Today is August 1st (already!), and I’m going to be speaking at the Cedarburg History Museum at 6:00 o’clock tonight. I’d love to see you there.

“Dirt Trails and Wooden Planks”

Come join us as we explore the history of some of Wisconsin’s first roads, vital transportation routes for waves of immigrant settlers in the 1830s, ’40s, and beyond.

The illustrated talk will cover aspects of several key routes, including the ancient Native American Chicago to Green Bay trail, the Old Military Road, and the complicated history of the Milwaukee to Cedarburg Plank Road, among others. As usual, I’m featuring all kinds of period images, including photos, drawings, and annotated maps, along with lots of details of when and how these roads were surveyed, constructed, paid for, and put to use.

Who’s who?

For those of you with local history or genealogy interests, this presentation is loaded with references to a number of early Wisconsin Territory and Mequon-Cedarburg pioneers, with surnames including: BRINK, BURT, CENTER, DOTY, GOTTSCHALK, HARTWIG, HILGEN, HORN, JANSSEN/JOHNSON, JUNEAU, MULLET, OPITZ, PRENTISS, SCHROEDER, THIEN, VOGENITZ, and our old friend Jonathan M. CLARK.

When, where & how much?

I hope to see you tonight, Saturday, August 1st, at 6:00 p.m., at the Cedarburg History Museum, N58W6194 Columbia Road, Cedarburg, WI 53012 (click for map). Admission to the talk, and to the museum and its 2026 premier exhibit “First Nations,” is free to all (donations cheerfully accepted).

Burt, W. A., Sketch map, T9N-R21E, sections 1-2, 11-14, 23-26, 35- 36. March, 1836. (Wisconsin State Cartographer’s Office)