10-27-14

 Palmyra is a village of 1,800 at the southern edge of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, founded in 1842. There is also a Town of Palmyra with 1,200 residents.  They have an airport in the town for you pilots to fly-in.  They would love for you to visit for their annual Fathers Day breakfast.

Palmyra was named after a city in the Syrian Desert because of the large amount of sand that was found in the area. In fact, they do have a beautiful sandy beach on the shore of Lower Spring Lake. Also a Lion’s Club shelter that sells concessions in the summer.

 What made Palmyra THE destination to go to in the late 19th-early 20th century was the discovery of a natural spring by Colonel Davidson who called it Zenobia. A Sanitarium was built and people came to get relief from their ailments with “Water Cures” with water from the spring. The sanitarium is long gone, but people can still visit the site that made Palmyra famous in a beautiful park setting.  In this way, Palmyra has this feature in common with Beaver Dam. They also offered “Water Cures” in what is now called Swan Park.

We head downtown to their main street (County Road H) and see what is there.

Back behind us from here are the railroad tracks, and an old Purina Mill from long ago. No longer in use but now a beautiful backdrop in a quiet town.

 Downtown is the Carlin House – Turner Museum, not open the day we went.

 

Two historic homes.

We enjoyed stopping in the Powers Memorial Library, built in 1927.  Read about the history of the library here.

We also saw the Boy Scout Cabin near the Village Hall. It was built in 1937 from local materials. Portage has one of these cabins also.

 More of the businesses downtown. Wings -N-Things for animal food and supplies and the Hot Rod Bar and Grill. Al had a chat with the owner and he told us the Main Street Family Restaurant was a favorite of the locals. We had lunch there and we agreed with that. Great food and friendly staff! Here are the hours. We highly recommend this place and we will be back when we return to this area.

 

 

If you need a few groceries while you are in town, Jim and Judy’s Foods are happy to serve you!

 

Relax at Palmyra Bowling and strike a few frames.

 

 Also Taft Square for a variety of stores. These are just a few of the many businesses in downtown Palmyra. Palmyra is also an attraction for horse aficionados, many riding trails nearby in the Kettle Moraine. We saw some on a farm on the outskirts of town.

 

Enjoy a day in Palmyra, you will feel welcome here!