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Trinity Freistadt Historical Society · Est. 1965

The Exhibition Barn Campaign

We're raising a timber-frame barn on the historical grounds — a home, at last, for the collection.

Concept rendering of the planned timber-frame Exhibition Barn: weathered board-and-batten siding, a metal roof, sliding barn doors, and a covered porch, with the historic village in the background
An AI-generated rendering of what the finished Exhibition Barn might look like — for inspiration only; see the construction plans below for the real design.

Why a barn?

The society's collection has outgrown its walls. Vintage cameras, handkerchiefs, almost 100 years of confirmation photos from Trinity's vault, a recreated hardware store, wedding finery spanning a century, farm tools and family treasures — today these can only be shown a little at a time, in rotating exhibits squeezed into the historic buildings.

The planned timber-frame Exhibition Barn — roughly 40 by 60 feet, about 4,200 square feet — will give the collection a permanent exhibit space on the historical grounds, built in the same craft tradition the site preserves. Construction plans are in hand, and fundraising is underway: pancake breakfasts, chili suppers, raffles, and band nights have all been feeding the building fund.

AI-generated dusk concept rendering of the planned Exhibition Barn with visitors and a horse-drawn wagon on the historic grounds
An AI-generated dusk rendering imagining the Exhibition Barn welcoming visitors on the historic grounds.

Where the campaign stands

$211,041 raised

56% of $375,000 goal

$163,959 to go

Total as of September 6, 2026.

The bar tracks online Zeffy giving; checks, Venmo, PayPal, and event proceeds add to the fund beyond it.

How to give

Online through Zeffy

Make a secure one-time or recurring gift through our official Zeffy campaign. Zeffy charges no platform fee to the society, so your donation supports the Exhibition Barn building fund.

Donate to the Exhibition Barn (opens in a new tab)

Zeffy's checkout asks for a separate, optional contribution to Zeffy itself, preset to a suggested amount. It is not part of your gift to the building fund:

Zeffy checkout screen showing the optional contribution section, with an annotation reading “To skip a Zeffy donation, select Other and enter $0” pointing at the Other dropdown and the Contribution amount field

Send to @trinityhistorical — the account shows as Lutheran Historical Society of Freistadt. Please put “Exhibition Barn” in the payment note so it reaches the building fund.

Open in Venmo (opens in a new tab)

Our PayPal account shows as Lutheran Historical Society of Freistadt. The link and code below open a PayPal page already marked for the Exhibition Barn Building Fund.

Give with PayPal (opens in a new tab)

By check

Make your check payable to Trinity Freistadt Historical Society and write "Exhibition Barn" on the memo line. Mail it to:

Trinity Freistadt Historical Society
10729 W. Freistadt Rd.
Mequon, WI 53097

At our events

Come to a Pancake Breakfast, buy a raffle ticket at the Ice Cream Social, try your hand at the Fun Afternoon in Freistadt, or join a chili supper — event proceeds go to the building fund, and you get pancakes.

Giving levels

Every gift counts the same toward the barn — these are simply the names the society gives each level, borrowed from the buildings already standing on the grounds and pictured beside each one. Give any amount you like through any of the methods above.

AI-rendered view of the planned Exhibition Barn at dusk, its windows lit and visitors gathered on the porch
Souvenir pin
$2
Courses of weathered hand-split cedar shingles on the roof of the historic Smokehouse
“Buy a Shingle”
$20 each
The little log Smokehouse under its cedar-shingled roof and rooftop smoke vent, an interpretive sign on a post by the plank door
Smokehouse
$100 – $499
The open door of the Radue Chicken Coop, a rooster, hen, and yellow chicks gathered around galvanized feeders inside
Chicken Coop
$500 – $749
The weathered wooden Bake Oven building with its door open, the brick bake oven visible inside, a picnic table on the gravel beside it
Bake Oven
$750 – $999
The white clapboard Summer Kitchen with its front porch and "Summer Kitchen" sign, a docent in a period bowler hat and suspenders standing at the porch rail
Summer Kitchen
$1,000 – $4,999
The historic log cabin in winter behind its split-rail fence, snow covering the ground
Log Cabin
$5,000 – $9,999
The blacksmith in his leather apron beside the brick forge, flames rising from the firepot, with rows of hammers and tongs hung on the wall
Blacksmith Shop
$10,000 and above

Souvenir pins and shingles are also sold in person at society events. The society is a 501(c)(3) organization, so donations are tax-exempt.

The plans

Final construction plans were completed in July 2025 by Design 4 Style Architecture — a two-story timber frame with a covered shed porch, rough-sawn board-and-batten siding, and a metal roof. Front and rear elevations below; the full nine-page set (site plan, elevations, floor plans, timber-frame section) is available as a PDF.

Architectural drawing sheet: front and left elevations of the two-story timber-frame Exhibition Barn, showing sliding barn doors, divided-light windows, and a covered shed porch
Front and left elevations (page 2 of 9).
Architectural drawing sheet: rear and right elevations of the Exhibition Barn, showing the gable end with stacked windows and the porch roofline
Rear and right elevations (page 3 of 9).
View the full construction plans (PDF, 17 MB)