A history of Wittenberg,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Wittenberg from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1886, the Wittenberg Indian School was established by the Norwegian Evangelical Church of America after a purchase of land in Winnebago traditional territory. This was a residential school for Native American children who the government removed from their families as part of an effort to assimilate Native Americans into white American culture. It was also known as the Bethany Indian Mission. Initial attempts to recruit students for the school were met with resistance, particularly from Winnebago "medicine men" who the missionaries believed were concerned about their intention to convert the children to Christianity. The school initially only taught a few children but eventually expanded to include over a hundred students who came from the Winnebago, Oneida, Stockbridge, Brothertown, Menominee, Mohawk and Chippewa. The school was sold to the government in 1900 and operated until 1917,…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Wittenberg’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewWittenberg Academy, 1911: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Wittenberg
See all 1 →Wittenberg, decade by decade
![C. & N.W. Ry. [i.e. Chicago & Northwestern Railway] Depot](https://images.towntapestry.org/story/19022/dae4ac11111d807b9073-s.jpg)
1970s
1990s
Nothing in Wittenberg is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Wittenberg has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Tigerton Village Hall and Engine House in Tigerton, 7.9 miles away.
Wittenberg and the nearest listed places
Closest to Wittenberg
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Wittenberg Academy (1911) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (2) and the Library of Congress (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.