Do you crave the weird and wacky Wisconsin roadside attraction with a sprinkle of creepy mixed in?
I certainly do and I discovered a place that checks off all three.
What Inspired The Museum Of Unremarkable Objects?
The Museum of Unremarkable Objects near Gays Mills, Wisconsin. The teeny tiny museum inside a converted garden shed is essentially an ode to just that. Unremarkable objects. The artist and creator of this off-the-beaten-path, roadside attraction is Martha Querin-Schultz. She came up with the idea to create her museum after visiting the Museum of Everyday Life in Vermont.
We’ll talk more about that later.
I was at an apple orchard in Gays Mills (famous for its apples) when one of the women I was camping with showed me a flyer about the Museum of Unremarkable Objects she had found in the orchard store. My curiosity was instantly sparked. This looked like one of those things we travel writers (or at least this travel writer) love to stumble upon.
The strange.
The weird.
The wacky.
Something relatively unknown that we can share with our readers.
Oh yeah, this was a must-see.
After we were all apple orchards out, we put the address into the GPS, and off into the unknown we went.
The address of the Museum of Unremarkable Objects?
43525 South SLEEPY HOLLOW Road!!!
Go figure!
We made our way through the winding hilly roads. The (barely) two-lane roads where you need to bring out your best “Sunday driver” impression. They dip and turn through the bluffs of the driftless region of Wisconsin. You need to be on your toes because you may just come across a lone donkey who has escaped from a nearby farm.
True story…this happened to us after we left the museum.
Anyway, we turn down Sleepy Hollow Road. About two miles in we come across a clearing on the right.
This is it. I barely wait for my friend to put her truck in park before I jump out.
You may know I have a keen interest in artist-built environments. After all one of my favorite places is the John Michael Kohler Art Preserve in Sheboygan. It is dedicated to the preservation of these artist-built environments.
And this, in my opinion, qualifies.
What a find!
First You Come Upon Sleepy Hollow
The first thing you see is the outdoor displays. A discarded doll mecca. Doll heads, Barbies, and other discarded toys are set up in creative scenes. The weathered doll faces give the displays a creepy feeling. I loved it. You can also see…
A huge sign in a tree marks this spot as Sleepy Hollow aka Creepy Hollow.
A life-sized mannequin known as Spencer is dressed in a T-shirt with the words “Nobody knows I’m Elvis” across the front.
Once-loved Barbie dolls fill a trellis. I can’t help but wonder if I return at night, would they all talk to me? Chattering away, sharing their stories.
A Superman doll flying through the air.
It’s all quite humorous and ghoulish at the same time.
The falling of a huge cottonwood tree started this eerie neighborhood art project. Instead of cutting down the large stump left behind, Martha persuaded her husband Steve to leave it as it was. She had big plans for it.
Inspired by a place she has always wanted to visit in Mexico, Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls), she began decorating the stump with doll heads she had painted. You see, Martha has a fascination with discarded objects, particularly dolls. She takes them apart and recreates them using other objects.
Soon, others began leaving their discarded dolls, and the trunk of that fallen cottonwood tree filled up, along with another log. The site became a neighborhood art project which Martha calls Sleepy Hollow, while others call it Creepy Hollow because of the dolls. The project began in 2016 and it’s figured about 60 to 70 percent of the items are left by others. Sleepy Hollow has taken on a life of its own. The creative ways people display their objects are what makes it so fun to see. You need to take your time and examine each display. It’s easy to miss little details.
What You Will See Inside The Museum Of Unremarkable Objects
The tiny Museum of Unremarkable Objects came after Sleepy Hollow. Walking inside the small museum, you will find a treasure trove of unremarkable objects. Some were created by Martha herself, some by others. You’ll find things such as pencils in a can, a collection of spools of thread, a slinky, and the museum name spelled out on a Scrabble board. Each display has its placard with a bit of history about the object. It’s an ode to the mundane, the objects we take for granted and overlook in our everyday lives.
Inside there is a chair that visitors have signed and a guestbook you can sign as well.
We spent a good half hour here. Pointing things out to each other, admiring the creativity, and giggling at the fun of it all.
I highly recommend stopping at this unique roadside attraction when you are near Gays Mills in the Driftless region of Wisconsin. Make sure you come equipped with something to add to Sleepy Hollow. It may be off the beaten path, but you’ll drive away with a smile on your face and even a tingle down your spine.
As for the donkey we encountered on the road. It was safely returned to its home after a caring neighbor stopped and knew just where to return it to.
Museum Of Unremarkable Objects & Sleepy Hollow
43525 South Sleepy Hollow Road
