Event Calendar

 In 1992, the late Jacques Vallier, a retired high school biology teacher, longtime collector of logging memorabilia, and member of the Forest History Association of Wisconsin donated his collection of logging photographs to the UWSP archives. The collection contains scenes of the interiors and exteriors of camp buildings and sawmills, locomotives, lumberjacks at work and…

The history of Wisconsin logging is not only told in historic photos, documents and oral histories, but also in archaeology, the study of the past through the artifacts and sites left by logging efforts that started in Wisconsin as early as the 1810’s. From early military logging efforts at Prairie du Chien (Fort Crawford), Portage…

The ancient skill of working wrought iron by hand was essential to the development and survival of the Europeans who transformed the American landscape from first explorations through the closing of the frontier in 1893 and well into the mid-twentieth century.  The ubiquitous blacksmith shop had vast variations depending upon the needs of the places…

In 2021, a 1,200 year old canoe was discovered in Madison’s Lake Mendota. Selected as one of the top ten archaeological discoveries in the world for 2021, its recovery made worldwide news. In the fall of 2022, a 3,000 year old canoe was found in the same location. It is the oldest canoe in the…

Along with much of the State of Wisconsin at the turn of the 19th Century, Southwestern Marathon and Northeastern Clark Counties relied on the lumber industry to support the local economy. Cutting the standing timber, loading and hauling the fallen logs, and sawing them into lumber at mills were all common scenes. In this presentation…

In the last half of the 1800s entrepreneurs and businessmen constructed dozens of privately-funded “bridge piers” along the western shores of Lake Michigan. At these piers, Wisconsin’s forests were exchanged for manufac-tured goods and new settlers. The piers and their associated general stores and lumber mills became seeds around which busy shipping hubs, villages, and…

This is the story of George Banzhaf, a young forester in the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as told in the book “Adventures of a Young Entrepreneur: George Banzhaf 1921 to 1928.” It was written by Bill Banzhaf, his son. Bill wrote it in the voice of his father which adds true life…

The presentation will discuss the work that Army Engineers have done over the past two centuries in developing the infrastructure of Wisconsin. The focus will be on the Civil Works history rather than military history. Presenter: Since 2002 Eric Reinert has been the Corps of Engineers Curator, in the Office of History, Headquarters, U.S. Army…

This presentation will cover the grass roots history of the Woodland Dunes Nature Center and their current efforts to restore and maintain quality habitats for all the creatures in or passing through the land. Yes, that includes humans and how we relate to the land. There are several great projects to highlight. Presented by: Susan…

Have you heard stories about relatives who worked during the hay-day of logging in Northern Wisconsin? In this program we'll demonstrate how to search free on-line census information about logging camps and mills. We’ll also look closely at a couple of logging operations to see the inner workings and what it took to run a…