Establishing Civic Centers
Wisconsin Citizen Petition Exhibit
Until the nineteenth century, white settlement in Wisconsin was centered on the fur trade and military posts at Green Bay, LaPointe, and Prairie du Chien. With increased westward migration following the War of 1812, white settlers initially settled in two areas: the lead mining regions along the Mississippi and along the lakeshore in what later became the city of Milwaukee.
Green Bay Treaty, August 18, 1821
The treaty is signed by the chiefs of the six Indian nations for the possession of lands near the Fox River to the Winnebago Lake and approved by President James Monroe. View the original source document: WHI 27037
Settlement by European immigrants was preceded and made possible by the reduction of tribal lands and the forced removal of Native American populations. White settlers regularly petitioned the legislature to enforce treaties legally dispossessing Wisconsin Indians.
By the time Wisconsin became a territory in 1836, exploitation of the lead region and the commercial potential of harbors on Lake Michigan's shoreline led to new urban communities and industries that would transform the region.
A desire for greater autonomy and more public services led villages to apply for city charters from the legislature. Green Bay, incorporated as a village in 1846, received its city charter from the state legislature in 1857.
View of Ceresco
Elevated view of Ceresco taken from Seward's hill View the original source document: WHI 39693
Wisconsin was also home to several experiments in communal living. Most of these groups saw themselves as peaceful pioneers for a new order to be built in the remote Wisconsin wilderness. The best-known communal experiment in Wisconsin was the Wisconsin Phalanx, a community based on the principles of Charles Fourier, established at Ceresco (Ripon).
Legislators elected by residents were kept busy approving petitions for the incorporation of newbanks and private corporations, adjusting city boundaries, and resolving local government conflicts. Regional disputes over county seat location and county boundaries could get contentious, regularly generating petitions with hundreds of signatures.