In 2026, America celebrates its 250th anniversary while Stehling’s Taxidermy marks 50 years of family-run craftsmanship in Wisconsin. Founded in 1978 and led today by Aaron and Austin Stehling, the studio preserves whitetail, waterfowl, turkey, fish, and big-game trophies in Jefferson and the New Franken/Green Bay area — keeping a proud American outdoor tradition alive.
Two Anniversaries Worth Celebrating
This year, the United States turns 250. It’s a milestone that invites all of us to look back at where we’ve come from — the land, the traditions, and the everyday craftsmanship that built this country. For our family at Stehling’s Taxidermy, 2026 carries a second meaning too: it marks roughly half a century since we first opened our doors in 1978. Fifty years inside a 250-year story isn’t just a coincidence of dates. It’s a reminder that the outdoor heritage we work to preserve every day is woven deep into the American experience.
A Craft as Old as the Country
Long before there were trail cameras and game-management apps, Americans hunted, fished, and trapped to live — and they found ways to honor those animals afterward. Taxidermy grew right alongside that tradition. By the late 1800s, figures like Theodore Roosevelt were tying the sporting life to a new idea: that wildlife was a shared national treasure worth conserving for future generations. That conservation ethic — hunters and anglers funding and protecting the very resources they love — became uniquely American. Every mount that leaves our studio is a small piece of that long story.
Fifty Years in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has always been one of America’s great outdoor states. Our whitetail deer seasons, our waterfowl flyways, our turkey woods, and our legendary fishing draw families into the field year after year. Since 1978, Stehling’s Taxidermy has been right here for them — through changing tools, techniques, and generations. What started as one man’s passion has become a true family operation, now carried forward by Aaron and Austin Stehling. We’ve preserved tens of thousands of memories: a child’s first buck, a once-in-a-lifetime bird, a trophy musky that finally came to the net.
Preserving More Than Trophies
People sometimes think taxidermy is only about the animal. It isn’t. It’s about the story behind it — the cold morning, the long wait, the shared moment between a parent and child or a group of lifelong friends. When we mount a deer or a duck, we’re really preserving a chapter of someone’s life. In a year when the whole nation is reflecting on its own story, that feels especially meaningful. The memories we protect are part of what keeps American outdoor culture thriving.
Honoring the Next 50 Years
As proud as we are of our history, we’re just as excited about the future. The craft keeps evolving, conservation keeps advancing, and a new generation of hunters and anglers keeps stepping into the field. We’re grateful to every customer who has trusted us with their trophies over the past five decades, and we look forward to serving Wisconsin sportsmen and women for many more.
So this year, as the country celebrates 250 years, we’ll be celebrating right alongside it — with fifty years of sawdust, skill, and stories under our belt, and a whole lot more ahead.
Bring Us Your Story
Whether you’re in Jefferson, the New Franken/Green Bay area, or anywhere in Wisconsin, we’d be honored to help you preserve your next trophy. Stop by, call, or visit our service pages to learn more about whitetail, waterfowl, turkey, fish, and big-game mounts. Here’s to 250 years of America — and 50 years of memories made at Stehling’s.
