We use essential and non-essential cookies. By using our website, you agree to our use of cookies as described in Cookie Policy.

Cookie policy →


Customize Accept essential only Accept all

Welcome to Our Beta Digital Collections Website

This digital asset management system (DAMS) gathers the Wisconsin Historical Society's digital content previously stored in disparate systems into one location

to improve management, access, and search experiences. As a beta site, this space is actively and continuously being developed. 

For a more complete access and search experience, visit the Digital Collections page on the main Wisconsin Historical Society website.

If you have any questions or comments about this site, please email us.

To see all available collections, click on the magnifying lens in the Search Box above or Click the image above

Browse All Collections 

To see all available collections, click on the magnifying lens in the Search Box above or Click the image above 
Find more than 2,000 feature articles totaling over 35,000 pages, exactly as they originally appeared in the Wisconsin Magazine of History.

Wisconsin Magazine of History 

Find more than 2,000 feature articles totaling over 35,000 pages, exactly as they originally appeared in the Wisconsin Magazine of History. 
View over 6,000 historic maps of Wisconsin and the World, dating from as early as 1513.

Maps and Atlases 

View over 6,000 historic maps of Wisconsin and the World, dating from as early as 1513. 
Browse or search over 30,000 original documents from Freedom Summer, an effort by civil rights activists to integrate Mississippi's segregated political system

1964 Freedom Summer Project 

Browse or search over 30,000 original documents from Freedom Summer, an effort by civil rights activists to integrate Mississippi's... 
Explore a digitized volume for each of the 72 counties in Wisconsin. Most are several hundred pages long and include detailed accounts of individual cities, townships and villages, as well as biographical stories of prominent residents. Most were published 1850-1920. Beyond this online collection, the Wisconsin Historical Society has an extensive physical collection of local and county histories for Wisconsin as well as for the United States and Canada. Visit the Wisconsin Historical Society to learn more.

Wisconsin County and Community Histories 

Explore a digitized volume for each of the 72 counties in Wisconsin. Most are several hundred pages long and include detailed accounts of... 
The Wisconsin Historical Collections are 20 volumes of pioneer memoirs, archival records, original journals, explorers' narratives, interviews, and other eyewitness accounts of Wisconsin's past gathered between 1855-1915. The volumes contain 1,000 articles printed on more than 11,000 pages, often accompanied by illustrations or maps. They are the single most comprehensive record of life in Wisconsin during the colonial era. Within the collection are copies of more than 600 original handwritten documents not only from the Society's holdings, but also from archives in Washington D.C., New York, Montreal, and Paris. They take up almost 3,000 pages in volumes 16-20. They are arranged in chronological order and annotated with explanatory notes. Foreign documents have been translated into English.

Wisconsin Historical Collections 1855-1915 

The Wisconsin Historical Collections are 20 volumes of pioneer memoirs, archival records, original journals, explorers' narratives,... 
This digital collection contains the papers of Walter Eugene Leach (1857-1938), a Racine, Wisconsin, historian and curator of the Racine County Museum. Included are biographical materials on notable Racine residents and Leach’s writings on Racine County history, including chapters of his unpublished manuscript “The Story of Racine County, a History.” There are also records of the Racine Senate, 1844-1851, and the Racine Relief Association, 1883-1898. Walter Eugene Leach was born in Excelsior, Minnesota, on September 15, 1857, and died in Racine on December 7, 1938. He graduated from the Racine High School. During World War I, he was secretary and an executive member of Local Draft Board No. 1. Aside from his war interests, he was an active member of the Roosevelt Memorial Association. From 1933 to just prior to his death, Leach was curator of the Racine County Museum. Leach married Eva A. Roberts in 1882 and after her death he married Katherine M. Eager in 1892. He had two children.

Eugene Walter Leach Collection 

This digital collection contains the papers of Walter Eugene Leach (1857-1938), a Racine, Wisconsin, historian and curator of the Racine... 
The Wisconsin Women's History digital collection shares a selection of manuscripts and ephemera documenting the lives of women in Wisconsin. Begun in 2015, it focuses initially on women who were active in social movements such as suffrage, temperance, abolition, civil rights, and other efforts to reform society, especially those whose careers are summarized at the Wisconsin Women Making History site. During the presidential election year of 2016, women who ran for public office were featured. How to Use the Digital Collection Searching: Because most of the documents are handwritten, searching the text of each page is impossible. Each folder has therefore been carefully described and searches will retrieve entire folders likely to contain the information requested. Rights: All documents in the collection are free from copyright restrictions. We encourage you to use them however you wish, but ask that you always cite them clearly and include a link back to this page.

Wisconsin Women's History 

The Wisconsin Women's History digital collection shares a selection of manuscripts and ephemera documenting the lives of women in... 
From the pickled relish known as chow chow and Mother’s doughnuts offered at the Third Annual Supper of the New England Society at Vilas House in Madison (1868), the Sweetbreads in Cases-- Toulouse and Thistle Punch served by the Milwaukee Curlers’ Club (1895), to the Kimchi Potato Pancakes and locally grown oats, fruit, and coconut milk steamed in lotus leaves offered at a benefit breakfast held by the Dane County Farmers’ Market (2014), the foods we eat present a tempting portrait of our culinary preferences and priorities. The Wisconsin Historical Society’s ephemera holdings include a wide range of menus (mid-1800s to the present day) from restaurants and hotels; schools; specialized organizations and societies; private homes; and menus for special occasions such as commemorative and farewell dinners; trade conferences; political events; and meals offered during transit, such as passenger ships and trains. This Menu Collection complements the Image Gallery: A Wisconsin Historical Society Menu Sampler and offers users additional features such as full-text keyword searches of printed menus and zoomable pages. In some instances, the Wisconsin Historical Society does not hold the physical menu but presents a digital surrogate of the originals which were loaned to us to include in the digital collection. These menus are noted in the Original Collection field as “Private Collection” whereas menus from WHS holdings will reference the call number in this field. To see WHS original items, as well as other menus whose format was not suitable for digital capture, visit the Archives Reading Room. Rights and Permissions In many cases, it is difficult to determine who was responsible for creating a particular menu. In addition to the artist(s) who may have drawn an illustration used on the menu, to the layout artist or printer who often remains uncredited, menu design and creation was the work of many hands. The Wisconsin Historical Society does not hold the copyright to most of the materials in its collections. The menus presented here are offered under the terms of fair use for non-profit educational purposes, but researchers must determine if their own use of the materials requires further negotiation with actual copyright holders. If you believe that you hold copyright for any materials presented here, please contact <a href="mailto:askwhsdc@wisconsinhistory.org" target="_blank">askwhsdc@wisconsinhistory.org</a>. The menus in the Image Gallery are available for purchase as reproductions digitally printed with pigment-based inks on archival quality stock or as digital files suitable for use in print publication. See the Terms of Use page for more information on using WHS images. If there is no “Buy a Copy” link in the CDM record, images may still be available for purchase by contacting the WHi Business Manager at the email address listed on the Terms of Use page.

Menu Collection 

From the pickled relish known as chow chow and Mother’s doughnuts offered at the Third Annual Supper of the New England Society at Vilas... 
Hear the stories of 22 Holocaust Survivors and two American witnesses interviewed between 1974 and 1981.

Oral Histories: Wisconsin Survivors of the Holocaust 

Hear the stories of 22 Holocaust Survivors and two American witnesses interviewed between 1974 and 1981. 
The Somos Latinas (We Women) History Project (2012-2016) was created to document the many significant and largely hidden contributions of Latinas in Wisconsin engaged in their communities to positively impact society in K-12 and post-secondary education, civil rights, women's rights, domestic abuse services, immigration reform, political representation, peace and justice, and other areas. The online collection currently includes 52 interviews from 37 Latinas from across Wisconsin. NOTE: Additions and corrections to the collection are ongoing. You may encounter interviews without transcripts or transcripts that have not been fully edited. How to Use this Online Collection Interviews are presented in a viewer specifically designed for oral histories. First, locate the interview you are interested in and click the interview link at the top of the record. A new window will open to the interview. Second, play the interview and/or search the transcript for specific words, click the term in the search result, and click the time point to jump to that point in the interview.

Somos Latinas Project Oral Histories 

The Somos Latinas (We Women) History Project (2012-2016) was created to document the many significant and largely hidden contributions of... 
Listen to stories and sounds of Wisconsin's past, including oral histories, radio programs, advertising, political speeches, and more.

Wisconsin Sound Archive 

Listen to stories and sounds of Wisconsin's past, including oral histories, radio programs, advertising, political speeches, and more.