Highlights Archives
Celebrate Swissconsin
It's not all about cheese — though without them, Wisconsin cheese making would be significantly different. Wisconsin's Swiss immigrants left an incredible legacy of traditions, foods and culture on the state's landscape, particularly in New Glarus. With its rolling hills and woodland pastures, southern Wisconsin looked much like the alpine farmlands of Switzerland and became a magnet for Swiss settlers looking for new opportunities.
The first Swiss immigrants tramped into the Wisconsin region in the 1820s. Too few in number to maintain much ethnic cohesion, these early Swiss had intermarried and virtually disappeared (ethnically speaking) into the social fabric of Wisconsin by the time New Glarus was settled in 1845. Settlers in New Glarus actively encouraged their family and friends to come to Wisconsin, and the region around New Glarus quickly became the center of Swiss settlement. So many Swiss came between 1850 and 1860 that Dane, Rock, Iowa, Green and Lafayette counties became known as "Swissconsin." By 1870 6,069 Swiss immigrants had settled in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin remained among the top states in its number of Swiss residents.
On September 20, a little bit of Switzerland comes to Madison when the Wisconsin Historical Museum hosts a Swiss-style dinner (chocolate! cheese! rye bread! quiche!) and talk called Cheese to Chocolate: The Swiss in Wisconsin. Registration closes on September 15 so don't miss your chance to taste a Wisconsin tradition!
Learn more about Wisconsin's Swiss community in Swiss in Wisconsin from Wisconsin Historical Society Press or by reading more than 50 articles by and about Swiss immigrants from our Wisconsin Local History and Biography collection.
:: Posted August 30, 2006
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