Community stories are vital to understanding our history. Discover how they shape our identity and connect us to the past.
The Importance of Community Stories
Archival Research Techniques
Learn effective archival research techniques to uncover forgotten stories and enhance your understanding of local history.
Exploring Local History
Dive into the rich tapestry of local history with our podcast, uncovering forgotten stories and hometown moments.
Barrels, Barbers, and Brawls:
Horicon’s Early Liquor and Lager Trade, 1850–1900 Long before temperance reformers arrived to spoil the fun, the citizens of Horicon, Wisconsin, kept themselves well supplied with locally distilled whiskey and locally brewed lager. From the moment the first settlers broke ground, the infrastructure of drink followed close behind — a distillery by 1854, rival saloons …
Smallpox in a small town in Wisconsin
144 Years Ago… When Smallpox Came to Horicon — April 28, 1882 Smallpox had a devastating effect on Native Americans when Europeans arrived on this continent, and it did not end there. Smallpox was a constant threat, with mortality rates up to 70%. A new wave of immigration from Europe in 1880–1883 really leapfrogged the …
Crop Circles of Mayville Wisconsin
On the morning of July 4th, 2003, a retired truck driver named Art Rantala was in his workshop outside Mayville, Wisconsin when he watched three perfect circles form silently in a wheat field across the road. It took roughly twelve to fifteen seconds. No sound, no light, no wind — just the wheat flattening in …
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Skeleton in the Closet
Murder in the Big Woods Generations of Americans grew up with Laura Ingalls Wilder’s version of frontier life — and it’s a beautiful one. Warm, honest, and full of the kind of resilience that made the Little House series an enduring piece of American literature. But Laura was also a careful storyteller. And careful storytellers …
