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There has been a homecoming of sorts at the Sherry-Butt House in Viroqua.

Artifacts, which once belonged to the Butt family, have been acquired by the Vernon County Historical Society and are displayed in the house. The historical home, located on North Main Street, is a showcase of Civil War-era artifacts from Viroqua's past. The house is open for tours Saturday and Sunday from Memorial Day through the weekend of the Vernon County Fair, from 1 to 5 p.m.

A secretary, which at one time was housed in Col. Cyrus M. Butt's law office in Viroqua, now has a prominent place on a table in the Civil War Room.

According to information, which came with the secretary, it was made by one of the men under Col. Butt's command during the Civil War. The man subsequently came to Viroqua and lived on the Butt farm. The piece of furniture was probably made sometime between 1865 and 1867.

The secretary came to Viroqua via the state of Washington. Jane Butt, the colonel's daughter, had given it to her nephew.

"One day the nephew came through (the house) and said he would bring in out to Wisconsin," said Marcia Andrew, chair of the Sherry-Butt House Committee.

Last year, another relative, came to the house and said the man was her brother.

Arrangements were made, and the historical society paid to have the piece shipped to Wisconsin.

In the Butt bedroom on the second floor, a black coat with a white lamb's-fur collar, stands watch on a dress form. The coat was worn in 1928 by Elizabeth (Butt) Smith when she visited the White House with her husband, Allard Smith. Calvin Coolidge was president at the time. A tag in the coat reads: "The J.L. Hudson Co., Detroit."

Photos of the Butt family and their relatives, including a never-before-seen photo of Col. Butt when he was a major in Kansas before the Civil War, and another of his wife, Margaret, in her older years, are also now a part of the historical society's collection.

In addition to the coat and photos, Janette Loersch of Menominee Falls, and her husband, Jim, also donated family letters.

Andrew said Janette Loersch came to the door of the Sherry-Butt House one day while she was working there and said she had Butt family artifacts.

"She had just heard the house was a museum," Andrew said. "She was so excited. She and her husband wandered around and thought it was great."

The new artifacts are not the only Butt-era pieces in the house; some of the pieces are a rosewood grand piano and an Eastlake suite with marble-topped tables. These pieces and other artifacts were in the house when it was purchased by Orbec and Hilda Sherry.

There is one piece of the house's history the historical society is investigating. Andrew said the current parlor, at one time, was divided in half. One side served as the colonel's law office and the other a parlor. In the colonel's time, the office contained sectioned, removable bookcases that could be taken out of the house in case of fire.

"We've never known what happened to them," Andrew said.

The Sherrys removed the dividing wall to make one large room.

A brief history of the house

The Sherry-Butt House was built by Col. Cyrus M. Butt around 1870, following his return from the Civil War. An addition was constructed in 1898.

Butt, who was born in Ohio on Sept. 30, 1833, came to Viroqua in the spring of 1858. He taught school for a short time before being admitted to the bar and beginning his law practice in 1859.

In 1862, Butt responded to the Union's call for volunteers, by helping to raise Co. A of the 25th Wis. Infantry.

Butt married Margaret McAuley of Mt. Sterling, Crawford County, on Oct. 16, 1864.

The Butts had five children, all of whom attended college. Ester was an English literature teacher in Michigan; William a doctor in La Farge; Jane (Jennie) a college professor and actress; Cyrus Jr., became a partner is his father's law practice before his death from diabetes in 1909; and Margaret (Beth), who married Allard Smith of Chicago.

Beth and William were the only Butt offspring to marry; William had children.

Mrs. Butt preceded her husband in death; Col. Butt died Aug. 31, 1921, at the age of 88. Jane Butt inherited the house; however, at that time her careers had taken her to California and Washington, D.C., so she rented it out. Jane would return to Viroqua every year for part of the summer and stay at the Fortney Hotel.

Orbec and Hilda Sherry purchased the house from Jane Butt in 1947.

Orbec Sherry was well-known for raising a Brown Swiss cow named "Jane of Vernon." She became known as "Queen Mother of the Breed," and 90 percent of today's Brown Swiss cattle trace their roots to her.

Hilda (Loverud) Sherry was a graduate of St. Olaf College and taught in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. She was active in the community, serving as supervisor of the 4-H home economics department at the Vernon County Fair for 33 years.

Hilda Sherry died in 1981 and Orbec in 1988. Orbec Jr. and Mary, the Sherrys' children, sold the house and most of its contents to the historical society shortly after Orbec Sherry's death.

Over the years the historical society has done extensive remodeling and renovation of the house.

The renovation is complete and Andrew said the main focus now is continuing maintenance of the house.

"We would like to replace the roof in the next few years," she said. "We will install a new furnace in the fall with funds from The Friends of the Sherry-Butt House."