct 10, 2026 | 1 PM–2 PM Harvest at the Heart of the Kettle Moraine It’s fall in the Kettle Moraine! Breathe in the smell of crisp fall leaves and celebrate the changing of seasons at Wade House with traditional autumnal activities for the whole family. Try your hand at pumpkin carving, apple pressing and festive games like Snap Apple before heading over to the candlelit Herrling Sawmill. There, you’ll hear both the rumble of an up-and-down water-powered saw as well as spooky, family-friendly tales from the past. Afterwards, warm up with hot apple cider and enjoy horse-drawn carriage rides across the Wade House grounds. The Wade House Stagecoach Inn, Dockstader Blacksmith Shop, Herrling Sawmill and Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum will be open to guests. Oct 10 – Dan Bussey presents Wisconsin Apples in Immigrant and Native Communities Autumn is apple season! Join us for a special presentation on Saturday, Oct 10 from 1 PM–2 PM in the Walnut Room at Wade House Historic Site as author Dan Bussey traces the remarkable journey of apples throughout Wisconsin. Bussey will explore the apple varieties that originated in the state and the influence Native peoples and immigrants had over the apples they chose to grow for their families. An internationally recognized heirloom apple scholar and author of the definitive seven-volume “The Illustrated History of Apples in the United States and Canada,” Bussey has lectured about apples across the country and taught fruit tree grafting to thousands. His work has been featured on BBC Radio, National Public Radio, the New York Times and Wisconsin Public Radio and Television. What You’ll Experience Pumpkin carving, apple pressing and other harvest-themed activities at the Wade House Historic Site grounds Retellings of family-friendly spooky stories in keeping with the holiday season Beautiful horse-drawn carriage rides throughout the grounds A presentation on Wisconsin Apples in Immigrant and Native Communities by internationally recognized heirloom apple scholar Dan Bussey (Saturday, Oct 10, 1 PM–2 PM only) Cost Adult (18-64): $17 Teen (13-17): $17 Senior (65+): $15 Child (5-12): $8.50 Child Under 5: Free Society members receive a 10% discount, please verify your membership where prompted to receive discount at check out. About the Location Wade House Stagecoach Inn was constructed conveniently between the cities of Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, along a well-used stagecoach trail. This made the 27-room Greek Revival hotel a popular resting point for weary travelers. Three generations of the Wade family resided on the Wade House property, with the stagecoach inn operating until around 1872. The Kohler family and the Kohler Foundation purchased Wade House in 1950 and began a top-to-bottom restoration. The site became property of the Wisconsin Historical Society and opened to the public in 1953. Here, visitors can journey back to the horse-powered world that existed before planes, cars, and trains. The site features the stagecoach hotel built and owned by Sylvanus and Betsey Wade, early settlers of Greenbush, as well as a blacksmith shop, sawmill, and the Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum, which houses Wisconsin’s largest collection of carriages and wagons. Visitors can enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides from the visitor center to the historic core and back again. Wade House Historic Site & Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum (PO Box 34) W7965 State Hwy 23 Greenbush, WI 53026 Know Before You Go & Accessibility The author presentation Wisconsin Apples in Immigrant and Native Communities by Dan Bussey will take place exclusively on Saturday, Oct 10 from 1…
