The Creation of Wisconsin Territory

With the decline of British influence after the War of 1812, the population of the Great Lakes region increased dramatically. New territories were created from old, and the most populous ones became states. Wisconsin was successively part of the original Northwest Territory (1788-1800), Indiana Territory (1800-1809), Illinois Territory (1809-1818), and Michigan Territory (1818-1836) before it became a territory in its own right (1836-1848).

By 1818 the boundaries of the Michigan Territory had been extended westward to the Mississippi River. Out of the area beyond lower Michigan were created three counties to administer local government: Crawford County in the west with... more...

Original Documents and Other Primary Sources

	The memoirs of Nelson Dewey, the state's first governor.
	Early History of the Brothertown Indians
	Theodore Rodolf recounts his life in the lead region in the 1830s
	The founding of Fort Winnebago and the career of trader Pierre Paquette
	Nine newspaper stories about the first capitol (1917).
	The surveyor that laid out Madison recalls his days in the field in 1837.
	Girlhood and motherhood on the Wisconsin frontier, 1824-1860.
	Wisconsin's first Territorial Governor, Henry Dodge
	Early Wisconsin settler and Madison Promoter James Duane Doty
	Henry Baird objects to the location of the territorial capitol, 1836.
	States and territories created under the Northwest Ordinance.
	The imaginary capital city that its chief promoter envisioned, 1836.
	Stonefield, home of Gov. Nelson Dewey and the State Agricultural Museum

Primary Sources Available Elsewhere

	A historical, documentary, and descriptive history of Wisconsin to 1854
	An early politician recollects Wisconsin's Territorial legislation, 1870
	1898 Wisconsin Day Broadside, detailing notable events in state history

Related Links