KAUKAUNA — Wander back in time this weekend and experience the sights and sounds of the Civil War when Company E of the Second Wisconsin Infantry Association sets up camp on the grounds of the Grignon Mansion in Kaukauna.
The two-day event, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 23 and 24, 2025 will showcase camp life, military drills, artillery firing, horses, cannons and skirmishes as the Grand Army of the Republic battles confederates on the fields of Lower Grignon Park.
The family friendly event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Admission, which includes a tour of the Mansion, is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, children 6-17 $6, and free for children 5 and younger. The Charles A. Grignon Mansion is located at 1313 Augustine St, across from the 4th Lock in Kaukauna.
Returning this year will be a special performance by the Regimental Volunteer Band of Wisconsin.
Across the street at the 4th Lock, the Fox River Navigational System Authority will be hosting “Kaukauna Lock History Days” with a program on the Fox River lock system.
Lock tenders will be on hand to share some history of the system that tamed the perilous rapids of the Fox and the connection the river has with the Grignon Mansion and local community. Visitors will also be able to help operate the hardware that opens and closes the lock.
Vistors to the Mansion will also be able to view prints that commemorate the 1856 completion of the lock system. Recently found in the Mansion’s archives, the prints are copies of paintings that were commissioned by Morgan L. Martin of Green Bay, a major investor in the project and show lock sites at Kaukauna, Little Chute and Appleton.
A food tent will be selling brats, burgers, and hot dogs. Visitors can try their luck at a 50/50 raffle or silent auction on items made by our Blacksmith Vince de la Paz.
