Antigo: History and Trails

Explore Antigo through its historic sites and walking routes. The offerings vary in format and scale: a museum campus brings local history together in one place, tours take in several sites or buildings, and the Springbrook Trail is described with its own length.

Historic Places in Antigo

The Langlade County Historical Society’s museum campus includes a former Carnegie library. It served as the City of Antigo’s public library from 1905 to 1997. The campus is also home to the original log cabin of Antigo founder Francis Deleglise, built in 1878. The two buildings represent different aspects of local history: the connection to the city’s founder and the library’s former public use.

The Antigo Historic Audio Tour and a self-guided tour also explore historic themes across multiple stops. The audio tour includes nine stops, each within half a mile of the others. Audio recordings play automatically through the StriveOn app as you approach each stop. The self-guided tour takes you to 15 historic buildings in Antigo.

The formats emphasize different things: the audio tour centers on nine stops with app-enabled playback, while the other tour focuses on 15 historic buildings. When planning, you can choose whether you’d rather listen to audio recordings at designated stops or use buildings as points of reference.

The 440 Locomotive

Another historic site is the 440 Locomotive, a Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive built in 1900. Its connection to Antigo: in 1957, it was the last steam locomotive to travel through the city. The years therefore refer to two different events: 1900 is the locomotive’s year of manufacture, and 1957 is when it traveled through Antigo.

Tours are available by request when the Langlade County Historical Society museum is open. From May through October, they take place Tuesday through Saturday between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Since seasonal information may change, check the hours before your visit.

Springbrook Trail and More Destinations

The Springbrook Trail in Antigo is almost five miles long. Its features include low and elevated boardwalks, observation points, bridges, and fishing piers. The description covers both different types of boardwalk sections and other specific features along the trail.

Away from the trail, there is an ADA-accessible kayak launch and disc golf. The ADA-accessible kayak launch and disc golf are located away from the Springbrook Trail. The James & Mary Draeger Family Splash Pad is also located in City Park East in Antigo.

Antigo in the Regional Hiking Context

Antigo is designated an Ice Age Trail Community. In the wider Langlade County area, the Ice Age Trail chapter’s hiking program covers 84.2 miles of marked trails and connecting routes. The two distances refer to different scales: almost five miles for the Springbrook Trail in Antigo and 84.2 miles for the program in Langlade County.

Discover more destinations: Summit Lake

Return to the main travel overview: Langlade.