Wausau, WI – The Wisconsin Historical Society is pleased to announce the Marathon County Historical Society (MCHS) has received the Reuben Gold Thwaites Trophy in the 2023 Board of Curators Awards. The annual awards program recognizes exceptional work from across the state aligned with the Society’s mission and the Thwaites Trophy is presented each year to a local history organization for continued excellence and overall service to its community over a period of at least five years. The MCHS will hold onto the honor for one year before the trophy moves to the next winner in 2024.

“On behalf of the Society and Board of Curators, congratulations to the Marathon County Historical Society for their exemplary service to the community,” said Christian Overland, the Ruth and Hartley Barker Director & CEO for the Wisconsin Historical Society. “For 125 years, the Wisconsin Historical Society’s affiliation program, the first of its kind in the country, has served to connect local, regional, and state organizations to share our state’s stories and connect people to the past.”

The trophy, named for the Wisconsin Historical Society’s second director who launched the organization’s affiliation program more than a century ago, was last awarded to the MCHS in 1958 and 1989. The prestigious award recognizes the impact of their services and the important role MCHS has played in preserving and sharing the unique history of the area.

The MCHS was founded in 1952 and today still carries out its mission to collect, preserve, and share materials related to the history of Marathon County to help people learn about Northwest Wisconsin and explore their own historical connections. The organization operates two historic structures, the Yawkey House Museum and Woodson History Center, in Wausau.

Over the last several years, MCHS staff members have led an ambitious schedule averaging 220 programs, events, lectures, and walking tours annually. Through public programming and attendance at the Woodson History Center, they serve an average of 16,381 people per year with programs designed to reach various age groups at locations throughout the county. The organization’s Little Red School House program serves between 1,500-1,700 students each year and made sure fourth grade students had access to education outreach kits for teachers to use in their classrooms during the pandemic. The MCHS also launched two new online lecture series, History Chats and History Speaks on the Air, during the pandemic reaching 10,000 viewers in 2020 and 2021.

The Marathon County Historical Society’s thoughtful and innovative approach to reaching new audiences, designing exhibits and programs that serve a wide variety of Marathon County residents, and adapting core programs and services during the pandemic demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to community education and outreach. The MCHS also demonstrates careful stewardship of collections and an ongoing commitment to the care and preservation of the historic structures managed by the Society.