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Historical Essay

Wisconsin's First Election

Creating the Wisconsin Territory
Discover the story of Wisconsin's first elections and how the state was divided into its present-day areas.
Historical Essay

More Bank Failures (1857)

Discover the effects that the Panic of 1857 had on La Crosse.
Historical Essay

Ezra Pound's Wisconsin Roots

The Midwestern Heritage of One of the 20th Century's Greatest Poetic Innovators
Discover literary giant Ezra Pound's connection to the frontier wilds of Wisconsin.
Historical Essay

The Spy Who Died in the Dells

Hero of the Confederacy
Discover the story of Belle Boyd, the celebrity Civil War spy who died while performing in the Wisconsin Dells.
Historical Essay

The Voyageur with the Hole in his Side

A Bizarre Story of Scientific Progress
Learn the bizarre story and scientific contributions of Alexis St. Martin, the man who lived over 50 years after a shotgun blasted a hole in his side.
Historical Essay

The First Book Printed in Wisconsin

The Printer and the Priest
Discover how Wisconsin got its first printing press, and the impact that a Catholic priest would have on Ho-Chunk literacy.
Historical Essay

Tobacco Customs in Wisconsin History

From Sacred Calumets to Ashtrays
Discover the important role that tobacco and the Peace Pipe have played throughout Wisconsin's history.
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

The Search for Wisconsin's First Priest

A Priest Follows Another Priest's 300-Year-Old Path to Death
Learn how Rev. A. A. A. Schmirler traced the path Fr. Rene Menard took in 1661 down northern Wisconsin's rivers to the likely spot of his death.
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

Early Tourism and Wisconsin Dells

How One Family Helped Build the Modern Tourist Destination
Discover how Wisconsin Dells came to prominence as a Midwestern tourism institution.
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

Was Nicolet Really the First European in Wisconsin?

An Unreliable Text and Other Evidence
Wisconsin History books teach that Jean Nicolet was the first white person to reach the state, but he may have been the second.
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.

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