Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Travel and Tourism
In the mid-nineteenth century, traveling for recreation became increasingly popular in the United States. Advancements in transportation, especially railroads and steamships, coupled with romantic conceptions of the nation's landscape helped encourage the growth of domestic tourism. People who would have earlier balked at the inconvenience of traveling began to take journeys for spiritual renewal, physical regeneration, freedom from social constraints, or simply to "see the sights." By the middle of the century, many enterprising Americans were ready to serve the needs of this new class called tourists.
As industrialization and urbanization transformed American life, many middle and upper class Americans... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | A survey of past and present hotels in Wisconsin, 1898 |
| Door County in 1942: land of "sunshine, fruit, and water" |
| From sport to relaxation in Northern Wisconsin resorts, 1926 |
| La Crosse's first motor-bike, 1900 |
| A trip to Wisconsin Dells in 1879 |
| A trip through the Dells in 1849 |
 | An Aqualand water ski used for slalom skiing |
 | A 1910 automobile travel guide to Wisconsin |
| A tourist booklet from Wisconsin Dells, ca. 1930 |
| A Manual for Operating a Girls' Summer Camp, 1955 |
| Official guidebook for the Wisconsin Centennial Exposition, 1948 |
| A Tourist Brochure for Marinette Co., ca. 1923 |
| A Tourist Brochure for Shawano and the Menominee Indian Reservation, ca. 1925 |
| A Dells Tourist Brochure, 1932 |
| A folding brochure for a Wisconsin Dells resort, ca. 1930 |
| A travel guide to healthful resorts in the upper Midwest, 1875 |
| Fly-fishing in the Northwoods, 1875-1877. |
| An illustrated guide for tourists to Wisconsin Dells, 1875 |
| A fisherman's guide to Northern Wisconsin |
| An 1897 bicycling guide to Wisconsin |
| The Pneumatic, a progressive monthly paper for cyclists |
| John Nolen drafts a plan for a state park system in 1909 |
| Stories from Wisconsin's circuses, 1850-1908 |
| A 1923 brochure for Ross's Teal Lake Lodge near Hayward |
 | Promotional material created for the 1948 Wisconsin Centennial Exposition |
 | Tourist Views of La Crosse, ca. 1892 |
| Photographs of the Starlite Drive-in in Green Bay, 1959 |
| Pictures of tourist hotels and activities, 1885-1939 |
| Images of the circus in Wisconsin |
| The photographs of H.H. Bennett |
| Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868 |
| Photograph album depicting a Northwoods Summer Camp for Girls in the 1940s |
 | Memorabilia from a Northwoods Summer Camp for Girls, 1949-1951, box 2 |
| Four Madison Teenagers Paddle the Wisconsin, Mississippi and Rock Rivers |
| Final reports of the Wisconsin Centennial Exposition organizing committees, 1948 |
| Memorabilia from a Northwoods Summer Camp for Girls, 1949-1951, box 1 |
Divisions
General Information
Selected Programs
Services For
