Have you ever wondered where Wisconsin’s historical markers come from?
Wisconsin has 609 historical markers across the state, each one marking a person, place or event that is significant to Wisconsin history.
The program started in 1943, when then-Gov. Walter Goodland appointed people to the first historical markers committee. A new committee was formalized in 1950, and a law was passed in 1953 to officially establish the historical markers program. The act established an official seal and design for markers so they would have a uniform appearance. The first marker under this system was placed in the Peshtigo Fire Cemetery.
In 2021, the Wisconsin Historical Society, which administers the program, received a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation to diversify the stories represented by the markers.
Here’s how a site is considered significant enough to receive a historical marker and the process that goes into erecting one.
Who chooses sites for historical markers?
According to Mallory Hanson, the historical society’s statewide services coordinator, it’s a community-driven process. She said that any community member or organization can submit a proposal for a historical marker.
“There tend to be more organizations than individuals. Proposals very often come from town or county historical societies, and occasionally from cities as well,” Hanson said. “There tend to be spikes during anniversary years, and it also tends to be seasonal with more proposals coming in spring and summer when it makes more sense to think about installation of markers.”
Those who wish to apply for a historical marker can apply through the society’s website ( wisconsinhistory.org/ Records/Article/CS50). There’s a $250 application fee, and although the Wisconsin Historical Society administers the program, they don’t pay to erect or
maintain the markers. Applicants must agree to pay for the marker and its maintenance, and they must have the permission of the landowner of the proposed marker site.
How is history verified and language chosen for historical markers?
After the applicant submits the form, a review committee at the historical society ensures the site meets its criteria for a significant Wisconsin historical site (see below). If that requirement is met, the applicant’s proposed text for the marker is scrutinized. The historical society requires that the text be well-researched and well-documented.
“At that point, the committee will review the narrative and the sources the applicant used to write it,” Hanson said. “We also get history consultants to carefully review the text.”
Hanson said the review process typically takes about six months.
What is criteria for determining historically significant topics for markers?
Wisconsin’s historical markers must be at sites associated with one of the following criteria:
● Events that have made a significant contribution to “the broad patterns of history”
● People who are no longer living who made a significant contribution to “the broad patterns of history and culture”
● Art or architecture that “embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, style, period or method of construction or architecture,” represents “the work of a master” or “possesses high artistic value”
● Prehistory or archaeology that “yields or is likely to yield information important in prehistory or history”
● Ethnic groups “who have made distinctive and significant contributions to history”
● Represents “significant aspects of the physical or natural history of the earth and its life”
● Legends, popular stories or myths that, “although not verifiable, are significant to history and culture”
Are there topics, stories or people that are underrepresented?
Hanson said the historical society is “always looking to be representing a full and rich history.” The society recently conducted a study of the state’s historical markers to determine the stories and groups that were “quite popular and some that were not as well recognized,” she said.
“Through that study, we identified topics that are eligible for the Pomeroy Foundation grant to diversify our markers program,” she added.
They found the underrepresented topics were stories from the history of women, immigrants and refugees, Black people, Hmong people, Latino people, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and Tribal Nations and Indigenous people.
The Pomeroy Foundation is also funding the installation of nine new state historical markers to highlight Milwaukee’s role in the 1967-68 Fair Housing Movement.
What happens if language on a historical marker needs to be changed?
In September 2023, the historical society replaced a historical marker on Mooning waneka an ing( the Ojibwe name for Madeline Island). The original marker, which was erected in 1961, inaccurately stated that the island was discovered by the French.
According to a news release from the historical society, “the new historical marker, which bears the Ojibwe name for Madeline Island and was developed using input from the Bad River and Red Cliff Ojibwe communities, recognizes the central role of Indigenous peoples in the island’s history.”
Hanson said that if markers are discovered to have inaccurate details, the society will take steps to consult the owner of the marker in order to correct the narrative.
Both a list and map of the Wisconsin’s historical markers are available on the Wisconsin Historical Society’s website.