Wisconsin Place Name Books
This article originally appeared in Exchange,
a newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical
Society.
(Volume 35, Number 2, 1993) It is the 16th in a series
of articles titled Researching
Community History. The series highlights
the Society's resources available to local
historians. It was written by Tom McKay,
retired local history coordinator for the
Wisconsin Historical Society, and former
local history assistant Beth Boland.
An interest in local history frequently leads to an interest in learning
how local places received their names. Villages, towns,
counties, rivers and a host of other places need names,
and the origins of those names are often unknown to
today's residents. To help trace some of those origins,
the library of
the Wisconsin Historical Society lists
in its card catalogs, more than 50 publications
devoted to place names in the state.
Some of the available place name publications treat specific communities or counties. Others trace names along a specific feature such as a railroad line or investigate names related to a specific subject such as Native American designations, and many other sources. The inspiration for some names came from unique events that make a good story. In turn, some of those stories grow more from myth and legend than from history. A careful researcher will check the details of place name origins in written publications against other sources. For example, a check of census records might determine whether a town founder, said to have named the community after his favorite daughter, ever had any daughters.
Local historians should find in the selected sources below useful
starting points for place name research. Inquiries
to the library at the Wisconsin Historical Society
can determine which are reference books available only
for use in the library reading room and which
can be borrowed through interlibrary
loan.
"A Gal Whose Name Went Down in History." Oconto County Reporter,
September 18, 1969.
Allen, Mary Moore. Origins of Names of Army and Air Corps Posts,
Camps and Stations in World War II in Wisconsin. (typewritten
manuscript) Goldsboro, N.C.
Branch of Geographic Names. Wisconsin Geographic Names. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey, 1981.
Butteres, Virgil A. History of Names: Etymology of Crawford County,
Wisconsin, 1971.
Carufel, Robin. Names and Maps Tell a Story of Wisconsin.
Madison, WI: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 1990.
Cassidy, Frederic Gomes. Dane County Place-Names. Madison,
WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1968.
Christiansen, Ruth Bunker. Polk County Place Names and Fact Book.
Frederic, Wisconsin: Christiansen, 1975.
Cole, Henry Ellsworth. Baraboo and Other Place Names
in Sauk County, Wisconsin. Baraboo, Wisconsin: Baraboo
News Publishing Company, 1912.
Decisions on Names in Wisconsin. Madison,
Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Geographic Board.
"Early History of Lafayette County." Wisconsin Magazine of History,
2: 329-330.
Engel, Harold A. Wisconsin Place Names: A Pronouncing Gazetteer. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin, 1968.
Gard, Robert Edward, and Sorden, Leland George. The Romance of
Wisconsin Place Names. Minocqua, Wisconsin: Heartland Press,
1988.
Hale, James B. Wisconsin Post Office Handbook. Bulletin No. 20. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1988.
"How Our Towns Were Named." Algoma Record-Herald. July 20, 1967.
"How The Towns Were Named." Kewaunee Enterprise,
April 20, 1967.
Kellogg, Louise Phelps. "Organization, Boundaries and Names of Wisconsin
Counties." In Proceedings at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
for 1909, pp. 184-231. Madison, Wisconsin: State Historical Society
of Wisconsin, 1910.
Kuhn, Herbert W. Indian Place-Names in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Archeological Survey, 1952.
Lang, Milton E. Discourse on How Wabeno Got it's Name: Also Others.
June, 1980.
Leader, W. J. "Some Local Names and Their Derivations." In Douglas
County, Wisconsin Official Directory, 1914-1915, pp. 11-16.
Legler, Henry Eduard. Origin and Meaning of Wisconsin Place-Names:
With Special Reference to Indian Nomenclature. Madison, Wisconsin:
1903.
Master Waterbody Listing. Madison, Wisconsin:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Meyer, Orrin W. S e Souvenir = To Remember: Calumet County, Wisconsin, The Milk Vein of the World. Calumet County, Wisconsin: Meyer, 1964.
"The Names of Green Bay, Wisconsin." Names, September 1973,
168-178.
Pierce County's Heritage. River Falls,
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin, 1971.
Rudolph, Robert S. Wood County Place Names.
Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1970.
Sander, Philip. Notes Concerning the Origin of Names of Lakes
in Kenosha County. Photocopy, November 1, 1983.
Spohn, William H. Madison's Memorials: Street and Place Names.
Microfilm copy. Madison, Wisconsin: Madison Literary Society, 1950.
Stennett, W. H. A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected
with the Chicago & Northwestern and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis
and Omaha Railways. Chicago, 1908.
Townships in Wisconsin Counties. West Allis,
Wisconsin: Janlen Enterprises, 1978.
Verwyst, Chrysostom Adrian. "Geographical Names in Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and Michigan Having Chippewa Origin." In Collections, Vol.
12, edited by the Wisconsin Historical Society,
pp. 390-398.
Vogel, Virgil J. Indian Names on Wisconsin's Map.
Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1991.
"What's in a Name?" Wisconsin Tales and Trails ,
1 (2): 21.
Wisconsin Geographic Names Council and US Board on Geographical Names. Decision
on Names in Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Department
of Natural Resources, 1975.
"Wisconsin Names: Their Origin and Meanings." Reedsburg Times , April 2, 1915.
Worthing, Ruth Shaw. The History of Fond du Lac County as Told
by Its Place Names. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin: Worthing, 1976.
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