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Historical Essay

Joseph Crelie, the Oldest Pioneer in Wisconsin

An Old Man's Tall Tale
Wisconsin pioneer Joseph Crelie was said to be 139 years old when he was exhibited to spectators in 1864. But how old was he really?
Historical Essay

A Wisconsin Connection to Wounded Knee

The Story of Lost Bird
Discover this harrowing story that brings together a feminist pioneer and the infant her husband found in the aftermath of Wounded Knee.
Historical Essay

John Till and His Miracle Plaster

A Popular Swindler
Read about John Till and the miraculous "medical" plaster treatment that led to his arrest by the State Medical Board.
Historical Essay

Another Time's Norms

The Antiquated Belief of a Chief Justice
Discover Wisconsin Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan's opinion on women and court
Historical Essay

A Brief History of Man-Made Lighting

From Whaling to Coal Burning
Discover how man-made lighting has become a common part of our everyday lives.
Historical Essay

Reform of Military Hospitals

How One Woman Changed Wisconsin During the Civil War
Discover how Cordelia Harvey's mission to reform hospitals during the Civil War would change Wisconsin forever.
Historical Essay

Petersylvania, Wisconsin

A Bizarre Story of Land Prospecting Gone Awry
Read the amazing story of a man who watched his potential 10,000-square-mile northern Wisconsin empire disappear into thin air.
Historical Essay

Ojibwe Court Case

Buffalo and O-Sho-Ga Protest Forced Removal
Discover how two Ojibwe chiefs traveled to Washington DC and negotiated with President Millard Fillmore to keep rights to their land.
Historical Essay

The Miracles at Robinsonville

The Virgin Mary Appears to an Illiterate Peasant Girl
Learn about the first and only manifestation of the Virgin Mary in the United States near Green Bay, confirmed by the Vatican.
Historical Essay

The Surrender and Captivity of Ho-Chunk Warrior Red Bird

A Warrior Prepared to Die is Disappointed
Discover the story of a Ho-Chunk warrior who surrenders and is grieved at receiving a fair trial.
Historical Essay

Fort Koshkonong

A Fortification That may not Have Existed
Learn the story surrounding the building of Fort Koshkonong by General Henry Atkinson.
Historical Essay

Epidemic Anniversary

A History of Disease in Wisconsin
Read this informative collection of all the outbreaks and epidemics in Wisconsin's history.
Historical Essay

Chief Dandy and the White Settlers

Some Interesting Stories of the Winnebago Chief
Read about Ho-Chunk Chief Dandy's interesting and friendly interactions with white settlers in Wisconsin, even while he was a fugitive.
Historical Essay

Psychics and Mystics in 1850s Wisconsin

Spirits Lead a Woman to Fortune
Morris Pratt was a well known psychic medium whose legacy is his eponymous spiritualist institution in Whitewater, known locally as "Pratt's Folly."
Historical Essay

The First Madison Lodgings

From Under a Tree to Madison's Most Popular Lodge
Discover the story surrounding the planning and construction of the first building erected in Madison.
Historical Essay

Origins of Madison Street Names

The Constitutional Convention's Influence on the City
Find out where some of the most traveled streets of Madison got their names.
Historical Essay

Madison and Other Imaginary Cities

Speculating on a Dream
Join cantankerous British geologist George Featherstonehaugh as he travels to Madison in 1837 and finds things not as he expected them to be.
Historical Essay

How Madison Became the Capital

Argument and an Unpopular Choice
Discover how Madison became the capitol city during the first Wisconsin territorial convention
Historical Essay

Madison's Fur Traders

The First White Men in Madison
The first white residents of Madison were fur traders Wallace Rowan, Olivier Ammel and Michel St. Cyr.
Historical Essay

Louise Williams

First Woman Notary Public
Discover the story of Wisconsin's first woman notary public Louise Williams who provided legal counsel for southern Wisconsin after the Civil War.

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