Wisconsin

The history of the Wisconsin Dells area is as unique as its glacier-sculpted landscape. It has been a gathering place for tribal councils, a vacation spot for enthralled tourists and a stopping point for the raftsmen who might have had a little too much of the Devil's Eyewater" brewed by pioneer Robert Allen. Local expert Ross M. Curry has been chronicling the region, from Baraboo to Lyndon, for almost sixty years. Join him for those chapters of the area's story that he himself has witnessed, and then follow him as he hikes back to a time before the Kilbourn Dam, when towns were lit by gaslight, justice might be enforced by duels or "necktie parties" and hardships had to be outlasted by tightknit families with unshakable faith and their own butter churns."

A colorful Midwestern city with a colorful past

Eau Claire’s history is a rich tapestry of tragedy, mystery, and everything in between. Time after time, a round-faced man with a bristly mustache appeared amongst loggers in late nineteenth-century photos, but who was this man? In 1903, residents were left stumped when a mysterious body arrived by train from Chicago. Thirty years later, Hollywood came to Eau Claire with a world premiere of Out All Night, a comedy starring Zasu Pitts and Slim Summerville. Facing a labor shortage during World War II, the city welcomed German POWs and often worked side by side with them in the corn and pea fields.

Local authors Jodi Kiffmeyer and Diana Peterson collect the humorous, heart-breaking, and utterly befuddling stories of the city’s past. 

Beyond the stunning beauty of Wisconsin's Sturgeon Baylies a hidden past of colorful characters, tragic shipwrecks and compelling community achievements.

Arriving as an immigrant to the town, Joseph Harris Sr. became a founding father, creating the Door County Advocatenewspaper and leading a campaign to construct the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. More than one hundred local volunteers formed the ranks of Company F, nicknamed Les Terriblesby the French for their bravery and sacrifice in World War I. After surviving the Civil War, former slave Peter Custis endured unimaginable tragedy while forging a life in the city.

Authors Heidi Hodges and Kathy Steebs expose the forgotten history of Sturgeon Bay. It's a story of dogged perseverance.

Join OnMilwaukee.com's Bobby Tanzilo for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Milwaukee's incredible past.

Sail out to the Breakwater Lighthouse, scramble up the wings of the Milwaukee Art Museum and dig up the city's roots on the corner of Water Street and Wisconsin Avenue. Seize the chance to do a little urban spelunking and explore basilicas, burial grounds and breweries. Ring the bell in the city hall tower, and take a turn around the secret indoor track at a Montessori school. No space is off limits in these untold stories of the Cream City's most familiar places and celebrated landmarks.