Improved map of the territories of Michigan and Ouisconsin, 1835. On this day in 1818, the land that makes up current-day Wisconsin was officially declared part of the Michigan Territory. The Wisconsin Territory was established in 1836, a year after cartographer John Farmer of Detroit created this map.  via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Improved map of the territories of Michigan and Ouisconsin, 1835.

On this day in 1818, the land that makes up current-day Wisconsin was officially declared part of the Michigan Territory. The Wisconsin Territory was established in 1836, a year after cartographer John Farmer of Detroit created this map. 

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Bird’s eye view of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, September 1871. On this date in 1871, a major fire swept through northeast Wisconsin, killing 1,500 people and destroying more than 1.5 million acres of forest. The small town of Peshtigo, shown here just before the fire, was the hardest hit, with only two buildings left standing. Coincidentally, the Peshtigo Fire took place on the same day as the infamous Great Chicago Fire. via: Historic Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Bird’s eye view of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, September 1871.

On this date in 1871, a major fire swept through northeast Wisconsin, killing 1,500 people and destroying more than 1.5 million acres of forest. The small town of Peshtigo, shown here just before the fire, was the hardest hit, with only two buildings left standing. Coincidentally, the Peshtigo Fire took place on the same day as the infamous Great Chicago Fire.

via: Historic Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Bird’s eye view of the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society read more: Frank A. Cassell and Marguerite E. Cassell, “Wisconsin at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” Wisconsin Magazine of History 67:4 (1984)
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Bird’s eye view of the grounds of the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893.

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

read more: Frank A. Cassell and Marguerite E. Cassell, “Wisconsin at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893,” Wisconsin Magazine of History 67:4 (1984)

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Bird’s eye view of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, 1872. This week we’re starting another series—taking a closer look at specific Wisconsin communities. We’ll start with Mineral Point, one of the state’s oldest cities. Mineral Point was formally established in 1827, named for the rich lead deposits—“mineral”—that attracted miners and speculators from far and wide. By 1872, as pictured here, Mineral Point was a thriving commercial center. via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Bird’s eye view of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, 1872.

This week we’re starting another series—taking a closer look at specific Wisconsin communities. We’ll start with Mineral Point, one of the state’s oldest cities. Mineral Point was formally established in 1827, named for the rich lead deposits—“mineral”—that attracted miners and speculators from far and wide. By 1872, as pictured here, Mineral Point was a thriving commercial center.

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

Source: content.wisconsinhistory.org

Bird’s eye view of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 1882. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society: Bird’s-eye-view maps are drawings that depict aerial views of entire cities or towns. They have a distorted, yet charming, perspective since the artists combined factual elements with a leap of imagination. These maps were popular from the 1860s until the development of aerial photography around 1920. This bird’s eye view of Lake Geneva was drawn by Henry Wellge of Milwaukee and printed by lithographers Adam Beck and Clemens J. Pauli, also of Milwaukee.  via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society read more: “Bird’s-Eye Views: A Brief History,” Amon Carter Museum
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Bird’s eye view of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 1882.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society:

Bird’s-eye-view maps are drawings that depict aerial views of entire cities or towns. They have a distorted, yet charming, perspective since the artists combined factual elements with a leap of imagination. These maps were popular from the 1860s until the development of aerial photography around 1920.

This bird’s eye view of Lake Geneva was drawn by Henry Wellge of Milwaukee and printed by lithographers Adam Beck and Clemens J. Pauli, also of Milwaukee. 

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

read more: “Bird’s-Eye Views: A Brief History,” Amon Carter Museum

Canning factories in Wisconsin, 1934. Canneries throughout the state processed and packaged Wisconsin-grown peas, corn, beets and tomatoes in the 1930s and 1940s. This map was initially published in Wisconsin’s Human and Physical Resources: A Graphic Presentation of Conditions Affecting Rural Rehabilitation (1936), an analysis of the impact of the Great Depression on rural areas of the state.  via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society
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Canning factories in Wisconsin, 1934.

Canneries throughout the state processed and packaged Wisconsin-grown peas, corn, beets and tomatoes in the 1930s and 1940s. This map was initially published in Wisconsin’s Human and Physical Resources: A Graphic Presentation of Conditions Affecting Rural Rehabilitation (1936), an analysis of the impact of the Great Depression on rural areas of the state. 

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

Czechs (Bohemians) in Wisconsin according to the 1900 federal census. A small but significant number of Czech immigrants settled in Wisconsin beginning in the late 1840s. Early documents refer to these settlers as “Bohemians” due to their origin in Bohemia, a historical region in central Europe that is today part of the Czech Republic. This map illustrates the scattered distribution of Czech settlements in Wisconsin including the southeast (Racine County), the eastern lakeshore (Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties), and the coulee region of the southwest (La Crosse, Vernon and Grant counties). via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society read more: Karel D. Bicha, “The Czechs in Wisconsin History,” Wisconsin Magazine of History vol. 53, no. 3 (1970)
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Czechs (Bohemians) in Wisconsin according to the 1900 federal census.

A small but significant number of Czech immigrants settled in Wisconsin beginning in the late 1840s. Early documents refer to these settlers as “Bohemians” due to their origin in Bohemia, a historical region in central Europe that is today part of the Czech Republic. This map illustrates the scattered distribution of Czech settlements in Wisconsin including the southeast (Racine County), the eastern lakeshore (Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties), and the coulee region of the southwest (La Crosse, Vernon and Grant counties).

via: Historical Maps Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

read more: Karel D. Bicha, “The Czechs in Wisconsin History,” Wisconsin Magazine of History vol. 53, no. 3 (1970)

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