State and Local History

Pauline Haass Public Library Historic Digital Collection

This collection includes memorabilia from Sussex, Wisconsin’s schools, highlighting the everyday lives and special moments of students in Sussex from the beginning of the 20th century to the 21st century. Included are yearbooks from Hamilton High School spanning 1964-2010s, newsletters published by students of the Sussex School from 1920s to the 1940s, and photos of local students and teachers from the 1890s through the 1950s. Through these materials, we are able to catch a glimpse of what life was like for children growing up in the Sussex area.

Phyllis Miller Collection

This collection of postcards and other ephermal material is part of the Phyllis Miller Collection. Phyllis Miller (1941-2024) was an avid local historian and collector. In 2003, she published the book “Reedsburg in Vintage Postcards.” Her children donated her local history collections to the Reedsburg Public Library and the Reedsburg Historic Preservation Commission.

Plat Maps of Racine and Kenosha Counties

The State of Wisconsin was surveyed by the federal government between 1833 and 1866 in order to divide the vast public domain into properly-sized lots that could be sold or otherwise divested to raise funds for the federal government and to encourage settlement. The work was done using the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), which divides land into six-mile square townships and one-mile square sections. Plat books and maps make use of the Public Land Survey System to represent land ownership patterns on a county-by-county basis. They are a great resource for tracing property owners and borders. The plat map for each year depicts the most updated information for the property at the time the County Register of Deeds’ records were consulted.  Such information includes the land owner, number of acres, placement of a house and sometimes other features.

Plymouth Public Library

The Plymouth Public Library’s digitization project is a growing selection of materials collected since the library was founded in 1871. Initially, this digital collection will include access to photographs and letters sent or received from the library. Check back with us periodically, as we will continue to add materials.

Portage Historic Homes

Turn-of-the-century photographs of historic Portage residences from the collection of the Portage Public Library.

Posselt, Theodore (Ted) Keith Collection

The Theodore (Ted) Keith Posselt collection of materials was donated to the Angie Williams Cox Public Library by an unknown source. The collection was discovered in a box in a closet during 2025. Theodore (Ted) Keith Posselt (1910 – 1989) was a resident of Columbia County, Wisconsin for many years graduating from Pardeeville High School in 1925. He was a reporter for local newspapers as well as wrote and directed a few community plays. Mr. Posselt served in the military during World War II and his Mission Report Book is part of this collection. Along with the items digitized in this collection, there is personal correspondence available for viewing by appointment at the library. Theodore Keith Posselt is buried in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Postcards of Oshkosh

Postcard views of businesses, churches, parks, city streets, country roads and other structures throughout the city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Poynette Area History

The Poynette Area Public Library and the Poynette Area Historical Society have partnered to provide this digital collection documenting the histories of the communities of Poynette, Arlington, Dekorra, Lowville and Leeds in Columbia County, Wisconsin.

Preservation Racine Newsletters

Preservation Racine, Inc. began publishing a newsletter in 1976, providing information about local events, local history, Century Building Certificates and historic buildings in Racine County.

Princeton Newspaper Collection

This digitized collection of newspapers from Princeton, Wisconsin includes all available documents from Green Lake County Democrat, Princeton Republic, Princeton Star, Princeton Republic-Star, Princeton Times, and Princeton Times-Republic. The digitization of this collection was made possible with contributions from the Princeton Historical Society, Princeton Public Library, the Caestecker (Green Lake) Library’s Tom Gnewuch Memorial Fund, a Wisconsin Humanities grant, and the Winnefox Library System.

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