Once upon a time, in the heart of southeast Wisconsin, nestled amidst rolling hills and whispering woodlands, there existed a place of quiet beauty—a sanctuary created by two souls who understood the language of nature. Their names were Newell and Ann Meyer.

Their sanctuary was a canvas where oak savannas met wetlands, where former agricultural fields surrendered to the wild embrace of prairies. Here, sandhill cranes trumpeted their arrival in spring, their calls echoing across the landscape. And beneath the snow, a red fox moved with grace, its amber eyes fixed on unsuspecting prey.

Newell and Ann were artists, attuned to the subtle hues of dawn and the whispered secrets of twilight. They had purchased the first eighty acres in 1976 in Eagle Wisconsin, envisioning a summer retreat—a place where their creativity could flourish alongside the wild inhabitants of the land. Newell, a sculptor, shaped wood and stone into forms that seemed to breathe. Ann, a painter, captured the play of light on canvas, her strokes echoing the rustle of leaves.

Lifelong Milwaukee residents, they sought refuge here, away from the city’s hustle and bustle. Their dream was simple: to create an oasis of quiet beauty. Under the open sky, Newell’s sculptures stood like guardians, and Ann’s paintings adorned the walls of memory. And they lived on, not as mere names, but as whispers in the wind, as brushstrokes on the canvas of eternity.

Ann Meyer passed away in 2004 followed by Newell in 2006, leaving their entire estate of 374 acres to the Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin, their legacy forever etched into the very soil they loved. Many of Ann’s paintings and several of Newell’s sculptures were subsequently donated to the Eagle Historical Society where they are on display in our museum, and Ann Meyer’s art collection is shown in beautiful detail on our website at Ann M Meyer Artwork (eaglehistoricalsociety.org)