Event Details

When: Saturday, August 22, 2026, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Activities: Ice cream, commemorative tree planting, and a rededication ceremony

• 11:15: Tree Planting & Speeches

• 11:45 - 1:00 - Cookie Crosse House Building Contest

• 1:15 - Kids Fun Run

• Ice cream will be served following the tree planting, and the house will be open to browse old photos and learn more about its history until 3:00pm. Drop in anytime!

Where: Crosse House, 133 West Main St., Sun Prairie, WI 53590

Cost: Free and open to the public

The August 22 celebration will feature ice cream, the planting of a commemorative tree, and a rededication to the ongoing work of preserving the Crosse House for the next fifty years of Sun Prairie residents and visitors. The event is free and open to the public.

On August 9, 1976, ten Sun Prairie historical enthusiasts gathered to form Sun Prairie Historical Restorations, Inc. with a mission to restore, preserve, and administer the Crosse House, and to protect any improvement within Sun Prairie holding special historic character or value as part of the community's development, heritage, or cultural identity.

 When the property was acquired by the Sun Prairie Water and Light Commission in 1973 for the site of a modern office facility, a group of concerned citizens organized to save the historic home, ultimately forming Sun Prairie Historical Restorations, Inc. in 1976. In the fifty years since, members of the organization — now the Sun Prairie Historical Society — have labored to restore the Crosse House, successfully placing it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 and securing ownership of the home and the land on which it sits, permanently protecting it from demolition and preserving its place as the charming gateway to Sun Prairie's historic downtown.