A Little History of This Building…

The Connor Lumber and Land Company Store was originally constructed in the early 1900s, shortly after Laona was founded.  The Connor family, coming to Laona to explore the lumber industry, is responsible for one of the largest – if not the largest – hardwood industry production companies in the world.  Having built not only buildings like the old hospital, hotel, and general store, the Connor family also provided a necessary influx of jobs to the local communities and pioneered the lumber industry throughout the nation.

The Company Store was originally a wooden-construction building, which burned due to a fire in February of 1914.  Construction began on a new store in spring and summer of 1914, which was completed in 1916, when the new Connor Lumber and Land Company Store was finally finished and operational.

This building has contained most of the core of Laona’s industry throughout the years; the store functioned as a mercantile store, feed store, drugstore, soda fountain, restaurant, toy store, clothing store, shoe store, grocery store, hardware store, post office, bank, mortuary, furniture store, and gift shop.  In addition, the second floor of the building also housed the railroad offices, the lumber offices, and this region’s U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Office. 

 Located in the very center and heart of Laona, the Company Store provided a distinguished look into the past of a town with a history not only old but rather important and, in a lot of cases, largely forgotten.

Currently, the building is vacant, awaiting the pending restoration and renovation of both its interior and its exterior.

Our Grand Plan…

We have established and begun a project that is destined to change the future of all of our local communities.  This building, once restored, will host a multitude of new and exciting venues.  We have established Amoterra University of Restorative and Healing Arts (AURHA), which will serve not only as the northern region of Wisconsin’s first and largest holistic wellness center, but will also serve as a university and resource library, complete with general education course offerings, a massage therapy program, and more.  This building will also provide a ballroom, which the community can rent and utilize; a coffee shop and bakery, complete with unique and homemade items for both students and the general public; and additional space for local business owners interested in starting their own ventures.  Before we are able to offer any of these services or ventures, the building must be renovated and completely restored.

Because this building is the heart of Laona and holds such historic significance to the town, it is important that it be restored not only on the interior but on the exterior as well.  Our plan is to restore this building back to its original 1916 fa�ade, in effect restoring its historic integrity, its natural beauty, and the overall image of Laona itself.  We plan to restore the original 1916 building, which will require the demolition of the building addition of the grocery store, located at the back of the building (the north side, facing the Laona Post Office).  In place of where the non-original portion of the building will be taken down, we plan to add a community courtyard, complete with raised gardens, that can be utilized by the public.  This is where our brick fundraiser campaign comes in.

We are offering sponsors the opportunity to purchase engraved bricks, which will be used as pavers in the courtyard once the property restoration is completed.  We offer the following options for sponsors:

Our restoration and renovation expenses are many, and we will qualify for grant funding once this building has been approved for listing on the National Registry of Historic Places and our grant funding applications have been approved; however, until that funding comes in, we are unable to do any demolition or construction to the building, save for cleaning and securing historic materials, which, upon approval by the National Registry and the grant funding, we will be able to start putting back into the building.

Until that time, we are in desperate need of capital funding through sponsorships, fundraisers, donations, investments, and loans, in order to pay the current building expenses, as well as pay for the materials we are securing to utilize in the building’s historic restoration.  We have provided some photos for you to see, including photos of both the original 1916 building and the current building.

This is a project that can help to revitalize not only the community of Laona, but also all of the surrounding local communities as well; a massage therapy program alone carries a service range from as far south as Green Bay, Appleton, and Wausau to as far north as Upper Michigan.  This is a huge service area, and Laona is at its center.

Please help us to make this project possible!