General
Information
Here you will find our mission
statement, hours, donation information and reading room procedures.
Briefly, here is contact information for local history & genealogy:
Archives & Local History
800 Main St.
La Crosse, WI 54601-4122 U.S.A.
Email address: archives@lacrosse.lib.wi.us
Telephone: (608) 789-7136
Hours (except library holidays):
Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-9
p.m.
Friday & Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday 1-5 p.m.
Ask
Archives a Question
Ask the Archives staff a question
online.
Beginning
Genealogy
A primer on basic beginning
genealogy with helpful tips and suggested web sites.
Cemetery,
Obituary & Other Local Indexes
Search our obituary index which
covers La Crosse newspapers from 1904-1958; 1983-present, although you
will find some older obituaries too. Please email or call us if you are
looking for an obituary from 1959-1982, as we have other sources to consult
that may be able to help you locate the obituary you want if the person
died in Wisconsin or if you have an exact date of death.
Other online indexes we maintain include births and marriages since 1987 and
divorces since 1992. La Crosse County cemeteries have also been indexed and
are searchable online. We are constantly adding to these online databases. Click
here to start searching.
Census
Help
This includes helpful hints on using the census. We have federal
census from territorial times (pre-1848) to 1930 for Wisconsin as well
as state census 1855-1905. The library has a subscription to Ancestry Library
Edition, the library version of Ancestry.com which can only be accessed
from the main, north or south library buildings. This includes images of
all federal censuses for the whole United States. The library has a subscription
to HeritageQuest. A valuable tool for genealogy and historical research,
it allows you to search books, magazine articles (PERSI), federal censuses
and Revolutionary War pension files by personal names or place names.
Collections
Brief descriptions of our collections, including
La Crosse Area newspapers; census; manuscripts & public records; and
local history materials can be found here. The book, newspaper, manuscript
and public record holdings information is available through our library
catalog.
Guide
to Local History & Genealogy Resources
Find out what area libraries and archives have in their genealogy
and local history collections and how to contact them. The La Crosse Public
Library Archives staff surveyed libraries and historical societies about
their collections of genealogical and local historical materials in the
following counties: Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Trempealeau & Vernon
counties, Wisconsin; and to a lesser extent Olmsted & Winona counties,
Minnesota.
La
Crosse City Directories
Digitized version of several historical La Crosse city directories: 1866, 1870,
1876, 1880, 1885, 1890, 1895, 1900 and 1905. At this time there is no searching
capability, only browsing of the directories.
La
Crosse County History
We have some digitized historical map images
as well as some brief history of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, to offer. Also
visit our companion site called La
Crosse History Unbound which has full text digitized materials of La
Crosse County history.
Newspaper
Indexes for the La Crosse Area
A partial index to articles
in the La Crosse Tribune covering news events in the city
of La Crosse. General news articles about the La Crosse County
area and La Crescent are also indexed. Human interest stories,
sports scores and most letters to the editor are not included.
The index covers the La Crosse Tribune from September 1990
to the current month.
Organization
Directory for the La Crosse Area
The Library maintains a list of La Crosse
area non-profit organizations that are searchable online, as well as contact
information for educational institutions, religious groups and businesses.
Simply click on this link and search.
Research
Services
The Archives & Local History staff will,
as time permits, conduct research for a fee for non-Wisconsin residents,
but our first priority is to serve in-house clientele and residents of
the Winding Rivers Library System (Buffalo, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse,
Monroe, Trempealeau & Vernon counties, in Wisconsin).
Staff maintains a list of persons
who will do extensive research in and beyond the Library's resources. We
have many resources available for use at the Library, and we encourage
the public to come to the Archives Room to make the greatest use of these
materials.
Web
Links to Genealogy Sites
Web
Links to La Crosse Area Sites
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