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 |
| A trip through the Dells in 1849 |
| A trip to Wisconsin Dells in 1879 |
| La Crosse's first motor-bike, 1900 |
 | An Aqualand water ski used for slalom skiing |
 | A travel guide to healthful resorts in the upper Midwest, 1875 |
| A 1910 automobile travel 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 |
| A fisherman's guide to Northern Wisconsin |
| An illustrated guide for tourists to Wisconsin Dells, 1875 |
| Fly-fishing in the Northwoods, 1875-1877. |
| A tourist booklet from Wisconsin Dells, ca. 1930 |
| A folding brochure for a Wisconsin Dells resort, ca. 1930 |
| A Dells Tourist Brochure, 1932 |
| A Tourist Brochure for Shawano and the Menominee Indian Reservation, ca. 1925 |
| A Tourist Brochure for Marinette Co., ca. 1923 |
| Official guidebook for the Wisconsin Centennial Exposition, 1948 |
| A Manual for Operating a Girls' Summer Camp, 1955 |
| An 1897 bicycling guide to Wisconsin |
 | Promotional material created for the 1948 Wisconsin Centennial Exposition |
 | Pictures of tourist hotels and activities, 1885-1939 |
| The photographs of H.H. Bennett |
| Images of the circus in Wisconsin |
| Photographs of the Starlite Drive-in in Green Bay, 1959 |
| Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868 |
| Tourist Views of La Crosse, ca. 1892 |
| Photograph album depicting a Northwoods Summer Camp for Girls in the 1940s |
 | 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 |
| Memorabilia from a Northwoods Summer Camp for Girls, 1949-1951, box 2 |