Local History

Photo of hallway with sign titled "Waunakee's First Century"

View rotating local history displays in History Hall at the library, pictured above. Current exhibits highlight the history of the Waunakee Airport, Veterans of Waunakee, and the Waunakee Public Library!

Black and white historical photo of the Waunakee Depot

Historic Photos

View over 2,200 photos of historic Waunakee in our digital collection. 

Waunakee Centennial Parade black and white historical image showing people marching with banners

Recollection Wisconsin

Discover photos, maps, books, artifacts, oral histories and more from dozens of Wisconsin libraries, archives, historical societies and museums.

How We Got Here image showing a large red tractor

How We Got Here

Watch a fascinating video about Waunakee's immigration stories. Through a grant from the Wisconsin Humanities Council, WPL interviewed community members about where their families originated, how they came to the United States, and how they became part of Waunakee.

Digital Resources

Newspaper Archive

Newspaper Archive database logo

Access the digital archives of hundreds of local, Wisconsin newspapers.

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Wisconsin Historical Society Family History Records

Wisconsin Historical Society

Family history research records from the Wisconsin Historical Society records available on Ancestry.

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Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers

Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Full-text daily and weekly Wisconsin newspapers from 2005 to 60 days ago, plus newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s.

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Digital Collections

Note: the village of Waunakee is located within Westport township

Westport Township 1861 (Waunakee was not a village until 1871, but "LESTER P.O." includes the area of present-day Waunakee)

Westport Township 1873 (Waunakee on pg 19, Westport on pg 36)

Westport Township 1890

Westport Township 1899

Westport Township 1904

Westport Township 1911 (see index for photographs of Dane county schoolhouses and list of merchants in 1911)

Westport Township 1947

Westport Township 1953

Westport Township 1955