08/26/2026
Fantastic program coming up in September at the brand new library! Click through to the original post to read all about it.
Wisconsin became the 30th state on May 29th, 1848. A little more than a decade later, this young state became caught up in one of the bloodiest conflicts in our nation's history - the Civil War. More than 90,000 men from the state served in the Union Army. New Glarus alone sent nearly 100 men off to battle. Most of them were recent immigrants from Switzerland - men who were proud to defend their new homeland, and to hopefully put an end to the shameful practice of human enslavement.
Throughout Wisconsin and other northern states, countless more people found ways to help the cause of abolition. You know that the Underground Railroad served as a secret network of hiding places designed to help southern slaves escape to freedom. But did you know that one of Wisconsin's most prominent stops on the Underground Railroad was not that far away from New Glarus, in tiny little Milton?
Join us on Thursday, September 17th for a very special presentation by Kevin Scannell of the Milton House Museum. He will be presenting on the founding of the town of Milton and the construction of the Milton House. He will also be talking about the role of the Milton House as part of the Underground Railroad "Network to Freedom," as well as the social and political climate of the United States / Wisconsin in the 1850s-1860s.
This event is free and open to the public. Please enter the library through the east side door off of Railroad Street.
(All photos copyright Milton House Museum)
