The Wisconsin Historical Society was founded in 1846, even before Wisconsin achieved U.S. statehood. The Secretary, Lyman Draper, began in the early 1850s to solicit articles from around the state containing early impressions and descriptions of original pioneer settlers. Settlement of the territory was so recent that some authors were personally acquainted with the first settlers in their areas. This first volume of the State Historical Society Collections, edited by Draper and published in 1855, contains accounts by travelers in the 1700s and early 1800s, accounts of early settlements, and information about the Native Americans that inhabited the Territory. - Summary by Ted Lienhart