Resources/Links

Vermont Township

Then & Now Project


Developed by the Black Earth Historical Society in collaboration with the town of Vermont, Dane County, Wisconsin beginning in 2022, and with partial funding by Wisconsin Humanities, this 2023 exhibit and e-book looks at: 
  • historical land use 
  • farming systems 
  • families
Contributions by: Jon Urness, Scott Herrling, Ingerid Skalet Kvam, Joan Haugen, Peter Antonie, Connie Janousek, Mary Carlstrom, Jim Dance, Harold Miller, Jerome and Jackie Helmenstine, Barbara Perkins, Keith O'Connell, Marlene Ludolph, Karen Carlock, Steve Frame, Mark and Lee Sherven, Abbey Miskimen, Mitchell Travis, and Jessie Perkins. Edited by David Stanfield.

Links below to digital versions of both the exhibit and book at dropbox.com, a file sharing website.

16-page Then & Now Exhibit 
74-page Then & Now Book


"You have done an unbelievably great job documenting the historic changes over the years in the area," said Vermont township resident Elizabeth Herrling. "What a valuable resource for future generations."

Also, link below to town of Vermont's 217-page book published in 1977:

History of Vermont


Black Earth Newspapers Online

As of 2023, digital access to Black Earth newspapers from 1870 to 1975 is available on the Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers and Badgerlink through the Black Earth Library website. 
  • Go to blackearthlibrary.org
  • Click Online Resources at top of home page
  • Click link to Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers
  • IMPORTANT! Click pink button top right for Search Historical Newspapers
  • An instructional video and written instructions available on the site if needed, or contact the Black Earth Public Library for help
  • Direct link at: https://badgerlink.newsmemory.com/wna/badgerlink/









Mazomanie Historical Society

The Mazomanie Historical Society website features a considerable
amount of information about our shared local history including documents, plat and insurance maps, and digital copies of the Mazomanie Sickle newspaper from the 1874 through 1919 among other resources.

mazomaniehistory.org

" Black Earth has a shared history
with nearby  Mazomanie."

Wisconsin Historical Society

Find helpful articles such as these:"Why Buy An Historic House?"
"Ten Reasons to Buy and Restore a Historic Commercial Building"
"Common Myths About Historic Buildings"
"Is Your Building Historic?"
"Preserve Your Homes and Properties"
"How To Preserve Your Historic Building"

Resources for local history including 116 photographs of Black Earth

Find a Grave - includes Oak Hill Cemetery

Find A Grave is an online database created in 1995 for locating burial graves worldwide searchable by name. It also may include photographs, cemetery information, biographies and other family information. It has over 226 million memorials listed. Oak Hill Cemetery in Black Earth may be found on Find A Grave.
findagrave.com


Recollection Wisconsin

Recollection Wisconsin is a searchable digital collection of photographs, oral histories, maps, and documents. It contains records pertaining to Black Earth, such as this c1890 map of Oak Hill Cemetery. Begun in 2005, Recollection Wisconsin is a collaborative digitization program from the Black Earth Historical Society, Black Earth Public Library, Wisconsin Library System, Wisconsin Historical Society, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin Department of Public Instructions, and the Nicholas Family Foundation.

Find Black Earth High School photos
Find Black Earth village president photos
Looking for a Norwegian grave?

Vermont Lutheran Church Cemetery

The Vermont Lutheran Church Cemetery in the town of Vermont just south of Black Earth lists a directory with map. The church was established in 1856 by Norwegian immigrant farmers. The church has been holding a Lutefisk dinner since the 1920s, according to its
website, now serving about 1,000 people each October.

Mt. Horeb Area
Historical Society

The Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society website includes information on plat book histories, 1928 prairie farmer's directory, century farms, cheese factories, churches, early settlers of Donald Park area, mills, newsletters, and their Driftless Historium Museum & Research Center. The Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society covers the townships of Blue Mounds, Springdale, Perry, Vermont, Primrose, parts of Verona & Cross Plains, plus Mt. Horeb and all villages within those townships.
mthorebhistory.org




Ancestral Land Project

-Battle of Wisconsin Heights-Native American resistance to settlers' land acquisition
-Native American trail marker trees and trails made into roadways
-Significance and preservation of Native American mounds
-Families, marriages, home life, temperance
-Return of Native Americans to ancestral lands after removal
-Cultural significance, lead mining, pow wows in Blue Mounds
-Land claims of Native Americans and settlers
-Geographic corridor between the Wisconsin River and Blue Mounds
-Native American foods and medicines adopted by settlers

Collecting Western Dane County Native American & Settler Stories/Artifacts From 1820 to 1870

Contact: David Stanfield jdstanfi@wisc.edu or (608) 767-3449

Dane County Historical Society

The Dane County Historical Society maintains a limited amount of online resources including county plat maps.
danecountyhistory.org

Oldest existing rural elementary school in Dane County

Halfway Prairie School

Located in the town of Mazomanie just north of Black Earth, part of a recently-expanded Halfway Prairie School County Park. Also find Friends of Old Halfway Prairie School on Facebook.

Wisconsin First Nations

Educational resource for the teaching of Native Nations of Wisconsin.
wisconsinfirstnations.org

Library of Congress

Enter Black Earth, Wisconsin in the search box on the home page and see what you'll find: photographs, maps, newspaper clips, including this postcard of Ulra Deloss Wood, Civil War G.A.R. veteran, Co. C, 50th New York Regiment ca 1890s.  Photograph by George Lindsey of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.

Free downloads
Not of ton of Black Earth stuff but worth looking at