Czechs were the earliest Slavic peoples to settle in Wisconsin. Most settled in Wisconsin between 1848 and 1880 and were primarily farmers and skilled tradesmen. The Czechs generally settled along the eastern lakeshore and in the coulee region of the west and southwest. All of the major Czech settlements were established in Wisconsin before 1860 although a few groups established colonies in the cutover from Antigo to Ashland. Most settlements were agriculturally oriented and Wisconsin is considered the first center of Czech rural life in the U.S.  Milwaukee became one of the nation's oldest Czech centers and had a thriving Czech publishing industry.  La Crosse had Czech settlers as early as 1855 but the surge did not come until the 1870s. Prairie du Chien also developed into another major Czech settlement. Czech immigration largely abated by the late 1870s. 

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Czechs in Wisconsin

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