Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Physical Geography of Wisconsin
All history happens in some place. The names, facts, and dates in our history books sometimes leave the impression that the past exists only on paper between two covers, but the past is actually all around us. On at least one morning during the past 14,000 years, Indians pursued game just outside your window. With more than 100 centuries of human history behind us, crossing any bridge or hiking in any park we share the space with a Jesuit missionary or French fur trader. Less than a mile from where you're sitting, 150 years ago a pair of surveyors made... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | Increase Lapham surveys Wisconsin's trees, 1858 |
| Memorable weather from 19th century Madison |
 | A British scientist makes a geological tour in 1835. |
| Increase Lapham describes territorial Wisconsin for new settlers. |
| An eyewitness history of the New Richmond tornado, 1899 |
| A Dells Tourist Brochure, 1932 |
| A clergyman locates the Biblical Garden of Eden in Wisconsin, 1886 |
| American Indian legends about Wisconsin localities. |
 | A cliff in the driftless region of Wisconsin. |
| A field in a glaciated part of Wisconsin, 1960 |
| Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868 |
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