The Walworth County Historical
Society Needs Your Help!!

This painting "Around Town" by Cecile Johnson in 1958 is missing.

This painting is one of a series of six that was painted by Cecile Johnson in 1958.   Ms. Johnson visited the small Wisconsin town of Elkhorn in 1958 and painted a series of six paintings of Elkhorn's historic buildings, dressed in their Christmas finery. 

Johnson did six paintings of the Courthouse Square and other historic buildings.  So impressive were the paintings that the "FORD TIMES" published an article that was seen by an estimated two million readers across the country.  The headline read, "Elkhorn - The Christmas Card Town."

After the article was published, the Ford Motor Company presented the city of Elkhorn with one of the original paintings.  In a joint effort between the Ford Motor Company and the Elkhorn Area Chamber of Commerce, they began searching for the missing five paintings.  By 1988 five of the original six were located, leaving the missing painting yet to be found.  Entitled "Around Town" and depicts a boy and a girl walking in front of Elkhorn's Webster House Museum.

This painting was known to have been donated to the Hartford, Conn. school system in 1966.  To this date no success has been made in locating this painting.  If you have seen this painting or have any connection to the Hartford,  Conn.  school system, please contact the Walworth County Historical Society as soon as possible.  Thank You

Walworth County Historical Society

East Rockwell (P O Box 273) in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. 53121
Open Wednesday through Saturday, May 27 - October 14, 2000 from 1:00-5:00 pm or by appointment.
Call 262-723-4248 for recorded message of schedule of events
or leave a message for the curator.
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  To contact our local historian you may write to:

Doris Reinke 

 516 N. Wisconsin Street 

  Elkhorn, Wisconsin 53121 or call 262-723-2366.

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Updated 3/8/07  Created 6-21-01