Q: How many Free Thinkers were there in the Barre Mills area? What is the history of their old hall, which was the Barre Town Hall until it was razed and replaced?

A: The Free Thinkers movement started in Germany in the 1840s, when Freien Gemeinden or “free congregations” were started as a protest against the state-supported Protestant church. The Bostwick Valley Free Thinkers Society started in about 1868. The group had about 15 charter members. In 1876, the membership was about 33, but by 1914 the group had dwindled to about 15 to 20 members. The Bostwick Valley Free Thinkers disbanded in 1916, probably due to lack of financial support.
Their meeting hall was built sometime between 1870 and 1872. In 1913, the building was officially designated as the Barre town hall. In 1999, the La Crosse County Historic Sites Preservation Committee designated the building as a county historic site.

For more information on the Bostwick Valley Free Thinkers, visit the Free Thinkers’ cemetery history page on the La Crosse Public Library Archives Department’s Web site at www.lacrosselibrary.org/genealogy/cemeteryhistories/FreeThinkers.asp?cc71.

Q: How long has the Woodman’s grocery store been in Onalaska, Wis., and what was on that site before Woodman’s?

A: Woodman’s opened in the summer of 1994. It was built on a 22-acre site owned by Robert P. Lunke of Onala-ska. The land had been zoned for agricultural use prior to the Woodman’s purchase.

In cooperation with the La Crosse Public Library, the Tribune invites readers to call or e-mail questions of local interest. We’ll try to find the answers and publish them. The phone number for Ask the Trib is (608) 791-8450. Send questions by e-mail to news@lacrossetribune.com.

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