Highlights Archives
New Book Celebrates Wisconsin's Swiss Settlers
Wisconsin's Swiss have given us far more than Swiss cheese (along with many other delicious cheese varieties) — they have left a legacy of traditions, foods and culture in the state, particularly in Green and Buffalo counties. The rich history of Wisconsin's Swiss immigrants is the subject of the newly revised and expanded Swiss in Wisconsin from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Author Frederick Hale traces the catalysts for Swiss emigration, their difficult journey and their adjustments to life on Wisconsin soil. This new edition includes additional historic photographs and selections from the writings of John Luchsinger, who settled at New Glarus in 1856.
The first Swiss immigrants came into Wisconsin in the 1820s, but it wasn't until the 1840s that large numbers of Swiss began to settle and establish their ethnically cohesive communities here. The state's rolling hills and pastures proved a magnet for the Swiss, who found a landscape reminiscent of the alpine farmlands they left behind in Switzerland. The region around New Glarus in Green County became the center of Swiss settlement, so much so that south-central Wisconsin became known as "Swissconsin."
Learn more about the development of Swissconsin in Swiss in Wisconsin: Revised and Expanded Edition or read more than 50 articles by and about Swiss immigrants in our Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles collection.
:: Posted July 23, 2007
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