Collections

​​Lake County Tax Books 1878-1930

​Lake County Tax Records:  The collection dates from 1880 to mid-1920’s.  The records were donated to the museum by the Lake County Treasurer’s Office.  The collection consists of more than forty books.

​Gordon Anderson Bottle collection

​Gordon Anderson bottle collection:  The collection was donated to the museum in the mid-2010’s.  There are well over 2,000 bottles in the collection dating from the 18th century to the 21st century.  Gordon Anderson was a golf pro at the Madison County Club for several years.

​Charles Elhoff tool collection

​Charles Elhoff tool collection:  Charles Elhoff was a resident of Wentworth, South Dakota in the late 1800’s.  Mr. Elhoff was married to Phillip Zimmermann’s niece.  His collection was donated to the museum by his great grandson and other family members.  Mr. Elhoff was a finish carpenter in the area.

​Phillip Zimmermann Family collection

​Phillip Zimmermann Collection: The Phillip Zimmermann collection consists of personal and family memorabilia and spans three generations of the Zimmermann family.  It includes tools used in his trade of steamship engine building.

Chautauqua Collection

​Chautauqua was an adult educational summer camp started in 1874 in New York by John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller.  The idea spread through America and stayed strong through 1924.  Chautauqua assemblies brought people together for music, plays, lectures and sermons.  Madison had permanent buildings for these gatherings on the grounds of the Grandview Hotel on the shores of Lake Madison.

​And many more collections!

​We also have several collections of war artifacts dating from the Civil War to Desert Storm.  Everyday household utensils, Victorian furniture, horse drawn buggies, and early 1900’s fire equipment from Wentworth.

Gun Collection

​The Smith Zimmermann Museum has an extensive collection of rifles and pistols ranging from modified Harpers Ferry rifle to World War II rifles and pistols.  The collection includes common rifles used by pioneers for hunting to a Buffalo rifle once owned by Captain Thomas H. Pressnell who was an acquaintance of John G. Nicolay, Abraham Lincoln’s private secretary.

Mundt Library Obituary Collection

​Use this link to search the obituaries published in the Madison Daily Leader.