Pioneer Village Board of Directors announces plans for $2.5 million Welcome Center

The Pioneer Village Museum Board of Directors has officially announced plans to add a $2.5 million Welcome Center to the nearly 50 structures on its 40-acre grounds near Cameron. The building will be on the cleared parcel on Highway W just west of the museum. The new Welcome Center will be an official Barron County Tourism information center open year-round.

“The Welcome Center will not only house administrative offices, but will have an event center for public use and education,“ said Tammy Schutz, executive director for the Pioneer Village Museum. “The Welcome Center will also house the Blue Hills Genealogy Society and have an archival library, making the museum’s extensive archives available to the public for the first time. We are proud to increase the visibility of this marvelous facility.”

“We cannot do it alone,” said Mark O. Dobberfuhl, president of the Board of Directors. ”We will be hosting numerous events in the region over the next several months starting with a Murder Mystery Dinner Theater with the Barron Spotlighters on Saturday, Aug. 24, at the museum. We invite you to attend, participate and contribute to this fantastic new community project.”

Dobberfuhl said the museum has $800,000 exclusive of pending grant applications.

More details regarding special fundraising events will be forthcoming. For more information on how to contribute, contact the museum at 715-458-2080 or Dobberfuhl at 715-637-5579.

Schutz said the museum board is hopeful that donations will come so that the welcome center can be completed by the end of 2025.