• Hours
  • Location
Museum Address: 11 Commerce St., Mineral Point, WI 53565
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 250, Mineral Point, WI 53565
The museum is currently CLOSED.
The museum is open seasonally from May through October.
Please note that an admission fee helps sustain our operations.
Hours: Thursday through Saturday, 10am-4pm and Sunday, noon-4pm
For more information: 608-987-2695

Cart Appeal

Help Restore Mineral Point's Historic Railroad Carts

Help us restore our historic carts with your contribution.

DONATE ONLINE

By check: payable to MPRS-Cart Project
Mineral Point Railroad Society, P.O. Box 250, Mineral Point, WI 53565

Dear Friends & Supporters of the Mineral Point Railroad Museum,

Imagine standing on the depot platform in the early 1900s. The air smells of coal smoke, a distant whistle echoes, and a rhythmic baggage cart clatter rolls across the platform. Just outside our historic limestone walls, three silent witnesses to that railroad heritage stand today:

Early 1900s Baggage Cart: A second-generation classic featuring steel wheels and a wooden deck—captured in photographs of our depot from over a century ago.
Restoration Baggage Cart: A third-generation cart with rubber wheels, generously donated during the original restoration of our depot.
Yard Freight Cart: A smaller, iron-wheeled workhorse built to roll directly along the yard tracks, moving supplies that kept the line running.

For decades, these carts carried the heavy loads of a growing region. Today, however, time and the Wisconsin elements have taken their toll. They have seen better days—but with your help, their best days are still ahead.

An Opportunity to Double Your Impact

We are thrilled to announce that the Mineral Point Railroad Museum has been awarded a $4,000 grant from the National Railway Historical Society to restore all three of these historic carts. To unlock the full $4,000, we must match it dollar-for-dollar.

Thanks to eight generous lead donors—Frank & Sandee Beaman, Peter & Nancy Schmalz, Suzette Trigalet, Lowry White of Mineral Point, Paul Olson of Highland, Mark Nelson and Mike Nelson of Oregon, Wisconsin, and Vic Glowacki of Bartlett, Illinois—we are well on our way to completing the match.

We are now opening the campaign to the general public and reaching out to those who understand the value of preserving our shared past.

With your contribution today, we can:

  1. Fund restoration of all three carts.
  2. Unveil them for the 2027 season, restored to their former glory.
  3. Display them directly in front of the museum, creating an eye-catching, welcoming historic landmark for every visitor who approaches.

Restoration work will be performed locally by Federal Restoration Studio and Tree Frog Design. Owners Hans and Ann Larsen brought new life to the Mineral Point arrival sign on the south side of the depot earlier this year.

Your gift today does twice the work. Every dollar you contribute helps unlock a dollar from the grant, bringing us one step closer to preserving these irreplaceable pieces of railroad history.

Will you help us bring these carts back to life? Please consider making a tax-deductible gift today to ensure the stories of the Mineral Point Railroad continue to inspire visitors for generations to come. If we exceed the matching goal, additional donations will support future restoration efforts. We hope you will join us.

With heartfelt gratitude,
MPRS Board of Directors: Ed Spitzbarth, President, Karland Kilian, Vice President, Dave Martens, Secretary/Treasurer, Jerry Galle, Member, Matthew Payne, Member, Harold Schnedler, Member, Jerry Wisco, Member Emeritus, Bob Wolf, Member Emeritus