OpenHistoricalMap/Projects/Wisconsin
About the Project
The State of Wisconsin has a long history with many places names originating from Native Americans and French fur-traders, trappers, and settlers. Mapping the historical features of the state helps to conserve cultural resources and better understand the past history in order to make for a better, more inclusive future.
Roads
Prior to the establishment of the US State and Federal Highway System, many individual roads were constructed by military order or individual act of legislature. Following are a few important historical roads in the State of Wisconsin:
- Military Ridge Road- connecting Fort Howard (Green Bay) to Fort Crawford (Prairie du Chien) Built 1835-1836. See also this article: [1]- Wisconsin's Old Military Road: Its Genesis and Construction] by Richard D. Durbin and Elizabeth Durbin, The Wisconsin Magazine of History: Vol. 68, No. 1 (Autumn, 1984), pp. 2-42. Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society.
- Old Military Road- Connecting Fort Howard (Green Bay) to Fort Wilkins (Copper Harbor, MI), built 1872. See Military History of the Upper Great Lakes Project at Michigan Technological University: [2]
Places and Administrative Boundaries
Wisconsin has many settlements that started with the filing of a subdivision plat or establishment of a post office, later often incorporation as village, town, or city by Act of State Legislature. For an index of these local and public acts to 1873, see "Resources" section. County descriptions and organization dates are listed in another specific title also in the "Resources" section below. For more information on units of government in Wisconsin, see the main article on Wikipedia: Administrative divisions of Wisconsin
Resources
The following resources are available digitally at Hathitrust:
- "The settlement and present distribution of population in Wisconsin : a geographical interpretation." By Guy Harold Smith (1926): [3]
- "Organization, boundaries and names of Wisconsin counties" by Louise Phelps Kellogg Ph.D (1910): [4]
- "A synoptical index of the general and private and local laws of Wisconsin from the organization of the territory to 1873 inclusive" available digitally at Hathiturst: [5]
Many other county-level histories, with a focus on the settlement can be found by searching Hathitrust as well.
Wisconsin Historical Records Survey
The Wisconsin Historical Records Survey produced many publications suitable for historical research. The Survey was conducted by the Division of Community Service Programs, Work Projects (Progress) Administration, under the auspcies of the Federal Writers Project. Following are a few volumes available digitally, either individual publications or parts of series produced by this project.
- "Development of town boundaries in Wisconsin" Prepared by the Wisconsin Historical records survey, Division of community service programs, Work Projects Administration. Volume 36, Manitowoc County available at Hathitrust [6]
- "Inventory of the local government archives of Wisconsin. Village series", No. 141 - Greendale, Wiscosnin, available digitally at Hathiturst: [7]. Other
- "Inventory of the city archives of Wisconsin", no. 117 - Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, available digitally at Hathiturst: [8]
Additional Information
- Please feel free to add additional information to this project page.