1901 elite social club turned art museum — Prohibition-era tunnel and a persistent ghost named Martha
309 McClellan St, Wausau, WI 54403
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Museum admission varies; check WMOCA website for current pricing and hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Multi-story 1901 Colonial-style building; verify elevator access with the museum before visiting.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1901 · Gilded Age Elite Social Club · Prohibition-Era Architecture · Wausau Lumber Boom Heritage
The building at 309 McClellan Street in Wausau was constructed in 1901 as the Wausau Club, a private social organization for the city's industrial and professional leadership. Wausau had grown rapidly through the late nineteenth century as a center of Wisconsin's lumber industry, and the Club served as a gathering place for those who had prospered in that era. The Colonial-style architecture reflected the civic ambitions of its founders.
The building incorporates a tunnel from the Prohibition era, when the Eighteenth Amendment was in effect from 1920 to 1933. The tunnel is documented in regional coverage, including the Visit Wausau tourism blog, as a feature dating from that period, presumably constructed to allow discreet movement of alcohol or club members.
The Wausau Club eventually ceased operations as a private social organization. The building was converted to house the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art (WMOCA), which operates there today. WMOCA serves as central Wisconsin's principal contemporary art institution. The Wausau Paranormal Research Society (WPRS) has conducted investigations of the building, and its haunted reputation has been covered in Wausau-area tourism materials.
Sources
The haunting of the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art building centers on a figure called Martha, described in Visit Wausau's tourism coverage as a woman who died in the north wing following a personal crisis. The legend, as told in regional dark-tourism accounts, attributes her appearance primarily to the grand staircase, where witnesses describe seeing a woman in period clothing. She is also associated with lights switching on and off without manual activation, chandelier movement, and cold spots in specific rooms.
The Wausau Paranormal Research Society (WPRS), a local investigative group, has conducted documented investigations of the building. Their findings and methodology are referenced in regional haunted-house listings. WPRS is the same organization that operates the Wausau Ghost Tours.
Historical documentation for Martha has not been located in the sources reviewed. The legend originates in oral tradition rather than archival record, which is typical of social-club haunting narratives — the building's early decades as a private members' organization left limited public documentation of incidents on the premises. The building's Prohibition-era tunnel adds a second strand of historical atmosphere that regional coverage often pairs with the Martha narrative.
Notable Entities
Visit the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, housed in the 1901 Colonial-style building originally constructed as the Wausau Club — an exclusive social club for the city's industrial and professional elite. The building retains architectural details from its social-club era, including the grand staircase associated with the ghost legend of Martha.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Madison, WI
Memorial Union at the University of Wisconsin-Madison opened in 1928 as both a student union and a war memorial honoring veterans of World War I. Plans for the building began in 1919 and groundbreaking took place on Armistice Day 1925 before a crowd of 5,000. The Union sits on the shores of Lake Mendota and remains one of the university's most visited public spaces.
Hot Springs, AR
Operating since 2008 in downtown Hot Springs, the Gangster Museum of America documents the city's four-decade role as an 'open city' — a protected retreat for organized crime figures from the 1920s through the early 1960s, where local and state authorities permitted gambling, prostitution, and mob operations in exchange for a share of the proceeds.
Pueblo, CO
Built in 1889 to serve the Pueblo Fire Department, Hose Company No. 3 operated as an active firehouse until 1979. It is one of two surviving firehouses in Pueblo that retains its original brass pole, making it a rare surviving example of Victorian-era fire station architecture in southern Colorado.