Visit to the History Center and Archives at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center

On Monday August 27, Sid Levitsky, Paul DeMain, Leslie Mack and I visited the archives at the visitor center near Ashland. It is #14 in the Wisconsin Historical Society's statewide network of Area Research Centers, and preserves the records of eight northern Wisconsin counties, including Ashland and Bayfield Counties. The materials are extensive and include court records, city directories, area newspapers and genealogical records. We were, of course, most interested in materials relating to Madeline Island and within the brief time we were there discovered some exciting materials: three shelves of papers related to Rev. Leonard Wheeler, Protestant missionary on the island; the index cards and research materials, including some fascinating maps, that Ham Ross used in writing his book, La Pointe: Village Outpost; a casette audio recording of Gram Johnson, circa 1957; photo copies of the Island Gazette, 1964-2002. (The Island Gazettes from those years are also on microfiche at the Wisconsin Historical Society site.) We did not see but heard about Father Baraga's records of baptisms and deaths, as well as Native American census rolls for Northern Wisconsin tribes. 

Obviously, we left only wishing we had more time, and we determined that the Friends should organize a tour there early next summer.