History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center

29270 County Highway G
Ashland, Wisconsin 54806
(715) 685-2647
whsnorthwoods[at]wisconsinhistory.org
http://www.northerngreatlakescenter.org/ or
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/arcnet/histcenter.asp

Linda Mittlestadt, Archivist

The History Center and Archives (part of the Wisconsin Historical Society's Area Research Center Network) is located on the 2nd floor of the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center (NGLVC). The NGLVC is managed through a partnership of federal and state agencies, including U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wisconsin Historical Society, and University of Wisconsin-Extension. The History Center and Archives provides research materials for visitors doing genealogical, legal, scholarly, and general research, and for those interested in the history of Wisconsin and the Lake Superior Region. The Center mostly houses manuscript collections, local government records, microfilmed newspapers, local history books, maps, and genealogical records, all of which are from the Lake Superior Region of Ashland, Bayfield, Forest, Iron, Oneida, Price, Sawyer, Vilas, and Washburn counties. College students and faculty, genealogists, local historians, and other researchers are encouraged to use the collections. The Center also provides technical assistance and advice to local historical societies regarding collections care, preservation, and storage.

Collections
This ARC holds over 77 collections of papers and records produced by private organizations and individuals. Examples of collections include the letters of early missionary Father Iraneus Frederic Baraga; watchbooks from the La Pointe lighthouse; reminiscence of Margaret Eastman Runkel recalling life at Lac du Flambeau government school for Indian children; papers of Nick Van Der Puy, outdoor guide from Eagle River and member of Citizens for Treaty Rights; records of the Wisconsin Colonization Company, a Sawyer County land company; records of Trees for Tomorrow, Inc.; records of Brown Brothers Lumber Company of Rhinelander; corporate records of the Penokee Veneer Company; historical records from Campo Fiesta, a girls camp near Boulder Junction; records of the Land O' Lakes Chamber of Commerce; papers of Alvin E. O'Konski, Republican Congressman from Wisconsin's 10th District known for anti-communist activities and stance against Viet Nam War; interview of Henry J. Wachmsuth, German immigrant, lumberyard worker and Mayor of Ashland; records of the Oulu Evangelical Lutheran Church; oral histories documenting the 50 year history of the Wisconsin Extension Homemakers Council; and several unpublished local histories on a variety of topics.

The History Center and Archives serves as the repository for historically important local government records from the nine county service region. There are almost 125 series of local/regional government public records including county board proceedings, circuit court case files, area newspapers on microfilm, Ashland City Directories, court and tax records, naturalization records, vital records, land records, and census records for each of the nine counties, as well as Native American census rolls for the Wisconsin Ojibwe Bands that are located in the Center’s region (Bad River, Red Cliff, Lac du Flambeau, and Lac Courte Oreilles).

The History Center and Archives is open Tuesday through Friday from 1:00pm to 4:30pm and by appointment. If you are driving from any distance please call ahead.









Children research local history.

Images courtesy of the History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.

Entry compiled by Christina Johnson