Image credits from top: Oakfield community band, from Fond du Lac County GenWeb; Gottlieb and Henrietta Stelter, courtesy Oliver and Frances Stelter; Little White Schoolhouse, from Ripon College Archives; derailment of No. 2814, courtesy Florian Laper; Fairwater water wheel, courtesy Florian Laper

Beautiful farms, with all the fixtures and appurtenances necessary to make the tillers of the soil and their families contented and happy, are spread out before us; villages and cities have arisen as if by magic, and by hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, human souls are congregated within their precincts...common schools, academies and colleges have sprung up; young and ardent minds--children of the rich and poor--may press forward together in the acquisition of science...the press is established whence floods of light and glory may emanate for the instruction and benefit of all; railroads are built to bring the products of every clime and the people from afar to our doors.... Let the records of the olden time be preserved; in after years our children, and our children's children, will look over them with pleasure and profit. (History of Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880)

Dedicated to documenting the history and telling the cultural and family stories of the area, this site is sponsored by the Wisconsin Local History Network. Its goal is to record and make available the county's historical materials for the Internet community. In so doing, it also hopes to make more visible the critical work of the county's historical societies in preserving the heritage of past and present generations of county residents:

Fond du Lac County Historical Society
Galloway House and Village
   and Adams House Resource Center
336 Old Pioneer Road
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Brandon Historical Society
Museum
Main Street
Brandon, Wisconsin

Fairwater Historical Society
Fairwater, Wisconsin
(organizing)

Ripon Historical Society
Museum
508 Watson Street
Ripon, Wisconsin

Waupun Historical Society
Museum
22 South Madison Street
Waupun, Wisconsin

This site is entirely dependent on the contributions of volunteers in transcribing the records, copying the photographs, locating the letters, and interpreting the information that it takes to develop and maintain it. If you have an interest in participating in the ongoing project of documenting the history of Fond du Lac County on the Web, please contact Bob Schuster at rmschust@facstaff.wisc.edu or at 6020 Kristi Circle, Monona, WI 53716 (608-221-1421).