Pictorial & Town Histories
Resources
—Town Histories—
Author:
Robert R. Lorenz
Creator:
Robert R. Lorenz
Description:
A short history of the early German-American Methodist farming families who settled in the Town of Shelby, Chipmunk Coulee area of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, in the mid-nineteenth century. Family names include Hiekel, Kunerth, Bendel, Tietz and Starch.
Author:
Block Printing
Creator:
Bryhn, Estella
Description:
This comprehensive work provides for brief histories of all rural schools in La Crosse County in existence circa 1938. It includes newspaper clippings and photographs of the schools and students. The coverage includes all public schools in the townships of Bangor, Barre, Burns, Campbell, Farmington, Greenfield, Hamilton, Holland, Medary, Onalaska, Shelby, and Washington. Other schools in La Crosse County, such as State Graded Schools and Parochial and Religious, are also included. It does not include City of La Crosse Schools.
Author:
Saint Mary's College (Winona, Minnesota)
Creator:
Hundt, Paul Anthony
Description:
Thesis (B.A.) -- Saint Mary's College,; Bibliography: leaves 88-89. A history covering the settlement of the town, its economic and political stabilization and the birth of the Progressive Era.
Author:
John and Joan Dolbier
Creator:
Dolbier, John
Description:
Onalaska is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. Onalaska is built on a slightly elevated ridge above the Black River. Natural areas include both river bottom land and high, heavily wooded, scenic bluffs. A man-made reservoir at the city's western edge is known as Lake Onalaska. Onalaska is known as "The Sunfish Capital of the World." The original village (now city) was platted by Thomas G. Rowe (New York) and John C. Laird (Pennsylvania) in 1851. In its early days, lumbering and related industries served as a basis for its economy. The name for the city comes from the poem, "The Pleasures of Hope", by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell. The original spelling of the name in Campbell's poem was "Oonalaska" (an Aleutian island and fishing village).
Author:
V. Manke
Creator:
Manke, Vivian
Description:
A history of Irish Coulee by long-time resident Vivian Manke. Irish Coulee is located in La Crosse County, roughly between Barre Mills and Bangor. Topics include farm properties, storms, Irish Coulee School and include excerpts from La Crosse County plat maps and the Bangor Independent newspaper.
Creator:
Tolvstad, Olga A.
Description:
Prepared by Olga A. Tolvstad in anticipation for the United States Bicentennial celebration, this booklet tells the story of Onalaska from 1840-1976.
Creator:
Young, Linda
Author:
Smith Valley School Restoration Committee
Creator:
Radcliffe, Irene H.
Description:
This 70 page pamphlet was written in 1987 by Irene H. Radcliffe for the centennial history of the Smith Valley School. The School was originally known as District #4, Town of Campbell, La Crosse County. This history was written by a member of the Smith Valley Restoration Committee, who used original school board records, and other primary sources. It includes photographs, a list of pupils who attended the school from 1879-1977, and reminiscences of former students and teachers.
Author:
La Crosse Public Library
Creator:
La Crosse Tribune
Description:
A collection of newspaper articles about annexation.
History of the Issue:
The Town of Campbell was created at the time La Crosse County was organized in 1851. Campbell lost land mass when dams were constructed on the Mississippi River in the 1930s. By 1954, the Town of Campbell had been split in two by the southern growth of the city of Onalaska and the northern growth of the city of La Crosse. As a result, the town of Medary was formed west of Oak St., leaving the borders of the Town of Campbell largely to French Island and its environs.
About These Materials This grouping of articles highlights the ongoing discussion between the Town of Campbell and the City of La Crosse regarding annexation, boundaries, efforts to cooperate, and public services such as water. Since 1983, the city has tried to actively encourage Campbell residents to annex to the city. A court decision in 2002 over annexation led to a split: the city of La Crosse gained some properties on Hiawatha Island, a small island east of French Island, while ruling that annexation into French Island itself was invalid. Also, several moves to incorporate as a village began as early as 1966, with the most recent effort as late as 2002.
About These Materials This grouping of articles highlights the ongoing discussion between the Town of Campbell and the City of La Crosse regarding annexation, boundaries, efforts to cooperate, and public services such as water. Since 1983, the city has tried to actively encourage Campbell residents to annex to the city. A court decision in 2002 over annexation led to a split: the city of La Crosse gained some properties on Hiawatha Island, a small island east of French Island, while ruling that annexation into French Island itself was invalid. Also, several moves to incorporate as a village began as early as 1966, with the most recent effort as late as 2002.
Author:
N. Nelson
Author:
Inter-Collegiate Press
Creator:
Kindschy, Errol
Description:
This 1981 history of the village of West Salem, La Crosse County, Wisconsin, written by Errol Kindschy is a revised and improved edition of the original effort, written by the same author in 1960. Arrangement of the new version is chronological. There are numerous photographs and appendices that include lists of West Salem deceased veterans, volunteer firemen, and village election results. There is also an alphabetical name index at the end.
Creator:
Johnson, Dorothy Sagen
Description:
In the last half of the nineteenth century, the area of West Central Wisconsin became synonymous with logging and the lumber industry. As the forests of this region were being exploited to their fullest, men and women poured into the regions along the rivers which served as highways to the pineries. One of the main centers of activity was an area which encompassed the point at which the Black River joins the Mississippi. At this point, settlers established two rival settlements within two years of each other. One of the cities, La Crosse, became famous as a lumber town; the other, Onalaska, became a "boom town", but never was able to rival her competitor in population or economic growth. The story of La Crosse and her lumbering history has often been related in papers and theses, but the history of Onalaska has been only half told in various civic directories, short newspaper articles, and centennial brochures. Since local history has long fascinated me, and since I am now a resident of Onalaska, I decided to explore Onalaska's early history as a subject for my seminar paper. It soon became evident that Onalaska history was also going to be a history of lumbering on the Black River, since that industry was the reason Onalaska was established. The purpose of this paper, then, is to recount briefly the history of lumbering along the lower Black River, and to describe its effect upon Onalaska from 1852 through 1902. By reading old newspapers, city and county records, and various printed materials concerning the subject and area in question, I believe that I have been able to compile a paper which is both interesting and informative, and academically acceptable as a research project.
UW-L Seminar Paper
UW-L Seminar Paper
Author:
Mindoro Community Club
Creator:
Mindoro Community Club (Mindoro, Wis.)
Description:
A booklet to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Mindoro Community Club. Does not include any images.
Author:
E.S. Larson
Description:
Neshonoc was a village located northwest of the present day West Salem, Wisconsin, in La Crosse County. It was larger and more prosperous than its neighbor West Salem until the railroad came through and diminished Neshonoc's commercial importance and it essentially became a ghost town by the end of the nineteenth century.
Description:
This commemorative publication was produced in honor of Onalaska’s centennial in 1952. It contains a program of the celebration activities that took place July 3-6, 1952; members of the steering committee; a history of the early days of Onalaska; and a history of the Black River Lumber Boom written by Hannibal Plain. It also includes photographs of local scenes and people and numerous advertisements by local businesses.
Author:
Modern Print. Company
Creator:
Peterson, Alvin M.
Creator:
Dukkin, Patricia
Description:
CETA grant project by Patricia Dukkin, 1978, covering the history of the Town of Shelby from roughly 1867 when it was split off of the the Town of Greenfield to 1917.
Author:
Board of Education
Creator:
Kindschy, Errol R.
Description:
This 60 page typescript was the first history of the village of West Salem in La Crosse County. It contains no photographs, maps, or index. It was written by Errol Kindschy, who later wrote a comprehensive revision, Leonard’s Dream: A History of West Salem,
Author:
State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Description:
This digitized resource is a five page town history of Bangor, Wisconsin, in La Crosse County. It is an excerpt from the first volume of “Town Studies†of the Wisconsin Domesday Book published in 1923, a series of historical volumes published by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (Wisconsin Historical Society). The series included both “General Studies,†such as the History of Agriculture, and “Town Studies.†The Bangor Town Study includes an 1860 land plat map of the township, a geographic description, agricultural and manufacturing information, population changes, and a social history of the town. The “Social History of Bangor†by Anna M. Jenkins is also included in this history.