Local History Resources
Kaukauna Strong: COVID-19 Stories
The Kaukauna Public Library believes that archiving and sharing our local stories will be of great value to future research, understanding, and our community as a whole. In an effort to compile an inclusive perspective of these historic events related to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking residents to share their stories and experiences. Stories will be archived and cataloged in our Local History Room. Selected stories will be shared on Facebook with the author’s permission.
Submit your story using our online form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgGTofLQNvFysTo8i3pf9Dof4tbytKCBFzJk4WHtSxN0NOGQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
To share your story, or view others’, join our Facebook Group – Kaukauna Strong Stories.
Notice: We now have images of Kaukauna Times Obituaries from between 1880-1959, and Kaukauna High School Yearbooks from 1916-1977 available online!
Local History Room at the Kaukauna Public Library
The Kaukauna Public Library facilitates the preservation of Kaukauna area history within the Local History Room to make materials available to researchers, exhibition and the general public. The Library holds these materials in trust for future generations, and therefore, materials can only be used in the Library. Materials pertaining directly to Kaukauna are collected comprehensively and in multiple formats, in particular but not limited to documents, maps, books, newspapers, and photographs.
Using the Local History Room - Inquiries & Request for Information
In Person
The history room is open during Library operating hours. Please sign-in at the service desk to use the room. The Local History Room can be reserved for research in advance or may be booked for Library programming, so please call ahead to confirm that the room will be available for use prior to your visit. If you will need the assistance of Library staff for your research, you must make an appointment due to limited staff.
For questions about the collection, to confirm availability, or to make an appointment, please call (920) 766-6340. Please be as specific as possible regarding your inquiry and come with information you have already gathered. We recommend making an appointment as well when considering making a donation to our collection.
Online Request for Information
Would you like us to look for something for you? To request information, please fill out our Local History request form. We will do our best to find the information you are looking for. We can put materials aside for you to pick up at the library or we can scan in the requested research we have found and email it to you.
Donations to the History Room
We accept photos, documents and books that directly pertain to Kaukauna history. We do not accept donations of artifacts or framed art. If the framed art references Kaukauna specific history, we accept on a case by case basis.
Local History Information available Online
The following local history resources are all available online.
Look Back in History - New!
Kaukauna Timeline A Brief History of Kaukauna Meaning of the name "Kaukauna" The origin of the Kaukauna High School mascot, the “Galloping Ghost” Obituaries from the Kaukauna TimesCemetery Headstone Photographs
Photo Gallery - Contains over 5,000 historical photos from around the Kaukauna area. Antique Postcards - New! Kaukauna High School Yearbooks - New! Military Letters - New! Historic Tales of the Fox River Valley - New! Local Recipes - New! Ledgers and Minutes - New! Kaukauna City Directories Kaukauna Telephone Directories Military Letter Index. WW1 & WW2. Mayors of Kaukauna Kaukauna Public Library board members 1899 - Present Kaukauna Public Library directors 1899 - Present Lyle Hansen's Time MachineKaukauna Memory Project
The Kaukauna Memory Project exists to increase access to and awareness of local history resources housed at the Kaukauna Public Library in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Currently digitized. The collection currently includes:
- Early History of Kaukauna
- Faces of Kaukauna
- Grand Army of the Republic Membership Roll 1861-1933
- Kaukauna School Graduation Programs 1895-1913
- World War I Military Letters
- History of the Streets of Kaukauna
- Industrial Kaukauna
- Kaukauna 175th Jubilee Album
- Kaukauna Postcard Collection
- Tom McGinnis Art
- Riverview Sanatorium/Dr. John Russo
- Kaukauna Marriage Licenses
Kaukauna Newspaper Index
The Kaukauna Newspaper Index contains references to a selective list of articles appearing in various Kaukauna newspapers. Indexing begins in 1880 and continues to the present, though coverage in years before 1980 is not comprehensive. The index is maintained by Kaukauna Public Library staff & volunteers and is updated regularly.
