 NEW Fort McCoy Pictorial History Book Interested in Fort McCoy history? Have any relatives that worked or trained there? The new book “Images of America: Fort McCoy” features 128 pages of Fort McCoy photos, maps, and illustrations documenting the important military landmark for nearly a century... Click here for more
Recipe Book Sales Fund Microfilm Workstation
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NEW Fort McCoy Pictorial History Book05/12/2008Interested in Fort McCoy history? Have any relatives that worked or trained there? The new book “Images of America: Fort McCoy” features 128 pages of Fort McCoy photos, maps, and illustrations documenting the important military landmark for nearly a century. The book is available through the Local History Room for $19.99 each. From the days of the horse-drawn caisson to today’s Humvee, Fort McCoy has played a vital role in the military readiness of America’s armed forces. The only federal military installation within the state of Wisconsin, Fort McCoy has seen more than five million military personnel from throughout the United States pass through its gates since its founding in 1909. Fort McCoy exists today primarily because its founder, Maj. Gen. Robert B. McCoy, foresaw that the U.S. Army would need a regional site at which to train and maneuver and then dedicated himself to making that vision a reality. Fort McCoy’s mission of supporting training and mobilization has remained constant from those early days on the McCoy ranch to the current global War on Terror. This book chronicles the illustrious history of Fort McCoy from the doughboys of World War I to today’s soldiers supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. [paragraph taken from book’s back cover] Copies of the book are available to purchase through the Local History Room for $19.99 each. Please send $19.99 plus $3.00 s/h for each copy to: Local History Room 200 West Main St. Sparta, WI 54656 Call 608-269-8680 for more information. Ft. McCoy book cover Recipe Book Sales Fund Microfilm Workstation04/10/2008The Local History Room is excited to announce a new opportunity to update library equipment. On sale now are new cookbooks created by Monroe County Title Company of Sparta. 100% of all cookbook sales goes toward the purchase of a new microfilm reader workstation! Help us replace ill-fitting library furniture through the purchase of a Monroe County Cookbook. An appropriate workstation would improve user comfort and better utilize library space. The recipe book contains 70 pages of delicious recipes contributed by Monroe County residents. To order your cookbook, send your name, address, and $12.00 for every copy you would like ($10 for the book and $2 postage) to: Local History Room 200 West Main St. Sparta, WI 54656 The patrons, volunteers, and staff of the Local History Room thank you! cook book.jpg New Indexes are here! Plat Maps, Naturalizations! More!02/01/2008The Monroe County Newspaper index has grown by 15,000 entries, including thousands from the Sparta Herald, Monroe County Democrat, and for the first time, the Norwalk Star newspaper (1907-1912). New Indexes added: --Monroe County Plat Maps: 1877, 1897 --Monroe County Naturalization Records --Monroe County Business Directory Index You'll be able to search for your ancestors in these indexes using the Library & Genealogy Quick Search Box. HISTORIC BIKE TRAIL FILM AVAILABLE ON DVD12/10/2007Available for the first time on DVD is the 1967 film "Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail: The Old Railroad Trail.” Take a visual tour of the Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail when it first opened 40 years ago. "Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail: The Old Railroad Trail” was created by Don Goodman for the Monroe County UW Extension in 1967 to promote the nation’s first rails-to-trails bicycle trail, running from Sparta to Elroy. This 15 minute, color film takes the viewer on a nostalgic tour of the bike trail from Elroy to Sparta and all points in between, including stops in Wilton, Kendall, and Norwalk. The city of Tomah, Monroe County cranberry country, Mill Bluff State Park and Wildcat Mountain State Park are also promoted in the film. Tomah radio announcer Del Lunquist narrates the film. Railroad history buffs will appreciate catching glimpses of remnants of the former Chicago Northwestern Railroad that have long since disappeared. This historic film was originally shot on 16 mm film but was transferred to DVD in 2006 in a preservation project sponsored by the Monroe County Local History Room. Copies of the DVD are available to purchase through the Local History Room for $12.50 each. Please send $12.50 plus $2.00 s/h for each copy to: Local History Room, 200 West Main St., Sparta, WI 54656. Call 608-269-8680 for more information. Index update12/03/2007The Naturalization Records Index slated for posting at the end of November has been delayed because...we are making it even better! It was originally going to be an index of Monroe County Petitions for Naturalization and some Declarations of Intent, but a new Local History Room volunteer has come forward to transcribe the names from the Monroe County Certificate of Naturalizations! These names will be added to what will be known as "Naturalization Records Index." We hope to have this and more posted to this website in January 2008. Civil War Vet Census Index Added09/24/2007This NEW index contains a listing of Monroe County Civil War Veterans who either served in Wisconsin organizations (ie. regiments) or of other states living in Monroe County. Census years include: 1885, 1890, 1895, 1905. Use the "Library & Genealogy Quick Search" function to search this new database! Monroe County Biographical Index Added09/24/2007This database is an index of biographies written for notable Monroe County citizens that were published in 19th and early 20th century books. Without this master index, one would have to peruse several books and risk missing some genealogical gold. Use the "Library & Genealogy Quick Search" function to search this new database! John F. Kennedy at Tomah VA photo available08/20/2007Senator John F. Kennedy passed through Tomah and Sparta in March of 1960 while he was campaigning for the presidency. This wonderful photograph was taken of JFK speaking in the Tomah Veteran Hospital's canteen on March 9, 1960. If you would like to order a copy of this print, you may request one through the mail. Prices are $6.00 for a 5x7 and $9.00 for an 8x10. Please include $3.00 for shipping/handling. Mail payment to: Local History Room 200 West Main St. Sparta, WI 54656 JFK at Tomah VA Over 450 Historic Images Added to This Website!07/05/2007The "Historic Image & Photo Archive" on this website just grew by several hundred pictures. Be sure to search it thoroughly for historic images of Monroe County people, cities, villages, events, buildings, landmarks, businesses, disasters, homes, schools, and so much more. Just plug in the name or search term in the "Keywords" box. http://www.monroecountyhistory.org/photosearch.php Newspaper Index updated!06/20/2007Our Newspaper Index just grew by thousands of entries. The Newspaper Index on this website now includes the EARLIEST surviving Sparta newspapers: 1859-1860s (non-consecutive), and the Tomah newspapers from 1910-1919. Be sure to search your surnames again! History of Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail Program May 7th at LHR04/24/2007For those of you in driving distance to Sparta... Join us for our Evening Program 7pm May 7th: "From Rails to Trails: Recalling the Origins of the Elroy Sparta Bike Trail" An evening of reminiscing about Monroe County’s famed Bike Trail, its history and impact on Monroe County. Featuring a special viewing of the 1967 Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail promotional film: "The Old Railroad Trail." FREE Presentation; 7:00pm Monday, May 7, 2007 Monroe County Local History Room & Museum, 200 W. Main St.,Sparta, WI For More Info Call: 608-269-8680 Warrens & Valley Junction Newspapers Added to Newspaper Index03/22/2007Our huge, online Newspaper Index just grew by merging with it an index to Warrens and Valley Junction WI newspapers (1898-1901). Added to the Newspaper Index are 1700 news items indexed from the Warrens Index (WI), Valley Junction Settler (VJS), and the Valley Junction Advocate (VA). The articles indexed here mostly include birth, death, and marriage notices. Find out if your ancestors are listed in any articles indexed from these newspapers by searching for them in the "Library and Genealogy Quick Search" box. March 15th Program at LHR on How to Date Old Photos03/08/2007For those of you that are not too far from Sparta, we hope you can make it to the Local History Room Thursday, March 15th at 7pm for what is sure to be an interesting program. Ed Hill, former Special Collections Librarian at Murphy Library, UW-La Crosse, will give a presentation on the history of photography and how to date old photographs. Mr. Hill will provide a brief history of photography, beginning with the daguerreotype, and discuss the evolution of techniques and styles. He will also provide clues on the dating of photos, clothing styles, photo imprints and cases, and the culture of the formal portrait. He will also discuss the importance of "association;" that is, the absolute importance of keeping together things that have stored together. Breaking up albums or collections is risky. The fact that two or three images have been filed together in an album or a letter is a vital clue to their association. This proximity is important. As time permits, Mr. Hill will discuss briefly how to store and care for photographs, and the significance of changing technology, especially digital photography, in taking and storing contemporary images. Sound interesting? Be sure to join us Thursday, March 15th at 7pm at the Local History Room. The Local History Room has its own web site!02/12/2007For the first time ever, your Monroe County Local History Room has its own web site. Be sure to check out each section of the web site to get the most from this valuable online resource. Historic photographs available online now02/12/2007A selection of historic Monroe County photographs are available to view and purchase on this web site. We'll be adding more historic images to the online library periodically, so be sure to check back often. http://www.monroecountyhistory.org/images.php |
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