Wisconsin (territory) | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Wisconsin Territory

A Brief History of Wisconsin before Statehood

Wisconsin (territory) | Wisconsin Historical Society
Dictionary of Wisconsin History.

Wisconsin became a territory in 1836. Before then, it was successively part of the Northwest Territory (1788-1800) and the territories of Indiana (1800-1809), Illinois (1809-1818), and Michigan (1818-1836). Its population was 11,683 when the territory was chartered in 1836, 30,749 in 1840, and 155,277 in 1846.

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[Source: Wyman, Mark. "The Wisconsin Frontier," Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998]