Plans moving forward this year for 12 new grant-funded markers sharing Wisconsin stories

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society is collaborating with community groups across the state to erect 12 new historical markers focused on unrepresented topics spanning Black history, women’s history, Indigenous peoples’ history, recent immigrant history and more. Last year, community groups were invited to apply for special grant funding to create the new markers, and plans are now moving forward with eight collaborating partners. The William G. Pomeroy Foundation is providing funding for the new markers.

“With the support of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, the Society has engaged in the process of re-envisioning the state historical markers program. Since 1951, when the first marker was dedicated, the program has offered communities a unique opportunity to highlight the people, places, and events that shaped their communities,” said Mallory Hanson, statewide services coordinator for the Wisconsin Historical Society. “The addition of these new markers supports the Society’s efforts to represent the diverse stories, cultures, and communities that make up the place we now call Wisconsin.”

The Pomeroy Foundation has been a generous supporter of Wisconsin’s state historical makers program since 2021.

“We deeply value our partnership with the Wisconsin Historical Society,” said Bill Brower, executive director of the Pomeroy Foundation. “We applaud its commitment to celebrate and raise up often little-known history that helps people more fully understand who they are and where they are from while inspiring where they want to go. As pride in place grows, community leadership grows with it.”

The Society received an overwhelming response from community groups interested in grant funding to participate in the program and is excited to share new updates as collaboration with selected groups moves forward:

Barron County

• A marker developed in collaboration with the Barron County Historical Society will share the story of Ojibwe treaty rights and the Walleye Wars. Currently in the planning phase, installation of the new marker is expected in fall 2025.

Calumet County

• In collaboration with the Calumet and Cross Heritage Society and the Brothertown Indian Nation, a new marker was installed in November 2024 to commemorate the Dick Family Cemetery. Calumet and Cross Heritage Society is also collaborating on a new historical marker to recognize the Brothertown Methodist Episcopal Church, with installation anticipated in 2025.

Crawford County

• The Prairie du Chien Historical Society is collaborating with the Wisconsin Historical Society on two new historical markers sharing the stories of enslaved persons who lived in the area during the 19^th century. Installation is expected in summer 2025.

Milwaukee County

• In collaboration with the Midtown Neighborhood Alliance, a new marker will share the story of an African American-owned hospital that once stood at Lynden Hill. Installation is expected in summer 2025.
• Two new markers developed in collaboration with the Organization of Chinese Americans are expected to be installed in summer 2025. They will share the stories of the Forest Home cemetery and the Chinese Laundry Era.
• In collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Archaeological Research Laboratory Center, a new marker will explore the significance of Wisconsin’s first Black registered architect, Alonzo Robinson Jr. Installation is expected in fall 2025.
• Three new markers developed with the Wisconsin Black Historical Society will share the stories of important figures in Milwaukee’s history including Ezekiel Gillespie, Lloyd Augustus Barbee and Bernice Lindsay. Installation is expected in fall 2025.
• The Wisconsin Hispanic Scholarship Foundation is collaborating on a new marker recognizing Latino urban civil rights activism that began in the 1960s. Marker installation is expected in fall 2025.

The state historical makers program was first authorized by a state statute in 1943 and shares stories about events, individuals, buildings, or sites of local, state, or national significance that contribute to Wisconsin’s diverse history. Today there are more than 600 official markers located throughout the state and counting. Click here for more information about Wisconsin’s state historical markers program.

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.

About the Pomeroy Foundation

The William G. Pomeroy Foundation® is committed to supporting the celebration and preservation of community history; and working to improve the probability of finding appropriate donor matches or other life-saving treatments for blood cancer patients. Established by Trustee Bill Pomeroy in 2005 to bring together his two greatest passions, the Pomeroy Foundation is a private, philanthropic organization located in Syracuse, N.Y. As the nation’s leading funder of historical roadside markers, the Pomeroy Foundation has awarded more than 2,600 grants for markers and bronze plaques in 49 states and Washington, D.C. To learn more about the Pomeroy Foundation, visit wgpfoundation.org.