Enjoy a Gilded Age Christmas Event at the Upper Mississippi River Home of the Dousman Family
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Wis. – Step back in time as the elegance of the Gilded Age comes to life at Villa Louis, a National Historic Landmark nestled along the Mississippi River in Prairie du Chien. One of the few estates on the Upper Mississippi, the former home of the Dousman family, decorated for the holidays, will welcome guests for a guided house tour and a special Villa Louis Christmas Tea on Dec. 5,6,7 and Dec. 12,13 and 14.
Historically dressed interpreters will lead tours of the opulent 19th-century mansion at 12 and 2 p.m. Visitors will explore the estate, learn about the Dousman family’s 1893 Christmas celebration, enjoy live music on the original Steinway Grand Piano, and sample holiday treats prepared by historic cooks in the home’s original kitchen.
After the tour, guests will enjoy a Victorian-inspired afternoon tea in the Brisbois Stone Warehouse, a historic stone structure also designated as a National Historic Landmark. The menu, featuring popular British tea foods inspired by the era, includes cucumber-dill and ham finger sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and an assortment of period sweets such as mincemeat tarts, sugar and molasses cookies, and the Victorian delicacy, sugar plums. A selection of teas will be served, and attendees will receive select recipes to recreate at home.
The combination Christmas Tea and Tour is $60 per person and is open to guests ages 13 and older. Advance registration is required, and tickets can be purchased at villalouis.org or click here. Villa Louis is located at 521 N Villa Louis Rd, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin 53821.
About Villa Louis
Villa Louis is one of the Wisconsin Historical Society’s 12 historic sites and museums. A National Historic Landmark located in Prairie du Chien, the historic Villa Louis mansion is the centerpiece of a grand Victorian estate built by the family of Hercules Dousman, a frontier entrepreneur who amassed a fortune in the fur trade and other frontier investments. The mansion received a top-to-bottom restoration that has returned the home to the splendor of its 1890s heyday, using British Arts and Crafts interior designs inspired by famed designer William Morris. Visit villalouis.org or call (608) 326-2721 for more information and a list of upcoming events. Wisconsin Historical Society members receive free admission to this site during regular operating hours.
About the Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.
