Library-Archives

Local Government Records

The Wisconsin Historical Society has statutory responsibility to collect, maintain and make available for use permanently valuable records of Wisconsin's local governments, school districts and courts. Our holdings include: County Board proceedings, Common Council proceedings, County and Municipal ordinances and resolutions, probate case files, wills, court case files (including criminal, civil, family and divorce cases), naturalization records, school district and school board reports, tax rolls, and land deeds and grantor/grantee indexes.  Pre 1907 birth, death and marriage records are available in the Society Library and at Area Research Centers.

Most local government collections are physically located at Area Research Centers (ARCs), and not at the Society headquarters building in Madison. Only records for Columbia, Dane, and Sauk Counties, as well as some recent acquisitions from other counties, are housed at the Society headquarters building in Madison. A listing of counties served by each ARC is available.

Reference Resources

• To search for local government records in our custody, use ArCat, the Archives Computer Catalog.
• If you have specific reference questions, visit the Archives Research Room or your local Area Research Center.

Local Government Records Program

• If you work for a local government and would like more information about the Local Government Records Program, visit the Local Government Records Program page.