Bay Leaves, a newsletter published by the community of Williams Bay on Geneva Lake, documents Williams Bay’s historic recreational camps; the Yerkes Observatory; the Belfry Theater, Wisconsin’s first summer stock theater; and the names and activities of both the year-round and summer residents who have influenced the appearance, culture and tourism of the village.
This collection of four scrapbooks with photographs, postcards, documents, and booklets was donated to the Angie W. Cox Public Library by Alan Williams in July 2022. Alan Williams’ father, Payson (P. K.) Williams, was the cousin of Pardeeville Public Library’s founder Angie Williams Cox. He is the grandson of Charles Harvey (C. H.) Williams, who was the founder of the Pardeeville Times newspaper. His great-uncle, Robert Thompson, was the publisher of the Crank newspaper.
Materials from the Albertson Memorial Library’s print collection that are important to the history of Albany and nearby surrounding communities in Green County, Wisconsin. Content includes annual yearbooks published by Albany High School: The Winnetkan, 1948-1960 and The Comet, 1962-1978.
This growing collection of materials from the Angie W. Cox Library in Pardeeville, Wisconsin includes local high school yearbooks, city directories, family histories, historic photographs and library history materials.
This growing selection of local history materials includes images of former Appleton mayors with descriptions of key events during their terms, the publications Appleton, Wis., Illustrated (1892) and Pioneers of Outagamie County (1895), city and telephone directories for the Appleton area from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and other items pertaining to city and town life, the library, schools and tourism.
Print resources including Appleton city directories and Outagamie County plat books. Two narrative histories of the area are also included: Land of the Fox, Saga of Outagamie County (1949) and Commemorative Biographical Record of the Fox River Valley Counties of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago (1895).
The Ashland Historical Society Museum’s digital collection is a sampling of photographic collections depicting historic buildings in Ashland, Wisconsin and the Chequamegon Bay ore docks.
This collection spans more than a century of Barneveld’s history, from early settlement through the devastation of the 1984 tornado and the rebuilding effort. Content includes books, photographs, video, business and village records, and personal scrapbooks and memorabilia.
Selections from the local history collections of fourteen west-central and northwestern Wisconsin public libraries, all members of the IFLS Library System. The digital collection contains texts (including community records, local history narratives and retrospectives, high school yearbooks and maps) and images of community sites, events and residents.
City directories, phone directories, plat maps and other publications documenting the history of the city of Beloit and Rock County, Wisconsin from the 1890s to the 1940s.
“The Mascoutin” is the yearbook for the public high school in Berlin, Wisconsin. Berlin Public Library has digitized these yearbooks dating back to 1950.
More than 600 photographs of the city of Kiel, Wisconsin from the mid-1800s to the late 20th century. These images depict commerce, recreation, cultural events and other day-to-day activities in the community.
A collaboration between the Black Earth Historical Society and the Black Earth Public Library to provide access to photographs and other materials about the village of Black Earth, Dane County, Wisconsin. Content includes a scrapbook of Black Earth High School graduating class photos 1885-1963 and portrait photographs of past village presidents.
Two compilations of local history published by the Blanchardville Woman’s Club: Blanchardville, Gem of the Pecatonica (1976) and Memories of Blanchardville (1990).
Postcards depicting locations in Arpin, Nekoosa, Stevens Point, Vesper, Wisconsin Rapids and the surrounding area. The postcards are also geo-located on this map.
A local newspaper from Brandon, Wisconsin, dating back to the 1800s with search results presented in original format/context.
A variety of publications documenting the community of Brillion, Calumet County, Wisconsin including family histories, church histories, and a scrapbook of letters and other documents chronicling the incorporation of the city compiled by local resident Arthur Neumeyer in 1944.
Materials documenting the history of the Village of Brown Deer including brochures, booklets, pamphlets, photographs, unpublished reports and full issues of the Brown Deer Historical Society Newsletter, published quarterly since 1973.
Plat books, atlases, school yearbooks and school newspapers documenting northeastern Wisconsin, specifically Brown, Door, Kewaunee and Shawano counties. School yearbooks and newspapers included in this collection are The Okato (1922-1926), The Bay Mist (1910, 1912, 1922), The Aeroplane (1914-1921), East High Aeroplane (1924-1925), The Flashes (1912-1925), The Thistle (1908, 1913), The Crescent Beach Echoes (1909-1911, 1913, 1917, 1920, 1923), The Bugler (1918, 1922), Scroll of the Wolves (1929) and Lake Whispers (1915-1916, 1921-1925).
Francis Burgess was a photographer for the La Crosse Tribune newspaper from 1935 until his retirement in 1970. This collection includes thousands of black and white photographic negatives from Burgess’ tenure at the Tribune as well as the work of other Tribune photographers including Ed Huebner.
The exhibit of “The Spirit of Milwaukee” was a cooperative agreement between the Common Council’s Special Committee on Public Information and the students and faculty of the Milwaukee Center for Photography. The photographs were taken between February and May of 1976 in Milwaukee, documenting Milwaukee life during the 1976 Bicentennial. After the Bicentennial, the City of Milwaukee CETA Arts Program hired student photographers from the Milwaukee Center for Photography to take pictures and document Milwaukee. The Department of City Development would exhibit the photographs and other art created under the program.
Photographs depicting the community of Shorewood from the 1890s to the 1930s, taken or collected by amateur photographer Charles Sheldon.
Chilton Public Library is the lively local library for the city of Chilton (population about 4,000) and the surrounding areas of Calumet County, Wisconsin. This local history digital collection features images and texts from the area’s past.
Publications including Eau Claire city directories 1880-1923, Eau Claire high school yearbooks 1900-1923, Eau Claire area histories, Wisconsin county histories and various periodicals published in Eau Claire in the early 20th century.
Items pertaining to the history of Clintonville, Wisconsin including portraits of local residents photographed by J. Alva Carter in 1927, Waupaca County plat books and atlases, and photographs and a scrapbook detailing the history of Wisconsin Central Airlines and the Clintonville Municipal Airport from the 1930s through the 1970s.
This digital collection of early postcards from the community of Columbus, Wisconsin is organized in partnership with the Columbus Area Historical Society.
UW-Oshkosh’s Community magazine (1978-2002) focused on the news and events of campus but also grew to include longer-form articles on a variety of topics of mutual interest. In the last years, the magazine also included the university’s annual report.
UW-Oshkosh’s Context magazine (1976-2001) was dedicated to sharing the important research and creative activities of the University’s faculty and academic staff. In addition to longer essays, the magazine includes lists of recent academic and professional publications and presentations of staff.
More than 50 photographs of Crandon and its early residents at the beginning of the 20th century, originally presented as an exhibition at the Crandon Community Building in 1986. The Public Property Committee of the City Council of Crandon sponsored the exhibit in order to inspire an interest in Crandon’s past among its residents as well as engage tourists.
The Cardinal yearbook, published by Crandon High School from 1938 into the 1960s.
A history of the Dane County Library Service, covering 50 years of service to the residents of Dane County, Wisconsin. Includes news clippings, photos of bookmobiles and oral history interviews with bookmobile drivers and other staff.
Daniel Klapproth was a soldier and a Somers, Wisconsin native who was stationed in Panama during the Second World War. This collection consists of photographs taken by Daniel during his military service, as well as letters written by Daniel to his mother in Wisconsin.
During WWII, the US Army’s Fort McCoy, in Monroe County, Wisconsin, served as a location to house German prisoners of war (POWs). David Yates was stationed at Fort McCoy during this time and managed to take photographs that now give insight into daily life for soldiers and POWs alike. This collection consists of over 100 black and white photographs that capture day-to-day activities and military personnel during WWII at a German POW camp located inside the United States.
This collection includes full issues of two newspaper titles: the Delavan Republican (1868-1924), a weekly newspaper published in Delavan and the Wisconsin Times (1884-1968), a newspaper published by the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. Select yearbooks from Delavan-Darien High School 1932-1999 and Wisconsin School for the Deaf yearbooks from 1924-2015 are also included.
Whether it was segregation in the 1950s or the cultural and political tumult of the 1960s and 1970s, South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin confronted a world fundamentally alien to that they had left behind. Neither black nor white, these individuals managed to raise families and often succeeded in their careers. From a few dozen students, professionals, and businessmen and their families who settled in Wisconsin, the presence of South Asian immigrants grew exponentially as they became tightly integrated into the fabric of their communities. The journey to develop a distinct identity as South Asian Americans in Wisconsin over the course of decades is highlighted in this collection of oral histories from some of the first South Asian immigrants to Wisconsin.
Two fire insurance atlases featuring detailed color maps of Milwaukee. Produced by the Sanborn Map Company, the 1894 atlas includes four volumes consisting of 450 map sheets and the 1910 atlas includes eight volumes consisting of 830 map sheets.
This collection contains digitized Merril, Wisconsin high school KEMO (Keep Every Memory Ours) yearbooks and Lincoln County Normal School yearbooks from the Central Wisconsin Digitization Project.
Four early issues of The Flashes, a student publication produced by Sturgeon Bay High School beginning in 1903, and several pamphlets published in the 1910s and 1920s to promote tourism and recreation in Door County, Wisconsin.
Local history materials in this digital collection from the E.D. Locke Public Library in McFarland, Wisconsin include family histories and local history publications as well as elementary and high school yearbooks from the 1950s.
This collection contains articles, photographs, and yearbooks for the Evansville Seminary.
This digital collection of thirteen published books provides access to early information about Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. Content includes eight city and county directories dating from 1857-1904.
The Chippewa Valley Museum partnered with L. E. Phillips Memorial Library to provide access to its significant collection of photographs depicting life in Eau Claire and the surrounding area. Topics include logging, farming, sports, schools, retail stores, and parks.
From the Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, this collection consists of oral history interviews that aim to record and preserve the stories and experiences of City of Elkhorn and Walworth County men and women for the education and enlightenment of future generations.
Papers of Walter Eugene Leach (1857-1938), curator of the Racine County Museum. Included are biographical materials on notable Racine residents and Leach’s writings on Racine County history, including chapters of his unpublished manuscript “The Story of Racine County, a History.” There are also records of the Racine Senate, 1844-1851, and the Racine Relief Association, 1883-1898.
The digital collection of materials from the Eager Free Public Library History Room includes Rock County, Wisconsin plat books from 1891, 1904, and 1917. Evansville was settled in 1839 and became an important stop on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway system. The digital collection includes histories and memories that give accounts of settlement and Evansville’s growth and prosperity. City Directories and photo collections of portraits, homes, and businesses are also included in the project.
The Exploring Cultural History Online (ECHO) Project developed by Winding Rivers Library System consists of photographs and postcards documenting the history and culture of western Wisconsin, specifically Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau and Vernon counties.
Ferdinand L. Kronenberg’s (1877-1944) work spanned nearly five decades in Madison and many Kronenberg-designed buildings survive today. Together they give Madison much of its unique historic architectural identity. Some impressive Kronenberg residential structures survive, but many believe Kronenberg’s most exciting buildings were his commercial designs.
This digital collection contains 13 published books and a wall map providing accessibility to early information about the City Of Berlin and Green Lake County. City and county directories list residents with their addresses and occupations and include an alphabetic list of business firms and a street and avenue guide. City information for 1892 is now easily accessible from a wall map.
Photographs documenting life in Grant County, Wisconsin since the mid-19th century, including portraits of early settlers and images of the Joe Greer Rodeo of the 1940s. Communities represented include Beetown, Boscobel, Cassville, Cuba City, Fennimore, Hazel Green, Lancaster and Platteville.
The Green Lake County Reporter, digitized by the Caestecker Public Library in Green Lake, includes all editions from 1919-2005. The original microfilm collection was created by the Dartford Historical Society. The more recent issues are shared with permission from the Berlin Journal Newspapers publishing company. Editions of the Green Lake County reporter from 2005 to present (with a 90-day embargo) can be found at the Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers. For the most current news in the area, please visit Caestecker Library or a local newsstand for this week’s edition of the Green Lake Reporter.
The Green Lake Spectator was published from 1860-1866 and was preserved in microfilm by the Dartford Historical Society. The Caestecker Public Library in Green Lake digitized all owned copies ranging from mid-1861 through the end of publication.
Postcards of Milwaukee scenes and landmarks distributed by Milwaukee publishers, from the Thomas and Jean Ross Bliffert Postcard Collection housed at the UWM Archives Department.
Postcards of the city of Dodgeville, Wisconsin from the 1900s to the 1960s, including street scenes, residences, churches, hospitals, schools, government buildings and businesses.
This digital collection contains two components: images of citizens and businesses along Main Street in the city of Fort Atkinson from the 1880s through the 1970s, and manuscripts, notes, letters, oral histories and photographs from or about poet Lorine Niedecker, who spent most of her life in the Fort Atkinson area.
This digital collection of historic plat books, city directories, and atlases provides accessibility to early information about South Central Wisconsin, specifically Columbia, Dane, Portage and Wood counties. The early city directories for Madison provide helpful historical information on the early years of the state capital in addition to helping those looking for information on specific people and businesses in the area in the 1800s and early 1900s. The directories provide an alphabetical list of citizens with their addresses and occupations, a classified business directory, lists of city and county officials, churches, schools, societies, streets and wards.
The UW-Parkside Photos digital collection includes over 1200 images documenting life on Parkside’s campus and includes photos from its predecessor institutions, UW-Racine and UW-Kenosha. This collection represents a small portion of photographs available for viewing in the archive.
McMillan Memorial Library moved to its current location in 1970, but the Library pre-dates the city’s name change from Grand Rapids to Wisconsin Rapids (1920) and the merging of Centralia and Grand Rapids (1900). This collection features photographs and publications documenting the history of libraries in the city, including the J.D. Witter Traveling Libraries, collections of books that were moved to 49 stations in Wood County between 1896 and 1947.
Early 20th century postcards depicting scenes in and around the community of Hortonville, Wisconsin.
The Invictus, launched in 1977, was published by the UWM Black Student Union (BSU), giving voice to the University’s African American student body with news features, profiles, and poetry. The paper had two significant idle periods – one in the early 1980s and another between 1988 and 1993 – but was relaunched after both by the BSU.
The Irene Bishop Goggans collection contains materials pertaining to the African American community in Milwaukee and across the country. Materials collected by Irene Goggans (1926-2017) are mostly from the 1950s to the early 2010s and include newspaper clippings, photographs, event programs, and more.
In 2018, the Jane Morgan Memorial Library and the Cambria-Friesland Historical Society began to digitize materials from their archives that are important to the history of Cambria and nearby communities in Columbia County, Wisconsin. The digital collection includes photographs, postcards and pamphlets such as a booklet published for the 1944 Cambria centennial and the “Cambria Victory Homecoming” after World War II.
A range of materials documenting the history of Janesville, Wisconsin including photographs and postcards from the 1840s through the 1980s and directories for the city of Janesville and Rock County, 1857-1931. Also includes walking guides to historic districts published in the 1990s and 2000s.
Books on the history of and life in Oshkosh, Wisconsin compiled and written by local historian Clarence “Inky” Jungwirth.
Local history materials from the community of Kaukauna, Wisconsin including early 20th century postcards, marriage licenses ca. 1905-1959, materials related to the Riverview Sanatorium tuburculosis hospital, a membership roll for the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, high school graduation programs and publications including Kaukauna 175th Jubilee Album (1965) and Industrial Kaukauna (1939).
This collection of glass plate negatives captures the daily life of people in the Midwest between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Many of the subjects in this collection are from the Baldwin family who were prominent in the coal industry. The Baldwin Coal Company, founded by George Smith Baldwin (1835-1923), was the first of its industry in Kenosha. His son Harry Merrill Baldwin (1862-1950), the owner of the Baldwin house, was the father to Drew and Lawrence Baldwin, whose photos show up often in this collection. In addition to human subjects, prominently featured in this collection are photos of marine vessels ranging from schooners, to warships, to yachts.
These collections, from Community Library (Salem), Kenosha Public Library, and Kenosha County Libray System, feature photographs, documents, genealogy records, letters, and maps from Kenosha County cities, towns, and schools.
The C.E. Dewey Lantern Slide Collection contains images of Kenosha County from the 1830s to the early 1940s. The Louis M. Thiers Glass Negative Collection contains images from the 1880s into the 1910s. The digital collection also includes several books documenting the history of Racine and Kenosha counties.
The photos in this collection form part of a large digital archive of over 300 pictures covering Kewaskum history from the 1890s to the 1970s. The Kewaskum photo archive is a project of the Kewaskum Public Library and the Kewaskum Historical Society.
Oral history interviews with prominent residents of the Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton area as well as with local historians. The interviews were conducted by the Dells Country Historical Society in the 1970s and 1980s.
Krohnographs are images by Don Krohn, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune photographer from 1947-1953. These photographs provide an unusually complete and active look at a paper mill town reaching its prime.
Selected materials from the Kvamme Local History Collection maintained by Stoughton Public Library. Documents in this collection include Stoughton city directories and telephone directories as well as volumes of newspaper clippings on topics of local interest including World War II, Syttende Mai, the Martin Luther Children’s Home and the Stoughton Ski Jump.
Covering the years 1930-1955, these publications compiled by the La Crosse County Historical Society present histories, stories and biographies of events, locations and individuals from La Crosse’s past.
Images of businesses, residences and people of La Crosse and the surrounding area from the 1850s through the 1990s.
The La Crosse Plow Company Collection contains a variety of visual materials including repair guides, photographs, 3-dimensional objects, letters, and other similar items. The collection’s materials span the various phases of the La Crosse Plow Company including names such as Sta-Rite, Happy Farmer Tractor Company, and the La Crosse Tractor Company. The bulk of this collection was scanned from materials owned by Randy Reysen, and the other items featured are part of the Murphy Library Special Collections. In total, there are over 100 items included in this collection with the prospect of adding more in the future.
This collection from the La Crosse Public Library Archives includes digitized texts related to La Crosse including city directories 1866-1963; city ordinances 1863-1954; and other histories including local churches. Photographs and oral histories can also be accessed here.
Several towns and villages in Langlade County thrived during the heyday of logging and the timber industry but have declined in recent years. A few have virtually become ghost towns while some still exist. Langlade County, in more recent years, has marketed itself as the “Gateway to the Northwoods” and, more recently, the “The County of Trails.” This collection shows many resorts and recreational venues in Langlade County and other Northwoods destinations.
The logging photographs in the collection of the Langlade County Historical Society document work crews, logging camps, sawmills and other aspects of Wisconsin’s logging industry from the 19th century to the 1990s. Some photographs were taken by Arthur J. Kingsbury for his picture postcard business, but many are by anonymous photographers.
Scenes of life in and around Vesper, Wisconsin in the late 1940s and early 1950s captured by local photojournalist Lawrence Oliver.
The Lester Public Library of Arpin archive, preservation, and digitization project is gathering and preserving area history through video recordings of residents’ personal stories and digitization of physical materials, such as photographs and documents.
The Listening to War digital collection brings together first-person accounts of veterans and civilians in Wisconsin during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. These stories of everyday life during wartime come from men and women who served on the battlefront; nurses, journalists, shipbuilders, and others who contributed to wartime work at home and abroad; Holocaust survivors who immigrated from Europe to Wisconsin after World War II; and Hmong refugees from Laos who were resettled in the state following the Vietnam War.
Postcards from personal collections show views of Oshkosh’s Main Street.
Malcolm Rosholt was a journalist in pre-WWII China, an intelligence officer for the Flying Tigers and the author of works on lumbering, railroads and pioneer times, focused on central Wisconsin. With his family’s permission, eleven of his books about Wisconsin history, long out of print, have been digitized.
Photographs and postcards by professional photographer Herman C. Benke from the 1890s and 1900s and images by amateur photographer Frances M. Kadow from the 1920s through the 1940s. Also includes historical texts concerning Manitowoc County, plat books and plat maps, and oral history interviews recorded with area residents in the 1970s.
The Manitowoc Public Library County School Records collection contains daily registers belonging to various schools located in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin from the 1900s through the 1970s.
This digital collection focuses on the history of the towns, villages and cities of Marathon County. It includes centennial histories written by local residents, with many illustrations documenting family life and economic development in central Wisconsin.
Plat books of Marinette County from the years 1905, 1912 and 1920 and Marinette High School yearbooks from 1919-1924.
Typewritten manuscripts documenting the histories of the Marinette County communities of Amberg, Coleman and Beaver Creek as well as a manuscript titled A Brief History of Marinette for Children (1960).
Photos of headstones from cemeteries in the community of Marshall, Dane County, Wisconsin and surrounding townships. The documented cemeteries are Deansville, Medina, North York, Oak Lawn, St. Mary’s, York Center and York Medina.
Texts highlighting the early history of the city of Menasha, Wisconsin, including the Menasha City Charter of 1891 and the first Menasha High School yearbook of 1916 as well as photographs depicting the people and places within the community from approximately 1880 to 1950.
This collection of photographs of Lake Redstone and Reedsburg was taken by Mildred Hinrichs. Lake Redstone Beginnings contains snapshots of the building of Lake Redstone. Reedsburg Volume 1 includes photographs of Reedsburg taken from 1993-1996. Reedsburg Volume 2 includes photographs of Reedsburg taken from 2000 to 2006.
This collection contains history and photographs of the Milton Public Library and Milton College (1844-1982). The Milton Public Library currently occupies the building that was the former Milton College Shaw Memorial Library.
These yearbooks for city government were produced by the Milwaukee Common Council from 1921 until 2000, after which they were replaced by the city’s website. Designed to be a way to communicate directly with Milwaukee’s citizens, they highlighted activities by the various departments and were a quick-reference guide for city information. In addition to yearly accomplishments, most of the later years’ editions feature biographies of elected officials, maps of aldermanic districts, budget summaries, phone directories, photos, and handy facts about the city.
This collection of more than 20,000 marriage certificates dating from 1822-1876 was digitized from microfilm and indexed by the Milwaukee County Genealogical Society.
Selections from the Milwaukee Public Library’s Historic Photo Collection. The full collection includes over 50,000 photographs of Milwaukee dating from the late 19th century to the present.
Images of Milwaukee neighborhoods from the Far Northwest Side to the Far South Side, providing a visual documentation of the development of the city of Milwaukee from the mid-1880s to the early 1990s. The image collection is accompanied by 12 maps of Milwaukee from the holdings of the American Geographical Society Library.
More than 30,000 photographs by Roman Kwasniewski, who worked as a studio photographer in the Polish-American community on Milwaukee’s south side from 1907-1947, documenting social events such as First Communions, Confirmations, graduations, weddings, and anniversaries as well as day-to-day life in the neighborhood. Together, these photographs offer a portrait of Milwaukee’s second largest ethnic group in the first half of the 20th century.
This digital resource offers an introduction to some of the rich materials related to the history of socialist politics in Milwaukee contained in the collections of the UWM Archives. Our collections are focused especially on Milwaukee’s first socialist mayor, Emil Seidel. This digital collection includes the entirety of Seidel’s personal papers, his official papers from his time serving as Mayor of Milwaukee, and his unpublished autobiography. Additionally, the digital collection includes selections from the UWM Special Collections’ monographs by and about the Milwaukee Turners.
This collection of index cards, compiled by unknown city employees, lists locations of and changes to street names in the city of Milwaukee and neighboring communities in Milwaukee County, some of which were annexed by the city. As the card titled “Uniform Street Numbering System” explains, most of the city’s current street names were enacted in 1930, but many were changed individually by stand-alone legislation.
Glass plate negatives from 1875 to circa 1910 documenting buildings and people in Mineral Point and vicinity.
Images of early vernacular buildings in Mineral Point, including stone and brick residences dating to the early settlement period of the 1830s-1850s.
The Monarch Digital Collection program was created by the Monarch Library System to expand access to local historical material that previously had limited or no accessibility. The goal is to continue digitally preserving and promoting the histories of the four counties that make up Monarch Library System (Dodge, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington) for a fuller and richer view of these communities and Wisconsin.
A variety of resources depicting the early 20th century in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin including church histories, family memoirs, books about the historic Norway Building, and information about Mount Horeb’s production of Song of Norway. Centennial books from the Mount Horeb Area Historical Society, Perry Historical Center, and Springdale Township are also included.
UW-La Crosse Murphy Library Special Collections houses numerous analog historical moving pictures, some of which are featured in this collection.
MPL’s Own Archives contains the history of the Milwaukee Public Library system. Encompassing written records, photographs, and film the collection offers a look back at how the library has served the community of Milwaukee since its founding. This online portion of the collection contains an interview with Toni Morrison, a handful of PSAs, informational videos, and a partial episode of “Library Playhouse”, a library created TV program.
This collection presents the history of Neenah, Wisconsin from the 1850s to the 1950s. Includes local history texts, Neenah and Menasha city directories 1920-1939, a 1928 plat map of Winnebago County, and more than 400 photographs.
This collection focuses on the first 100 years of New Glarus’s history, including narratives of the settlement and early history of the village, family records from the first church in New Glarus, tax rolls of the Town of New Glarus, maps and plat books of Green County, the first yearbook of the New Glarus High School, and photographs of individuals and families, school groups, community organizations, events, street scenes, businesses, and agriculture.
Postcards and photographs depicting scenes from Oconto Falls, Wisconsin and the surrounding area, including images of Stiles Hydro Dam on the Oconto River, aerial views of Oconto Falls, and depictions of early 20th century local events by amateur photographer William Temple.
The Odin J. Oyen firm was once a thriving business in downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin, that created original watercolors as proposed interior designs. The firm, or variations of it, existed from the late-1800s up to the Great Depression, generating countless watercolor designs for the interiors of courthouses, churches, fraternal organizations, and private residences, in locations across the Upper Midwest and beyond. Several hundred original watercolors reside in Murphy Library Special Collections, owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, and local attorney Nicholas J. Passe acquired over 100 Oyen interior renditions and was willing to allow the Murphy Library Digital Collections to digitize and include those items in the Digital Collections. These items currently make up the Odin J. Oyen Collection.
Browse or search the collection to discover all kinds of interesting facts about historic Oshkosh as well as sketches of prominent people, local businesses and their advertisements, and views of Oshkosh. Each directory has been divided into sections: surnames, businesses, street directories, and more. Some directories include Menasha, Neenah, Omro, and Winneconne. Funding for the project was obtained from a grant from the Alberta Kimball Foundation.
Books documenting the history of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, published between 1887 and 1919.
Resources concerning Winnebago County, Wisconsin and the communities of Oshkosh and Omro in the 19th century, including county histories, local histories, atlases, maps and photographs.
Personal reminiscences of growing up in Ozaukee County, reflections of local residents who served during wartime, histories of various local communities, and histories of public services and groups in those communities, including fire departments and women’s clubs.
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.
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.
Turn-of-the-century photographs of historic Portage residences from the collection of the Portage Public Library.
Postcard views of businesses, churches, parks, city streets, country roads and other structures throughout the city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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, Inc. began publishing a newsletter in 1976, providing information about local events, local history, Century Building Certificates and historic buildings in Racine County.
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.
A variety of publications relating to La Crosse and the surrounding region, including souvenir programs and pamphlets, church histories, directories and other published and unpublished documents.
Roley William Troxel was born in 1883 in Richland County, Wisconsin and died in 1967 in Prairie du Chien. The photographs were taken mostly around Eastman, Wisconsin and other areas surrounding Prairie du Chien, likely between 1910 and 1920. Images include posed portraits, sports teams, various buildings and other landscape and street views.
Wisconsin’s story is still being written, folding in the customs and traditions of everyone who calls this place home. You’re invited to help build a shared history of our state by contributing your photos, documents and audio files to the Recollection Wisconsin Shared Collection.
This collection contains books detailing the history of Reedsburg and the surrounding area.
This collection is a set of photographs documenting the history of Reedsburg and surrounding communities.
This collection is a set of postcards with images from the Reedsburg area.
This collection of photographs, collected by the Reedsburg Old Settlers Association, is primarily made up of portraits, along with some places and events. The Association was active from 1876-2022.
Remember When… was a popular feature in the Milwaukee Journal from 1963 through 1994. Published twice-weekly until 1981 and weekly after that, the feature was prepared by Milwaukee Public Library staff to highlight Milwaukee’s rich and colorful past as preserved in the Historic Photo Collection of the library.
Richard Bong, from the small town of Poplar, Wisconsin, became a flying cadet in the US Army Air Corps, in time for America’s entry into World War II. Flying in a P-38 fighter plane, he shot down 40 confirmed enemy planes, more than any other American pilot, and became America’s all-time Ace of Aces. His many decorations for outstanding skills and extraordinary courage included the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Images of a wide variety of people and places pertaining to Richland County in southwest Wisconsin, from the collections of the Richland County History Room, part of the Brewer Public Library in Richland Center.
Postcards and photographs depicting local businesses in downtown Ripon.
Access a variety of historical Ripon newspapers with near continuous coverage from 1853 to the present day. Includes the Ripon Commonwealth from 1864-1968, Press from 1875-1957, and Commonweath-Press from 1965-2004. Newspaper archives from 2005 and up are available through BadgerLink.
During his lifetime, Samuel Pedrick, a prominent Ripon figure, lawyer and local historian, compiled genealogical information and family histories into numerous notebooks. In 2006, the Ripon Public Library completed a restoration project in which the entirety of the Pedrick genealogical notebooks was digitized and indexed.
The Rock Springs Public Library collection includes documents and photographs related to the Rock Springs Memorial Community Center as well as documents related to the history of the village, images of community sites, events and residents of Rock Springs (formerly Ableman) and the surrounding area.
The Rosemary Garfoot Public Library of Cross Plains, Wisconsin created a partnership with the Cross Plains – Berry Historical Society to house the Society’s archives in the Library. This digital collection is gleaned from those archives and contains recorded oral histories, scanned photographs and documents highlighting the rich history of the Cross Plains area and the Rosemary Garfoot Public Library.
Research files on Sauk City residences and commerical properties, including photographs and notes, compiled by local historian Myrtle Wilhelm Cushing in the 1970s.
Two local histories published by the Slinger Advancement Association and more than 300 photographs documenting the village of Slinger, Washington County, Wisconsin.
Publications documenting the history of Seymour, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, from the collections of the Muehl Public Library.
Published histories of Clintonville, Shawano, and Shawano County.
Sheboygan County plat maps 1875-1920, local histories, centennial and homecoming souvenir booklets, and catalogs from numerous furniture manufacturers in the city of Sheboygan.
Publications documenting the early history of Adams, Columbia, Dane, Green, Portage, Sauk and Wood Counties and the communities of Albany, Belleville, Cambria, Cambridge, Columbus, Fitchburg, Madison, Monroe, Prairie du Sac, Reedsburg and Waunakee. Materials were contributed from the collections of South Central Library System member public libraries.
This collection showcases and preserves the history of South Milwaukee through digitized images, texts, and other media. The collection is a collaboration of resources held by both the library and the South Milwaukee Historical Society.
Postcards from Grand Rapids (later Wisconsin Rapids), Nekoosa and Port Edwards from the early and mid-20th century.
The State of Wisconsin Collection presents writings about the state of Wisconsin and unique or valuable materials that relate to its history and ongoing development. The collection includes published material as well as archival materials such as books, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs, maps and other resources.
A variety of local history materials including artifacts and photographs related to the SOO Line Railroad, the cranberry industry and annual Cranberry Festival, military history, household goods, the logging industry, and local resorts.
A collection of audio oral history interviews with residents of Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin, conducted by Doris Litscher Gasser in the 1980s and 1990s. Each item in the digital collection also includes a photograph Gasser took of the each community member interviewed and an article published in the Sauk Prairie Star based on each interview.
Sun Prairie history is a collaborative project between the Sun Prairie Public Library and the Sun Prairie Historical Museum. Both organizations have collections of historical archives that chronicle the people, places, and events and tell the story of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, a formerly rural space that has become a suburb of Madison.
Dorothy McCarthy’s “Tales of Old Portage” series of local history columns appeared in the Portage Daily Register from 1958-1975.
Glass negatives created by the Taylor Brothers photographic studio of Adams County, Wisconsin, circa 1910-1930. Subjects are varied and include towns, buildings and street scenes in Adams County; construction and dedication of a new county courthouse; teachers, classes, and one-room school houses; road construction; and farmsteads, animals, and agricultural activities.
Changing Landscapes of Wisconsin creates wide accessibility to a rare collection of historic aerial photographs acquired by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 1937-1941. These photographs provide a snapshot of Wisconsin’s landscapes and have become a baseline dataset for understanding environmental, social, and economic changes that have occurred since that time.
A collection of ink blotters featuring historic photographs from the Wisconsin Rapids area which were distributed by local insurance agent Tom Taylor to promote his business in the 1930s.
The Tom Taylor Book, also known as 100 Years of Pictorial & Descriptive History of Wisconsin Rapids, was compiled by T.A. Tayor between 1934-1939. The digital collection pairs the historical photographs gathered by Taylor along with the details he recorded about each image.
The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters is an independent, nonprofit membership organization chartered by the state legislature in 1870. Transactions, an annual journal (1870-2001), was central to the Academy’s goal of uniting scientists, humanities scholars and artists together to stimulate learning and exchange of research.
Images of everyday life in Trempealeau County captured by photographer Wade Britzius in 1976. The digital collection is made possible through the combined efforts of the Arcadia Historical Society, Old Main Historical and Community Arts Center in Galesville, and the Trempealeau County Historical Society, with partial funding from Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc.
Primary sources, including eyewitness accounts, images and objects documenting key events in Wisconsin history. Resources are divided into ten topic categories: early Native peoples; early explorers, traders and settlers; the territorial period and statehood; immigration and settlement; the Civil War Era; mining, lumber and agriculture; the Progressive Era; 20th century wars; industrialization and urbanization; and 20th century change.
Photographs of Two Rivers selected from the collection of Hubert R. Wentorf (circa late 1800s to mid 1950s), and product catalogs from the Fisher-Hamilton Company, a major employer in Two Rivers since 1880 (now known as Thermo-Fisher Scientific).
Historical images of Viterbo University.
The Upper Mississippi River Conservation Survey Committee was established in Dubuque, IA, in 1943, originally comprised of 22 biologists from Iowa and the surrounding states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Missouri. Since then, the UMRCC dropped “Survey” from their name and has grown to more than 200 resource managers working in multiple disciplines including fisheries, mussels, recreation, wildlife, water quality, vegetation, education, and law enforcement. This collection is a result of a partnership between the UMRCC and Murphy Library to provide both digital and physical access to the UMRCC Library, now housed at Murphy Library.
This collection features every University of Wisconsin-La Crosse commencement program that is housed in Special Collections, dating back to the “First Annual Commencement” of the State Normal School in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on June 23, 1910. Additional materials are available for select years that may include everything from speeches and scripts to invitations and graduate lists. Each year expect that this collection will include the most recent commencement programs.
Since 1998, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Journal of Undergraduate Research has served as a place for students to publish original research. Published annually by the Undergraduate Research Program, this collection contains individual articles written by UWL students on topics ranging from accounting and archaeology to theater and women’s studies, and everything in between.
Selections from the more than 3,000 hours of interviews recorded by the UW-La Crosse Oral History Program and housed in Murphy Library’s Special Collections.
Donated to UW-La Crosse Murphy Library Special Collections in 2018, these three large scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings, photographs, pamphlets, and other materials related to the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and the Military Science department on the UWL campus. In addition to the scrapbooks, this collection contains other photographs, multiple issues of The Cadence newspaper, and several cadet handbooks. Additional manuscript material is available in UWL Special Collections.
The Ranger News is the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s student-run newspaper.
The Verona Public Library’s Local History digitization project is a growing selection of digital materials culled from the physical archives of their Local History Collection. This digital archive will include access to photographs, city directories, and community writing projects.
These photographs depicting the businesses, industries and people of Vesper, Wisconsin were collected and annotated by Marlys Steckler.
This collection of views of Antigo, the county seat of Langlade County, shows businesses, homes, schools, and street scenes of downtown Antigo throughout the 20th century. Antigo’s first home was built in 1878. It was incorporated as a city and made the county seat of New County (later renamed Langlade County) in the 1880s. The city was originally named Springbrook but was renamed Antigo using the middle word of an Ojibwe phrase Nequi-Antigo-Seebeh, which means “Where the river flows past evergreens.” The collection also contains some scenes of towns and villages of Langlade County as well as resorts and towns in other regions of northern Wisconsin.
These 27 photographs come from the Walter Scott Materials collection. Walter Scott (1911-1983) is a well-known naturalist who was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 1995. He also had a penchant for preserving local history and was one of the founders of Historic Madison Inc. These photographs were taken on August 16, 1962. Some photos were taken from an airplane, some in a small rowboat, and others from the shoreline.
The history of the Waterford area in western Racine County, Wisconsin is documented here in books, manuscripts, high school yearbooks, photographs, maps and newspapers. This digital collection is a collaboration of many Waterford area agencies including Waterford Public Library, the Village of Waterford, Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce, Waterford Union High School and the personal collections of many of the descendants of pioneer families.
The materials in this digital collection depict the industries, people and structures important to the development of Waukesha County from 1870-1920. Many of the images come from the collection of Warren S. O’Brien (1898-1988), a prolific Waukesha photographer.
The Waunakee Public Library local history collection features photographs, newspaper clippings, books, government documents, board minutes, and more from the local Waunakee area and surrounding towns. There is a wide range of materials ranging from the early 1900’s until present day.
The Mimi Bird Historical Collection consists of forty volumes of photographs, clippings and other materials compiled by local resident Mimi Bird. Bird’s primary focus was the history of Whitefish Bay, but she also collected historical information on area communities including Glendale and River Hills as well as the construction of Highway 141.
A series of biographies of early local settlers, published in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune 1920-1922.
This collection contains 9687 pages of Wild Rose Historical items that have been digitized to protect the originals and to make searching easier. Scrapbooks by the Wild Rose Women’s Club, The Rambling Rosies, Plays by Pearl Dopp, Wild Rose Home of the Original Music Man Scrapbook, and many typed family histories from families who helped settle or lived in Wild Rose.
Published quarterly by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, the Wisconsin Academy Review (now known as Wisconsin People and Ideas) focuses on contemporary Wisconsin thought and culture. Issues in the digital collection date from 1958-2008.
The Wisconsin Blue Book has been published every other year since 1885. Each volume includes information and statistics on life in Wisconsin, including government, population, geography, history, election data, educational resources, social services, finance, agriculture, industry and transportation systems.
Covering various counties in Wisconsin, page through these United States census books from the 1850 and 1860 censuses. Digitized by the Caestecker Public Library in Green Lake, with respect to the Dartford Historical Society for preserving the records in microfilm.
This collection comprises citizen petitions written to the legislatures of the Wisconsin Territory and later the State of Wisconsin, from 1836 to 1891. At the time, petitions were the only direct means for citizens to communicate with the government. From requesting dams, roads, and money to build schoolhouses, to recording views on slavery, suffrage, and statehood, these petitions reveal what settlers wished to achieve for their communities, and the ways in which they hoped to connect Wisconsin to the expanding commerce and intellectual life of the United States.
More than 80 standard histories of Wisconsin counties. Most of these volumes include detailed accounts of individual cities, townships and villages, as well as biographical sketches of prominent residents. Most were published between 1850 and 1920.
A serial publication issued every two or three years between 1855 and 1915 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Twenty volumes of pioneer memoirs, archival records, original journals, explorers’ narratives, interviews and other eyewitness accounts of Wisconsin’s past.
More than 2,000 feature articles totaling over 35,000 pages, exactly as they originally appeared in the Wisconsin Magazine of History. Includes the entire archive of previous issues, back to 1917.
The field notes and plat maps of the public land survey of Wisconsin are a valuable resource for original land survey information, as well as for understanding Wisconsin’s landscape history. The survey of Wisconsin was conducted between 1832 and 1866 by the federal General Land Office. This work established the township, range and section grid; the pattern upon which land ownership and land use is based.
