Wisconsin's Rich
Human Heritage

Join us for "a Wisconsin Experience"-a visit to some of the more interesting 19th century ethnic communities in America, a scenic trip in time-within many miles of living history.

Wisconsin's rich human heritage began over 12,000 years ago with the Native American people. Visit places where Woolly Mammoth hunters once roamed; learn where historic settlement and trade sites were; and travel on modern roads which were once prehistoric trail systems.

Irish families, Norwegians and Belgians and others were enticed by dreams of large amounts of inexpensive and fertile land in America. American born "Yankees" moving from New England, New York and Ohio purchased vast quantities of the prairies and forested land which contained good soil for farming. Wisconsin became the stage for one of the greatest resettlement efforts of the 19th century.

By 1850 about 36 percent of the total Wisconsin population was foreign born. Over the next fifty years more than one million immigrants, at least 250,000 of which were German, found their way to the cities and farmland of Wisconsin. Eventually, over thirty 19th century ethnic groups were to call "Wiskonskin, U.S.A." their new home. The state of Wisconsin established an immigration office in New York. Knowledgeable Yankees with families in Wisconsin were hired to promote the state to the newly arriving immigrants. Holding information and access to thousands of acres, United States government land agents made themselves available to arriving immigrants in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Sheboygan.

For nearly 150 years, this patchwork quilt of Old World cultures mixed with Native American, African, Asian, Hispanic and other cultures, has lived, worked and prospered along the great inland sea of Lake Michigan-a celebration of ethnic harmony for those who visit or reside in Wisconsin, and an inspiration of hope for persons from areas of the world who seek a new and productive future. Let Wisconsin's Ethnic Settlement Trail guide you through Wisconsin's multicultural history, or simply help you discover your own unique ethnic trail along the way ....