Wisconsin Organizations and Websites
In 1985, John Muir was inducted into the new Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. Muir was one of the first two inductees into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. The other was Aldo Leopold, another world-famous conservationist who had his roots in Wisconsin. Together, the two men stand as twin towers of conservation and are featured on the logo for the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame notes that “As a boy, John Muir immigrated with his family from Scotland to a Wisconsin farm … Muir’s childhood days on a farm near Portage helped shape him into the man he would become. Muir was a conservation icon in America and the world.”
The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame website includes many excellent resources about John Muir, including:
- John Muir Biography (PDF)
- John Muir WCHF Induction Speech, by Patty Dreier, 1986 (PDF)
- John Muir, Wisconsin Historical Society
- John Muir’s Wisconsin Roots, article by Andrea Nelson, Door County Pulse, 2016
- John Muir’s Wisconsin Days, article by Dave Leshuk, WI Natural Resources Magazine, 1988
- Tour Wisconsin’s John Muir Nature and History Route, Travel Wisconsin
Dedicated to preserving the spirit and legacy of John Muir, the landscapes of his boyhood, and the park that is dedicated in his honor.
This unique website is a “web app” that offers a road and activity guide to use with your mobile device to trace John Muir’s life in Marquette County, Wisconsin. Check the site before you leave to learn more about Muir and his legacy, then again while on the road and trails. This is where John Muir grew up after emigrating from Dunbar, Scotland in 1849. He was 11 years old. It was here on the little kettle lake and among the wild Wisconsin landscapes that he fell in love with his Wisconsin home. Take a tour of places that inspired the young naturalist. Visit sites where he worked the fields, rested, and watched the birds he wrote about in his biography, The Story of My Boyhood and Youth. Put yourself into the context of his boyhood by exploring places in Marquette County on this tour. This route takes you to locations not only known by Muir, but those who tell you stories about what Wisconsin and Marquette County were like when Muir was a boy here. Immerse yourself in the culture and landscapes of Muir’s Marquette County.
A county park and State Natural Area surrounding what Muir’s family called “Fountain Lake” is the site of Muir’s boyhood home after emigrating here from Scotland. The site is known as the cradle of the national parks, recalling Muir’s original intention to protect the lakeside flowers and marshlands. Muir would have approved that the landscape has been restored to protect a variety of upland and wetland habitats surrounding 30-acre Ennis Lake. A granite monument was erected in 1957 when John Muir Memorial Park was dedicated to Muir.
This PDF booklet will guide you through the two mile segment of the Ice Age Trail in John Muir Memorial County Park, located in Marquette County, Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Historical Society hosts a large collection of information about John Muir, including articles, photographs of him, his family, and his inventions, as well as historical newspaper clippings, original letters, and much more. They recently offer a traveling display on John Muir’s Wisconsin.
Read John Muir’s exciting 1913 memoir about growing up in Scotland and Wisconsin.
Millie Stanley’s exhaustive study of Muir’s roots in Wisconsin shows how his close human relationships with his family and friends formed the basis for his character and ultimate career as a naturalist and conservationist. Many of John’s letters display the exquisite prose for which he became noted in his published works. Muir’s correspondence with his family continued for his entire life and now provides deepening insight into his life and work. the interest in his experiences and well-being expressed by family and friends sustained him through long absences from those he loved.
Now in its second edition, this book by Kathleen McGwin and Daryl Christensen vividly describes important marquette County Influences on the young John Muir. Not just a biography, this look into the past is filled with maps, photographs, checklists, and excerpts from historical publications.