Portage County Historical Society

Tours, Trails & Timelines

The dominate ethnic culture in Portage County has been Polish. The first Polish settlers arrived in September, 1857. See our section on Polish Heritage in Portage County.

• Polish Heritage Hwy -- Hwy 66 has been designated as Polish Heritage Highway.
• Polish Heritage Trail -- A guided tour of the early settlements of Polish immigrants.
• Poland to Portage County -- a brochure developed by the Polish Awareness Society for an exhibit they sponsored at our Synagogue Museum several years ago.

General tours of Portage County have been created. Albert Ellis' "Handbook of Stevens Point 1857" is the earliest example.

• Tour of Portage County -- a general tour of the county.
• Stevens Point Handbook 1857 -- very early settlement of the area.

A timeline was created for our publication "Land and Lumber". This covers 1827 thru 1998.

• Portage County Time Line 1827-1849
• Portage County Time Line 1850-1874
• Portage County Time Line 1875-1899
• Portage County Time Line 1900-1924
• Portage County Time Line 1925-1949
• Portage County Time Line 1950-1974
• Portage County Time Line 1975-1998