Name/Title
We've been saving something for more than 130yesrsScope and Content
We' ve been saving something for more than 130 years...
Your past.
Isn't it time we met?
Ever since 1846, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin has depended upon people like you.
Two years before Wisconsin became a state, a few far-sighted men gathered to organize a historical society. They believed in their own importance, and they wanted to be remembered by posterity.
But more than that, they knew that history is something besides dates, battles, and bearded politicians. History is a living thing. It is the record of all the men and women who went before their letters, diaries, and spoken words; their newspapers and public records; their barns, houses, and furnishings; their tools, weapons, toys, and clothing.
The legislature chartered the Society in 1853, making it the oldest American historical society to receive continuous public funding, and in 1949, made it a state agency as well as a membership organization. Broadly democratic in outlook, it is dedicated (in the words of its charter) to the collection, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge of the history of Wisconsin.
Now, as then, the Society depends upon the generosity and foresight of ordinary people in all walks of life.
You may never see your name in the history books. But you can help write the texts!
Reaching out to the people of Wisconsin, the Society assists more than 160 affiliated local societies. It also operates seven "living history" sites throughout the state: Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum near Eagle in Waukesha County; Madeline Island Historical Museum at La Pointe in the Apostle Islands; Pendarvis in Mineral Point; Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien; Stonefield, near Cassville on the Mississippi River; Old Wade House Historical Site at Green bush, between Fond du Lac and Sheboygan; and the Circus World Museum in Baraboo.
Reduced admission fees to all the Society's historic sites is a benefit of membership.
The Society makes its archival and manuscript collections available to state residents by means of thirteen Area Research Centers, located at Northland College in Ashland and on twelve University of Wisconsin campuses in Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Menomonie, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Racine-Kenosha, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Superior, and White water.
Each Area Research Center holds manuscripts and local public records pertaining to the region it serves. Many collections in the Society's Madison headquarters can be transferred to Area Research Centers with proper notice.
At its Madison headquarters, the State Historical Society of Wisconsin maintains the official archives of the State of Wisconsin, as well as a free museum, a vast library of books and manuscripts, and a modern research facility.
The Society is known throughout the world for its collections of books, newspapers, periodicals, maps, relics, and aural and graphic materials. In its archives are more than 15 million manuscript items, focusing on early Wisconsin, the Old Northwest, and the Great Lakes region; large collections of family, business, and genealogical records; and hundreds of others relating to the labor movement, civil rights, socialism, business, politics, and the arts.
The Society's general book collection embraces the history of the United States and Canada, including genealogy, archeology, anthropology, folklore, philately, and numismatics. With the libraries of the University of Wisconsin, the Society is a regional depository for U. S. government publications and publications of other states, Canada, U. S. territorial, and Wisconsin local governments.
Here, too, are published a wide Variety of historical materials, both scholarly and popular. Membership dues help to support the Society's publishing program, as well as other activities that contribute to preserving and interpreting our Wisconsin heritage.
Please enroll me in the Society for the coming year.
I enclose a check made payable to
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for:
Individual —$15
Family — $20
Institutional — $20
libraries or schools — no sites passes
Contributing — $50
Supporting — $100
Senior Citizen — (65 or over)
or member of an affiliated society
Individual — $12.50
Family — $15
name
address
city state zip
I enclose a check made payable
to the Wisconsin History Foundation
for a gift to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Sustaining — $200-500
Patron — over $500
Fill out this form and mail to: THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN 816 State Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Eleven categories of membership, designed for specific situations, are offered by the Society.
Membership benefits include:
Subscription to the Society's newsletter, Columns.
Subscription to the Wisconsin Magazine of History.
Society publications at 10% discount (and members may order through the Society any historical book on any publisher's list at 10% discount).
Half-price admission to the Society's seven historic sites.
Voting rights at annual meetings of the Society.
Family members pay half-price admission to the Society's seven historic sites for parents and their minor children; they also receive Badger History, a colorful school-age historical magazine.Acquisition
Accession
2015.0500Source or Donor
Waupun Heritage MuseumAcquisition Method
Donation
