ECHO: Exploring Cultural History Online

A Collection of History and Culture

Winding Rivers Library System has expanded access to unique history materials in local libraries by developing a regional online collection of visual images (photographs and postcards) representing western Wisconsin history and culture.  This project and collection is named ECHO:  Exploring Cultural History Online and is made possible through a 2014 Library Services and Technology Act grant.

Other Resources

Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers

Full-text Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to 90 days ago, plus newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s. 

Newspapers.com

Historical newspapers archive from the 1700s-2000s containing thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers in the United States and other countries.

HeritageQuest Online

Access genealogical research including all U.S. Federal Census records, family and local histories, and access to PERSI PERiodical Source Index.

Wisconsin Historical Society Family History Records

Family history research records from the Wisconsin Historical Society records available on Ancestry.com.

Tips for searching the ECHO site:

If you are searching for something specific (i.e. 1912, automobiles, Vernon County, or Kickapoo River), please use the correct Subject category. This will limit your search and retrieve only the images that fit your criteria.

  • Subject Topic- Use these terms to search Subject Topic.
  • Subject Geographic- This field holds the names of rivers, bluffs, valleys, etc. (i.e. Kickapoo River)
  • Subject Country- United States.
  • Subject State- Wisconsin.
  • Subject County- Search by county.
  • Subject City- Use this to find a specific city, town, village, or township.
  • Subject Temporal- Dates are held here. They can be a specific year (i.e. 1912), or they can refer to a decade (i.e. 1910s)

Thank you to these participating libraries:

Alma Public Library, Arcadia Public Library, Black River Falls Public Library, Blair-Preston Public Library, Cashton Memorial Library, Knutson Memorial Library in Coon Valley, Elroy Public Library, Ettrick Public Library, Galesville Public Library, Independence Public Library, Kendall Public Library, La Crosse County Library, La Crosse Public Library, Lawton Memorial Library in La Farge, Hatch Public Library in Mauston, New Lisbon Memorial Library, Norwalk Public Library, Ontario Public Library, McIntosh Memorial Library in Viroqua, Bekkum Memorial Library in Westby, Whitehall Public Library, Wilton Public Library, Wonewoc Public Library, and Necedah Community Siegler Memorial Library (joining in 2015).

Thank you to the ResCarta Foundation, a non-profit organization founded to encourage the development of a single set of open community standards and open source implementations of those standards. The goal of the ResCarta Foundation is to create, through collaboration, digital content production standards and open source applications that allow users to access disparate digital collections in a simple, user friendly process, leading to interoperability.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [Grants 14-32-9940-14-211-LSTA, 15-32-9940-15-132-LSTA]. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Our grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow IMLS on Facebook and Twitter.