The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names

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Second Edition

Robert E. Gard

Foreword by Jerry Apps

A fascinating and comprehensive reference to the who, how, and why behind Wisconsin place names.

382 pages, 7 x 9, 19 b&w photos
Paperback: $19.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-707-5
Ebook: $12.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-708-2
Publication Date: 7/14/2015

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Front cover of The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names, 2nd Edition

Description

In the mid-twentieth century, educator and writer Robert E. Gard traveled across Wisconsin, learning the trivial, controversial, and landmark stories behind how cities, counties, and local places got their names. This volume records the fruits of Gard’s labors in an alphabetical listing of places from every corner of Wisconsin, and the stories behind their often-unusual names. Gard’s work provides an important snapshot of how Wisconsin residents of a bygone era came to understand the names of their towns and home places, many of which can no longer be found on any map.

In his foreword to the book, celebrated rural historian Jerry Apps writes: “In some ways The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names is a reference book, a place where you can go to learn a little more about your home town. But in many ways it is much more than that, for it includes the stories of places throughout the state, submitted by the people who knew them. It is a book where story, people, and place all come together.”

Author Bio

Robert E. Gard

Robert E. Gard was a lifelong educator, writer, and folklorist who joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1945. He founded the Wisconsin Idea Theatre, the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association, and the Arts Development program for the University Extension, promoting the arts and culture of Wisconsin’s rural communities. Gard also co-founded the Wisconsin Arts Foundation and Council, considered the first official state arts council in the country. In addition, Gard was a Fulbright Research Scholar in Finland, received the first-ever major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for work in small communities, and lectured all over the nation and world. Gard, who passed away in 1992, was a lifelong proponent of recording and learning from the lives and stories of real people from communities large and small.