Modern Woodmen of America Lodge Halls Across Wisconsin
Many Modern Woodmen of America lodge halls across Wisconsin and the Midwest look like cousins. Most were simple, boxy buildings with similar fronts and layouts. That wasn’t an accident — local camps ordered their building plans from the MWA Main Office in Rock Island, Illinois. Here in Valton, founder Charles Gibault did just that, purchasing the plans in 1898 and raising the hall that would become a gathering place for the whole community.
Over the years, a lot of these halls found second lives. Some became town halls, dance halls, churches, shops, or family homes. Even when the Woodmen moved on, the buildings stayed and kept serving their communities in new ways. Those familiar shapes are still part of our small towns today, carrying a little bit of that shared history forward.
MWA Camp 6190 has had many lives, and it has settled in beautifully as Ernest Hupeden’s Painted Forest — a place where anyone can walk in and see the visionary murals that tell the story of joining the Modern Woodmen and the hopes people had for caring for one another. Next time you visit the Ernest Hupeden’s Painted Forest, take a moment to notice the old hall itself — it’s another living piece of the same story, still welcoming folks through the door.
The old hall is undergoing restoration under the direction of David Wells. Phase I was completed in fall of 2025 and included removing 4 sets of shingles and replacing them with a beautiful green metal roof. This season phase II – replacing the clapboard siding – will begin in 2026. Phase III – restoration of the murals – is scheduled for 2027.