Wisconsin’s dairy legacy is pretty well established in the United States. Known as America’s Dairyland, the state’s popular foods include cheese, chees curds, and frozen custard. The fans of the beloved Green Bay Packers are known as Cheeseheads!
What may be lesser known is the state’s rich Indigenous history. The primary Native American Tribes in Wisconsin before Europeans arrived were the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Menominee, and the Ojibwe (Chippewa). Other Tribes included the Potawatomi, depending on the period and area within the state.
In 1634, French explorer Jean Nicolet became the first known European to come to the area, arriving in Green Bay. Fur traders and missionaries followed him, with large groups of Irish, Dutch, and Germans coming in the 1840s and 1850s. A wave of Scandinavian immigrants came between 1860 and 1890. Wisconsin was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, becoming the 30th state.
Wisconsin’s natural landscape is also distinct, bordered by two Great Lakes: Superior and Michigan.
It boasts 800 miles of coastline that provide habitat for Wisconsin’s migratory waterfowl, including ducks, loons, and geese.
Next time you are in Wisconsin, maybe touring the Miller Brewing Company or having a cold beer and bratwurst at one of the state’s many craft breweries, take some time to learn more about the area’s rich history. Luckily, much of it is preserved in its National Monuments and landmarks.
Read on to discover some gems in the Badger State!
Aztalan State Park: This destination contains an archaeological site highlighting Wisconsin’s Indigenous history and culture. Established in 1952, the State Park in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, covers 172 acres along the Crawfish River. It showcases an ancient Middle-Mississippian village with large, flat-topped pyramidal mounds — used for religious and political purposes — and a stockade. The Native American people who settled the area came from Cahokia along the mighty Mississippi River near modern-day East St. Louis, Illinois, and thrived between 1000 and 1300 A.D. In 1964, Aztalan State Park was designated a National Historic Landmark, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The park is open to the public year-round from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Visitors can hike, boat, fish, and picnic in the spring, summer, and fall and can cross-country ski and snowshoe in the winter.
Photo Courtesy Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Dr. Fisk Holbrook Day House: Also known as Sunnyhill Home, this is the historic house of Dr. Fisk Holbrook, a prominent local physician and amateur geologist. Holbrook was appointed to the Milwaukee County hospital commission, influencing reforms of the system of county mental hospitals. Constructed in 1874 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, to partially house the doctor’s substantial number of artifacts, the structure is made of local soft golden-yellow Cream City brick — the color inspired the name. Milwaukee’s 19th-century brickmakers used red lacustrine clay containing a high calcium and magnesium content to fire the material. In 1997, Dr. Fisk Holbrook Day House was declared a National Historic Landmark. The 19th-century mansion has been restored over the last 50 years, but the privately owned home is not open to the public.
Photo Courtesy Freekee
The Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm: This historic farm in rural Sauk County, Wisconsin, was bought as a family summer retreat by Aldo Leopold in the 1930s. The noted conservationist and writer was inspired by the property, which influenced his ethics around conversation and led him to write his most famous work, A Sand County Almanac. According to the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the writer used the book “to communicate the true connection between people and the natural world.” The farm, which is owned and managed by the foundation, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2009. Visitors can go on self-guided and staff-guided property tours, including the Leopold Center. You can also request resources from the Learning Hub, like a documentary, discussion guides, and an essay about Leopold’s land ethic.
Photo Courtesy Rebecca Kumar/National Park Service
