Bookmark the Wisconsinosity home page!  wisconsinosity.com



go to: official county website

go to St Croix County

go to Dunn County

map provided by Delorme mapping software

go to Pepin County

 


 

attractions & oddities

resources

 

 

 

1

UFO Capital of Wisconsin

UFO Days

 

location:  Elmwood
self- designation / event

"...in the 1970's, several well-documented and substantiated UFO sightings drew worldwide attention to the Elmwood coulee. Media reporters soon dubbed the town "the UFO capital of the world." Elmwood locals decided to have some fun with this. So now Elmwood residents and guests celebrate "UFO Days" annually during the last week of July. UFO activities include: street dances, sidewalk and thrift sales, softball, volleyball and horseshoe tournaments, ball games for the children, a medallion hunt, a queen's coronation, beer and food tents featuring the famous "UFO Burgers," a grand parade and a "cow-chip throwing" contest at the conclusion of the festivities."
- section from Pierce County Official Site

  The festival is held annually on the last weekend of July.

courtesy of www.marsattacksfan.com

Roadside America
www.roadsideamerica.com

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

Unexplained Research
1. www.unexplainedresearch.com
2. www.unexplainedresearch.com

UFO Evidence
www.ufoevidence.org

Elmwood Chamber of Commerce
www.elmwoodchamber.com

Pierce County Official Site
www.piercecountywi.com

Leader Telegram
article "Plan in Elmwood for UFO landing site remembered" or (here)

book:
"Weird Wisconsin"
by Linda S. Godfrey & Richard D. Hendricks
Barnes & Noble Books (2005)
pages 101 - 103

buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"Oddball Wisconsin"
by Jerome Pohlen
Chicago Review Press, Inc. (2001)
page 10

buy it at buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"The W-Files"
by Jay Rath
Trails Books (1997)

pages 106 - 112, 122 - 124
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"Wisconsin Curiosities"
by Michael Feldman and Diana Cook
Globe Pequot Press
(2nd ed., 2004)  page 24

(3rd ed., 2009)
  page 21
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

2

"Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin"

Cheese Curd Days

 

location:  Ellsworth
self- designation / event

      

Ellsworth cheese curds are portrayed in the photo by the delicious curds made at Gad Cheese Company.


During each June Dairy Festival, Ellsworth celebrates "Cheese Curd Day" in honor of its official designation by Governor Lee Dreyfus.

  festival held at: Pierce County Fairgrounds
364 N. Maple Street
Ellsworth, WI  54011

Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce
www.ellsworthchamber.com

Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery
www.ellsworthcheesecurds.com

River Towns
www.rivertowns.net

Journal Sentinel Online
1. article "Curds our way" or (here)
2. article "Think outside the bag" or (here)
3. article "More about cheese curds" or (here)
4. article "Cheese curd contest submissions" or (here)

Travel Wisconsin
www.travelwisconsin.com

Eat Curds
www.eatcurds.com

book:
"Wisconsin Curiosities"
by Michael Feldman and Diana Cook
Globe Pequot Press
(2nd ed., 2004)  page 23

(3rd ed., 2009)
  page 21
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

3

Fuel Tank Cow

 

location:  Town of Trimbelle, west of  Ellsworth
roadside oddity

This stout bovine stands on a platform near the road, looking quite familiar to similar creations in Buffalo County, Burnett County & Eau Claire County.

  W8190 Highway 10
Ellsworth, WI  54011

 

 

 

natural feature / altered landscape

resources

 

1

Crystal Cave

 

location:  Spring Valley
cave

"Knowledgeable guides will lead you through a maze of well-lighted passages while explaining the history, geology, and biology of the cave. Along the way, glistening cave formations such as stalactites, stalagmites and rippling flowstone can be seen hanging from the ceiling or covering the ledges. The cave is accessed by a series of steps and ramps that allow you to descend over 70 feet underground. Once in the cave, your journey follows well-lighted, graveled trails."
- section from Official Site


  W965 State Road 29
Spring Valley, WI  54767

                    

hours:
• April & May  (Sat & Sun)  10am – 4:30pm
• Memorial Day thru Labor Day  (daily)  9:30am – 5:30pm
• September & October  (daily)  10am – 4:30pm

Official Site
cavern.com/crystalcave/

Gibson Consulting
www.gravmag.com

book:
"Oddball Wisconsin"
by Jerome Pohlen
Chicago Review Press, Inc. (2001)
pages 25 - 26

buy it at buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"Wisconsin Underground"
by Doris Green
Trails Media Group, Inc. (2000)
pages 16 - 19
buy it at 
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

2

Maiden Rock Bluff  (400 feet high)

 

location:  Maiden Rock / Stockholm (Pepin County)
scenic bluff / Indian lore

"The Indian legend of the bluff called Maiden Rock, which has some basis in historical fact, concerns a young Dakota Indian woman, Winona, who leaped to her death from the top of the most prominent bluff in the region rather than marry the brave her father, Chief Red Wing, had chosen for her."
- section from Maiden Rock Official Site

  From Highway 35 in Stockholm, head north on County Road J for ¾ mile, then northwest on County Road E for 1 mile, then west on Long Lane for ½ mile until you reach the parking lot.

City of Maiden Rock Official Site
www.maidenrock.org

Mississippi Valley Partners
www.mississippi-river.org

Wisconsin DNR
www.dnr.state.wi.us

Lake Links
"Lover's Leap, myth or legend?"
www.lakelinks.com

book:
"Wisconsin Lore"
by Robert E. Gard & L.G. Sorden
Heartland Press (1962, 1987)

pages 185 - 186
buy it at
buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

book:
"Strange Wisconsin"
by Linda S. Godfrey
Trails Books (2007)
page 73
buy it at

buy it at
Barnes & Noble.com

 

3

Rock Elm Disturbance

 

location:  Plum City / Elmwood
crater

"Nugget Lake Park sits on the boundary of one of the most geologically interesting areas in western Wisconsin, the Rock Elm disturbance.  The disturbance is a circular region approximately 4 miles across.  It contains anomalous rocks and structures thought by some to be the filled-in scar of an ancient meteor impact.  The southern boundary of the disturbance lies within the park, north of Nugget Lake."
- section from UW Stout website

  Nugget Lake County Park
N4351 Coounty Road HH
     Plum City, WI  54761
  

UW Stout
physics.uwstout.edu

UW River Falls
www.uwrf.edu

Nugget Lake County Park Official Site
www.co.pierce.wi.us

 

4

"Bow and Arrow"

 

location:  Hager City
indian stone effigy

      


"...Modern archeologists think the boulders may form a bird effigy, but no one has reached a definite conclusion. Although it is an old, well-known landmark, perhaps even ancient, its origin and age are unknown and it is no part of the Indian lore in this region. Boulder alignments made by Indians exist in other states, but this is the only one known in Wisconsin. Was it made by Indians? Is it a bow and arrow or a bird? It remains a mystery."
- section from Wisconsin Historical Society site

  1 mile south of Hager City on Highway 35

Pierce County Tourism
www.travelpiercecounty.com

National Scenic Byways Program
www.byways.org

Wisconsin Historical Society
www.wisconsinhistory.org

James Randi Forum
forums.randi.org

 

 

 

sighting / phenomenon / morbid curiosity

resources

 

1

Elmwood UFO Sightings

 
UFO
location:  Elmwood

"The object was a craft of some kind. It was shaped like two cereal bowls put end to end and it was hovering about 1,500 feet above the ground. It was huge - at least the size of a football field. And it didn't make a sound."
- section from UFO Wisconsin 04-22-75 report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

book:
"The W-Files"
by Jay Rath
Trails Books(1997)

pages 104 - 105
buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

2

River Falls UFO Sightings

 
UFO
location:  River Falls

"Whatever 'They' Are, They Are Still Around Here"
- section from UFO Wisconsin 05-20-76 report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

3

Ellsworth UFO Sightings

 
UFO
location:  Ellsworth

"Steele described the object as having a flashing white light on top, yellow and red lights along the sides and was spinning when she observed it."
- section from UFO Wisconsin 04-24-88 report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

4

UFOs Spotted Near Three Towns  (2005)

 
UFO
location: River Falls / Beldenville / Ellsworth

"Just before Ellsworth I saw them again, again I pulled off onto a side road. I saw one very close this time, It had a distinctly plane shape, but was flying far too low."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

5

Military Aircraft Engage Mysterious Light  (2003)

 
UFO
location:  Prescott

"As they flew over my house, the object got brighter, then shoot like a metoriod (sic) accrose (sic) the screen leaving a trail like a con trail left by a jumbo jet, however this light left a trail that lasted about 30 seconds."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

6

Teenagers Observe UFO  (1988)

 
UFO
location:  Bay City

"The 17-year-old girl, who asked her name be kept confidential, said a large object with two bright white lights on one end and a flashing red light on the other hovered directly over her vehicle before disappearing, about 10:30 p.m."
- section from UFO Wisconsin report

UFO Wisconsin
www.ufowisconsin.com

 

7

"The Parker House Poltergeist"

 
ghost
location:  River Falls

A spectral presence makes itself known to a family remodeling a 19th-century house in River Falls.

  on Maple Street

book:
"Haunted Wisconsin"
by Michael Norman & Best Scott
Trails Books (revised 2001)
pages 49 - 51

buy it at
buy it at Barnes & Noble.com

 

8

"Our Red Balloon"

 
    unexplainable incident
location:  Maiden Rock

An unbelievable coincidence occurs after the death of a grandparent.

Ghost Village
www.ghostvillage.com

 

 

"Ghosts of America" Haunted Location Reports
(take with a grain of salt)

 
ghosts
location:  statewide

The reports on this site are presumably fiction, using random Wisconsin place names in the stories listed there.  Even so, you might get a kick out of reading them.

"A man having a spear in his head can be perceived repeatedly looking for somebody beside a desolate highway right next door to Ellsworth at the stroke of midnight."
- section from Ghosts of America website

Ghosts of America
www.ghostsofamerica.com

 

 

 

taste of local history

resources

 

1

Prescott Welcome and Heritage Center

 

location:  Prescott
museum

"The renovated Welcome and Heritage Center houses the Prescott Area Chamber of Commerce and Prescott Area Historical Society. A multi-dimensional center offers exhibits highlighting local heritage plus maps, brochures and information on the Prescott, Pierce County and surrounding areas."
- section from the Prescott Official Site

  233 Broad St. North
Prescott, WI  54021

Official Site
www.pressenter.com/~whctr/

Prescott Chamber of Commerce
www.prescottwi.com

Travel Pierce County
www.travelpiercecounty.com

 


updated 04-21-09  •  all images excluding those attributed to others are property of Wisconsinosity.com