The Bayfield Heritage Association has received the 2021 Public Program Award from the Wisconsin Historical Society for their John Matthew Black virtual lecture series.

About the Program

The Bayfield Heritage Association (BHA) serves the community by collecting, preserving, and sharing the history and culture of Bayfield and the surrounding region. For several years, public programs reached hundreds of local residents annually through on-site programs featuring varied topics of regional and local significance. In 2020, the Bayfield Heritage Center re-envisioned and launched a virtual John Matthew Black series with financial support from the Apostle Islands Historic Preservation Conservancy. With programs held virtually via Zoom and the recordings added to the BHA's YouTube channel, this series continued to serve local audiences but extended the learning community to an audience across Wisconsin and beyond. The virtual series expanded to serve K-12 audiences as well.

The series featured topics and themes of local, regional, and national significance. Highlights included Gaylord Nelson and the creation of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; the CCC and reforestation of Bayfield's cutover; shipwrecks and stories of Wisconsin's South Shore; and German prisoner of war camps in Bayfield.

About the Award

This award honors outstanding work in a new Wisconsin public history program. The award is presented to a Wisconsin organization that has launched an exceptional history public program during the preceding year.

Learn More

• Learn about the Public Program Award

  Learn how to nominate programs for this award.

• Learn about the Board of Curators Awards