201 8th St Baraboo, WI
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Ringling

5 Great Ways to Enjoy Devil’s Lake State Park in the Winter

Devil’s Lake State Park is one of the great destinations of Wisconsin for outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes across all seasons, and even the most rudimentary description of the place explains why. The park, situated along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, offers dazzling views from 500-foot quartzite bluffs overlooking a 360-acre lake. Its 9,000 acres are but an anchor for the more than 27,000 acres of preserved parkland and other natural areas open to public recreation in Sauk County.

Also located in Sauk County is Baraboo, its county seat, and more of America’s more charming small towns — in part because it’s home to all things Ringling Brothers of circus fame, which includes Ringling House, our Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast. It’s the perfect place to begin and end a day of adventure in Devil’s Lake State Park — it’s close by, it’s loaded with historic charm, and it’s loaded with modern comforts as well.

So make your plans for a winter-wonderland getaway to Devil’s Lake State Park — and start by booking your stay at our Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast today! Continue reading

8 Great Things to Do at Devil’s Lake State Park This Fall

At 9,217 acres, Devil’s Lake State Park is the most sizable state park in Wisconsin, and “sizable” also perfectly describes the range of things you can see and do in this stunningly scenic year-round recreation destination. You can enjoy lakeshore picnic areas, sandy beaches, bird watching, rock climbing, boating, hiking into backcountry solitude, and much more.

And there’s no better way to begin and end a day’s adventuring in Devil’s Lake State Park than at our Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast in the beautiful nearby town of Baraboo. You’ll be rested and fresh for the rigors of the trails in one of our luxuriously appointed guest rooms, and we’ll send you off on the right foot with your choice of hearty and delicious breakfasts.

So plan your Devil’s Lake State Park adventure by reserving your room with us today! Continue reading

8 Delightful Things to Do in Baraboo This Fall

There are plenty of things to do in Baraboo in the fall, given the Central Wisconsin region’s slow-cooling October temperatures and abundance of blaze-colored natural beauty. Even with some top Baraboo attractions closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s still no shortage of places worth checking out during your visit to this town, named one of the top five small towns to visit in America by Smithsonian magazine in 2013.

And there’s no better place to begin an end each day’s Baraboo adventures than Ringling House Bed and Breakfast, with nearly 100 five-star reviews on TripAdvisor for this charming Colonial Revival house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Take a look for yourself! Timeless in its appeal but loaded with modern amenities, you’ll want to reserve your room today at this Baraboo bed & breakfast as you work on your list of things to do in Baraboo. Continue reading

Updated Cleaning Procedures for COVID-19

We here at the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast are licensed, inspected and insured and use the utmost of safety and precautions and adhere to all the required guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our dedication to cleanliness and  hospitality is our commitment to you. Our guests are like family.  So if you must travel, our inn may be the right spot for you.  Here are some of the changes we are making in order to keep our guests safe during this challenging time.

Fewer People in a Bed & Breakfast

First of all, a Bed & Breakfast is small. we only have 6 rooms, and could have a maximum of 12 people in the house at a time.   Much less than the standard hotel, and therefore, much less chance of catching the contagion.

Check in changes

We are asking guests to wear masks upon check in and to social distance around the common area’s of the house.   We are also asking guest to wait at the back door until we open it for them, to give us time to check in one guest, before bringing in another.

Food Changes

Our breakfast is typically served family style in our dining room at Henry Ringling’s dining room table.    Now, per the Wisconsin mandate #72, we now will be delivering breakfast to peoples rooms, serving on the front porch or dining room, with a staggered start time, and distancing everyone more than  6 feet apart.

For wine and cheese happy hour on the weekend, we will be  serving on the front porch, weather permitting, having separate servings of wine and cheese and pouring you a glass of wine  to bring to your own table outside, or in another room in the house.

Baraboo also has many restaurants that have curbside pick up now or dining inside/outside with social distancing in mind,  outside of the breakfast that is served here at the Bed & Breakfast.   You can pick up your dinner, and eat it in a mansion!  How’s that for the new normal?

Sanitation Additions

We are not only cleaning the rooms, but going through and sanitizing any surface that would frequently be touched like remotes, keys, faucets, light switches, chair arms, etc, in between each guest change.  We also have disinfecting wipes placed around the house for people to use before/after touching something.

We have invested in some UVC sanitation lights.   This is an extra step to room cleaning that we  have started implementing.   UVC sanitation light is used in hospitals to sterilize operating rooms.  It efficiently kills up to 99% of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms in our bedrooms, bathrooms, and common areas, including COVID-19.

We want to be sure that our guests are not only comfortable with our amenities, but with our sanitation methods when they are ready to travel again.  This will be the “New Normal” for us until the virus threat has significantly tapered off.

What’s to do?

The good thing about Baraboo are so many outdoor areas and parks to explore.  It’s easy to practice “social distancing” while enjoying the great outdoors.   Indoors, we also have many games you can borrow and play inside your room or another area in our elegant home.  Our rooms are all equipped with internet-enabled smart TV’s, and our music rooms are equipped with several musical options.    So, come experience the fun part of travel!

Coupled with our  naturally limited occupancy levels, enhanced sanitation procedures, modified breakfast options, and multiple entertainment selections, we hope you will consider the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast as a safe and comfortable lodging option!

 

The Houses that George Built—an Isenberg Retrospect

A few years ago, Margie Isenberg Abel stopped in Baraboo on a trip through Wisconsin, and that trip piqued her interest about her family’s links to Sauk County history. She knew of local kin Jim Isenberg (who is a second cousin), and wanted to learn more. With help from author Jerry Apps, a local Ringling historian, Abel contacted relatives of George Isenberg in Germany. She learned that three of seven Isenberg brothers left the family carpentry business to come to America. Two of the brothers, George and Carl, started Isenberg Brothers in Sauk City before moving to Baraboo. Here they built several landmark structures that, despite being built more than a century ago, remain vibrant institutions.

Early Ringling House 1901

Then about 2 years ago, The Isenberg great-granddaughters returned for a week to Baraboo, intent on researching the indelible imprint the Isenberg buildings left on Baraboo. They came from Kansas and New Hampshire to see the Baraboo Library, the Al. Ringling Mansion, St. John’s Lutheran Church, the Ringling House Bed & Breakfast and the Van Orden Mansion – all built by their Isenberg ancestors.

“They weCarlIsenbergre unbelievable mansions for that time,” said Margie Isenberg Abel, the chief family researcher.

They compared notes with Executive Director Paul Wolter of the Sauk County Historical Society, about the construction company run by their great-grandfather and his brother George.

“They were, bar none, the premier builders of Sauk County,” Wolter said.

 

There were seven sons and three daughters in the Isenberg family. George, being the youngest son, was educated in Germany, and as a youth was apprenticed to the trade of carpenter. In 1885, he immigrated to the United States, and once arriving in Sauk County, he eventually took up residence in Baraboo, where he lived without interruption-although in the interest of his business affairs, he resided for short periods at other places. For three or four years he was employed as a carpenter by his brother Karl, with whom he eventually formed a partnership, and the firm of Isenberg Brothers grew to be one of the leading contracting and building concerns in this part of the state. During this time the brothers erected many of the largest buildings in Baraboo, including all the Ringling buildings, and in 1912 George Isenberg went to Florida, where he erected the winter home for Charles and Edith Ringling.

IsenbergDecendants

 

Margie Isenberg Abel of Kansas, Ann Isenberg of New Hampshire and Carol Isenberg Dillon of Kansas, sitting on the stirs of the Van Orden Mansion, one the homes constructed by Carl and George Isenberg.

 

 

 

Thanks to Ben Bromley of the Baraboo news Republic and the Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society for Information in the preparation of this piece.

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