Dedicated to the conservation, advancement and dissemination of the American heritage, the Society was founded in 1846, chartered in 1853. Legislative support, the first bestowed in any state, began in 1854; the Society became a state agency in 1949.
Under Lyman Copeland Draper (1854-1886) the library achieved pre-eminence; research, publication and a modern museum were begun. Local societies followed in 1895. The Society became the state archives in 1907. The quarterly magazine was launched in 1917, historical markers in 1942, school services in 1947, regional depositories for local research in 1951, the operation of historical sites in 1952.
Dedicated in 1900, rededicated in 1955, this building has long been a mecca for the student of American and Wisconsin history and a center for the greater appreciation of the basic dynamics of the American experiment.
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