It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society. It’s officially the summer season in Wisconsin and this week we have an image of an early roadside campground for people traveling in automobiles in the summer. This is Ward’s Tourist Camp, located just outside Whitewater on Highway 12 on the way to Fort Atkinson. These camps sprang up largely in the 1920s and this camp was first advertised in June of 1923. It advertised picnic grounds with water, tables, and stoves and operated during the late spring to late fall. The image features someone who has pitched a tent for, perhaps, an overnight or longer stay. Eventually these types of tourist camps gave way to roadside cabins, then motels. The last mention of this camp in the newspaper was in 1931.

Join us again next week for more from the Whitewater Historical Society.

(#4328PC, Whitewater Historical Society)