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Neenah, a city of 25,000, is a part of the Fox Cities and located in east-central Wisconsin, on the northwest shore of Lake Winnebago. Originally known as Winnebago Rapids, Neenah was incorporated as a village in 1856 and had a population of 1,296 in 1860. Thanks in part to its location on the Fox River, in the mid-1800's Neenah attracted flourmills and the lumber industry. By the 1870's paper mills began to take over the industrial landscape of the area and has continued to play an important role in the city's economy.
The Neenah Public Library's digital collection presents the history of Neenah primarily from the early 1800's to the 1950's. The two Neenah histories highlight the development and important events of Neenah from pre-settlement to the late 1950's. The city directories provide valuable information to genealogists, while the searchable photograph collection captures life in the Neenah area from the mid-1800's to the 1950's. Neenah's digital collection will be of use to local historians, students, genealogists, and anyone interested in the history of Neenah.
For further sources on Neenah and Winnebago County see:
Neenah Public Library Genealogy and Local History Links
Oshkosh Atlases and Histories-UWDC Wisconsin Collection
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Area Research Center
Print resources added to the UWDC expand the geographic coverage to include a work on the Town of Menasha, an area that borders the cities of Neenah and Menasha with its own distinct history and identity. The additional material will also provide information on an important institution shared by the two communities: the Boys and Girls Brigade.
In 2014, the Neenah Public Library and Menasha Public Library collaborated to expand their digital collections to include new material that complemented the existing resources. The cornerstone of this addition is an extensive oral history project conducted in the 1970s by UW-Fox Valley professor Michael O'Brien. Professor O'Brien interviewed residents from a wide range of backgrounds and created an important resource on life in the Neenah-Menasha area in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Print resources added to the collection expand the geographic coverage to include a work on the Town of Menasha, an area that borders the cities of Neenah and Menasha with its own distinct history and identity. The additional material will also provide information on an important institution shared by the two communities: the Boys and Girls Brigade.
These materials may be copied freely by individuals or libraries for personal use, research, teaching ( including distribution to classes), or any "Fair Use"as defined by copyright laws. Fair use is specifically an American legal doctrine that is not found in most other national copyright laws. The British commonwealth nations have a concept of "fair dealing" but it is much more restrictive in scope. Our reserve policy, for example, is based on "fair use" in U.S. copyright law. Please include this statement and author or photographer attribution with any copies you make. The materials may be linked to freely in non-commercial, non-subscription Internet editions created for an educational purpose.
Anyone interested in any other use of these materials, including for-profit Internet editions, should obtain permission from the Univeristy of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries; and the Neenah Public Library.
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This project was funded, in part, through a 2011 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant. The grant provided financial support to digitize and make available online local library resources. For more information about LSTA grants in Wisconsin, contact the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Division for Libraries and Technology or visit the LSTA grant website.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.