*Note: These are all legitimate, official state symbols
State Flag: (See Below)
State Flower: Wood Violet
State Motto: Forward
State Bird: American Robin
State Animal: Badger
State Wildlife Animal: White-tailed Deer
State Domesticated Animal: Dairy Cow
State Tree: Sugar Maple
State Fruit: Cranberry
State Soil: Antigo Silt Loam
State Insect: Honey Bee
State Song: On Wisconsin
State Fish: Muskellunge
State Fossil: Trilobite
State Grain: Corn
State Mineral: Galena
State Rock: Red Granite
State Dog: American Water Spaniel
State Beverage: Milk
State Symbol of Peace: Mourning Dove
The images below are photos I've taken of some of our state symbols. Click on any of them to see a larger image.
Wisconsin Towns and Cities and why they say they're Famous
*Note: If your favorite town and its claim to fame aren't on this list, please e-mail me and I will try to include it in the next update.
Please include both the town name and its claim to fame.
Albany--The Pearl of the Sugar River Antigo--The Gateway to Wisconsin's Northwoods
Appleton--Site of the world's first hydroelectric plant Argyle--Boyhood Home of Bob La Follette
Babcock--Cranberry Pie Capital Baraboo--Home of the Ringling Brothers Circus Bayfield--Gateway to the Apostle Islands
Bear Creek--Home of the World's Largest Sauerkraut Plant Belleville--U. F. O. Capital of Wisconsin Belmont--First Capital of Wisconsin Benton--Mining Capital of Wisconsin
Beloit--Gateway to Wisconsin Black Creek--Birthplace of the First Organized National Baseball Team
Bloomer--Jump Rope Capital of the World
Bonduel--Spelling Capital of Wisconsin Boscobel--Birthplace of the Gideon Bible (also Turkey Capital of Wisconsin)
Boulder Junction--Musky Capital of the World
Boyceville--Cucumber Capital of Wisconsin Burlington--Home of the Liars' Club (also Chocolate City, U. S. A.)
Cable--Home of the American Birkebeiner Cashton--Home to the Largest Amish Community in Wisconsin Cobb--Home of the Cobb Corn Roast
Colby--Birthplace of Colby cheese
Columbus--The Red Bud City
Cuba City--The City of Presidents
Cumberland--Rutabaga Capital Delavan--Clown Town, U. S. A.; also 19th Century Circus Capital of the Nation Dickeyville--Home of The Famous Dickeyville Grotto
Dodgeville--Home of Wisconsin's Oldest Courthouse
Eagle River--Snowmobile Capital of the World
Eau Claire--Horseradish Capital of the World
Edgerton--Tobacco Capital of the World
Ellsworth--Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin
Ephraim--The Last Dry Town in Wisconsin
Fennimore--The Last Stop of the Dinky
Fountain City--Home of the Rock in the House
Franksville--Home of the World Sauerkraut Eating Contest
Fremont--White Bass Capital of the World
Gays Mills--Apple Capital of Wisconsin
Gleasan--Brook Trout Fishing Capital of the World
Glidden--Black Bear Capital of the World
Green Bay--Toilet Paper Capital of the World (also Titletown, U. S. A.)
Hayward--Muskie Capital of the World (also Home of the Fishing Hall of Fame and Home of the Lumberjack World Championship)
Hazel Green--The Point of Beginning Hillsboro--Czech Capital of Wisconsin
Janesville--Wisconsin's Park Place Jefferson--The Gemeutlichkeit City
Juda--Buffalo Roast Capital of Wisconsin Kendall--The Polkafest Capital of Monroe County (and home of General James G. Blaney)
Kewaunee--Home of the World's Largest Grandfather Clock
La Crosse--Home of the World's Largest Six-Pack
Lake Geneva--Newport of the West
Lake Mills--City of the Pyramids
Lancaster--The City of the Dome Lodi--Home of Susie the Duck
Madison--State Capital
Manawa--Rodeo City
Manitowoc--Wisconsin's Maritime Capital
Maple Bluff--Home of the Governor's Mansion
Medford--Home of the Annual Great Black River Rubber Duck Race
Mercer--Loon Capital of the World
Merrimac--Home of the Merrimac Free Ferry
Middleton--The Good Neighbor City
Milwaukee--Famous for Beer (also The City of Festivals)
Mineral Point--Where Wisconsin Began (Wisconsin's Third Oldest City)
Monroe--Swiss Cheese Capital of the World
Montfort--Home of the Fort
Mount Horeb--Troll Capital of the World (also home to the Mustard Museum)
Muscoda--Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconson
Neillsville--Home of the World's Largest Cheese Replica Nekoosa--Home of Walleye Days New Glarus--America's Little Switzerland
New Holstein--Cow Town, U. S. A. Norwalk--Black Squirrel Capital of the World
Oconomowoc--Premiere site for The Wizard of Oz
Onalaska--Sunfish Capital of the World
Oshkosh--Home of the Experimental Aircraft Association
Pardeeville--Home of the Watermelon Seed-Spitting Championship
Park Falls--Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World
Pepin--Birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder
Phillips--Home of Fred Smith's Wisconsin Concrete Park Platteville--Home of the World's Largest man-made "M"
Portage--Where the North Begins (also Home of Zona Gale)
Potosi--Catfish Capital of Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien--Wisconsin's Second Oldest Community
Prairie du Sac--Home of the State Cow Chip Throw
Presque Isle--Walley Capital of the World
Pulaski--Polka Capital of Wisconsin
Racine--The Most Danish City in America (also Kringle Capital of the World)
Reedsburg--Butter Capital of America
Rhinelander--Home of the Hodag
Richland Center--Birthplace of Frank Lloyd Wright Ripon--Birthplace of the Republican Party
Sauk City--Home of August Derleth
Sayner--Birthplace of the Snowmobile
Seymour--Home of the Hamburger
Sheboygan--Bratwurst Capital of the World
Shullsburg--Birthplace of the Badger Nickname Soldier's Grove--Nation's First Solar Village
Somerset--Inner Tubing Capital of the World Sparta--Bicycle Capital of Wisconsin
Stockbridge--Sturgeon Center of the World
Stoughton--Birthplace of the Coffee Break
Sturgeon Bay--Shipbuilding Capital of the Great Lakes
Sun Prairie--Groundhog Capital of the World (Home of Jimmy the Groundhog); (also Birthplace of Georgia O'Keefe)
Taycheedah--Sheepshead Fishing Capital of the World Tomah--Boyhood Home of Frank King
Two Rivers--Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae Warrens--Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin
Washington Island--The Oldest Icelandic Community in the United States
Watertown--Home of the Nation's First Kindgergarten
Waubeka--Birthplace of Flag Day Waunakee--The Only Waunakee in the World
Waupun--The City of Sculpture
Wausau--Ginseng Capital of the World
Wautoma--Christmas Tree Capital of the World
West Allis--Home of the State Fair
Whitewater--Hang Gliding Capital of the Midwest
Winneconne--The Town that Seceded from the State (1967)
Woodman--The Dinky's Last Stop
Famous people from or with connections to Wisconsin
*Note: If your favorite son or daughter of Wisconsin isn't on this list, please e-mail me and I will try to include it in the next update.
Please include their name, why they are well-known, and the city with which they were associated.
Hank Aaron, baseball player and all-time home run leader--Milwaukee
Stephen Ambrose, historian--Whitewater
Alan Ameche, football player and Heisman Trophy winner--Madison
Don Ameche, actor--Kenosha
James Arness, actor--Beloit
Walter Annenberg, Jr., publisher of T. V. Guide--Milwaukee
John Bardeen, 1956 and 1972 Nobel Prize physicist--Madison
Saul Bellow, writer--Madison
John Belushi, actor/comedian--Whitewater
Bunny Berrigan, jazz trumpeter--Fox Lake
Rich Bickle, race car driver--Edgerton
Bonnie Blair, Olympic gold medal speed skater--Milwaukee
Richard Bong, World War II flying ace--Poplar
Ole Bull, violinist--Madison
Connie Carpenter, 1984 Olympic gold medal bicyclist--Madison
Carrie Chapman Catt, woman's suffragist--Ripon
Ellen Corby, actress--Racine
Seymour Cray, inventor, developer of super computers--Chippewa Falls
Joan Cusack, actress--Madison
Kevin Cywinski, NASCAR super trucker--Mosinee
Willem Dafoe, actor--Appleton
Jeffrey Dahmer, serial murderer--Milwaukee
Richard Davis, jazz bassist--Madison
Tyne Daly, actress--Madison
August Derleth, writer--Sauk City
Jeane Dixon, psychic--Medford
Ole Evinrude, inventor of the modern outboard motor--Cambridge
Chris Farley, comedian--Maple Bluff
Edna Ferber, Pulitzer Prize winning author and playwright--Appleton
Harrison Ford, actor--Ripon
Zona Gale, Pulitzer Prize winning dramatist--Portage
Jim Gantner, baseball player & career Milwaukee Brewer--Eden
Hamlin Garland, writer--West Salem
Ed Gein, mass murderer--Plainfield
Heather Graham, actor--Milwaukee
Carie Graves, Olympic gold medal rower--Madison
Peter Graves, actor--Beloit
Owen Gromme, wildlife artist--Milwaukee
Uta Hagen, actress--Madison
Eric Heiden, 1980 5 time Olympic gold medal speed skater--Madison
Woody Herman, clarinetist and big band leader--Milwaukee
Harry Houdini, magician--Appleton
Tom Hulce, actor--Whitewater
Dan Jansen, 1994 Olympic gold medal speed skater--Milwaukee
Al Jarreau, jazz singer--Milwaukee
Kristin Johnson, actress--Milwaukee
Mark Johnson, 1980 Olympic gold medal hockey player--Madison
Skip Kendall, pro golfer--Mequon
George Kennan, Pulitzer Prize winning historian--Milwaukee
Matt Kenseth, race car driver--Cambridge
Frank King, creator of Gasoline Alley comic strip--Cashton
Kathy Kinney, actress--Stevens Point
Ron Kovic, author of Born On The Fourth Of July--Ladysmith
Alan Kulwicki, race car driver--West Allis
Increase Lapham, father of the National Weather Service--Milwaukee
Margery Latimer, writer--Portage
Tom Laughlin, actor and star of Billy Jack--Milwaukee
Joshua Lederberg, geneticist and 1958 Nobel Prize winner for medicine--Madison
Aldo Leopold, environmentalist/writer--Baraboo
Liberace, pianist and entertainer--West Allis
Charles Lindbergh, aviator--Madison
Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach--Green Bay
Allen Ludden, T. V. game show host--Mineral Point
Douglas MacArthur, general of the United States Army--Milwaukee
Fred MacMurray, movie and television actor--Beaver Dam
Helene Madison, 3 time 1932 Olympic gold medal swimmer--Madison
Frederick March, Academy Award winning actor--Racine
Dave Marcis, race car driver--Wausau
Jackie Mason, comedian--Sheyboygan
Joseph McCarthy, politician and Communist hunter--Grand Chute
Kathy McKinney, actress--Milwaukee
Golda Meir, prime minister of Israel--Milwaukee
Harry Melges, Jr., Olympic gold medal yachtsman and America's Cup winner--Zenda
Steve Miller, rock singer--Milwaukee
Newton Minow, F.C.C. chairman--Milwaukee
Billy Mitchell, aviator and U. S. general--Milwaukee
Al Molinaro, actor--Kenosha
Agnes Moorehead, actress--Soldiers Grove
John Muir, conservationist and co-founder of the Sierra Club--Portage
William Parry Murphy, physiologist and 1934 Nobel Prize winner in medicine--Stoughton
Andy North, 1978 and 1985 U. S. Open golf champion--Thorp
Bill Nye, humorist and writer--Grantsburg
Pat O'Brien, movie actor--Milwaukee
Sheila Young Ochowicz, 1976 Olympic gold medal speed skater--West Allis
Georgia O'Keefe, painter--Sun Prairie
Les Paul, musician, inventor of the electric guitar and 8-track tape recorder--Waukesha
Charlotte Rae, television actress--Milwaukee
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, writer--Madison
Nicholas Ray, movie director--Galesburg
Bryan Reffner, NASCAR super trucker--Wisconsin Rapids
William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court--Milwaukee
Gene Rowlands, actress--Cambria
Jay Sauter, NASCAR super trucker--West Salem
Boz Scaggs, singer/musician--Madison
Arnold Schwarzenegger, bodybuilder and movie star--Superior
Christopher Sholes, inventor of the typewriter--Milwaukee
Ben Sidran, jazz pianist--Madison
Deke Slayton, astronaut--Sparta
Tom Snyder, television host--Milwaukee
Edward Steichen, photographer--Milwaukee
Steve Stricker, pro golfer--Edgerton
Darryl Stuermer, musician--Milwaukee
Dr. Howard Teminin, oncologist and 1975 Nobel Prize winner in medicine and physiology--Madison
Spencer Tracy, actor--Milwaukee
Daniel J. Travanti, actor--Kenosha
Dick Trickle, race car driver--Wisconsin Rapids
Frederick Jackson Turner, historian--Portage
Bob Uecker, baseball player and announcer, T. V. actor--Milwaukee
Irving Wallace, writer--Kenosha
Orson Welles, movie writer/director/actor--Kenosha
Eudora Welty, writer--Madison
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet--Waunakee
Gene Wilder, actor/comedian--Milwaukee
Laura Ingalls Wilder, writer--Pepin
Thornton Wilder, Pulitzer Prize winning novelist and playwright--Madison
T. Harry Williams, historian--Hazel Green
Al Woelbing, inventor (of Carmex)--Hartford
Tom Wopat, actor and star of The Dukes of Hazzard--Lodi
Frank Lloyd Wright, architect--Richland Center
and I will try to include it in the next update.
Please include both the town name and its claim to fame.
Albany--The Pearl of the Sugar River
Antigo--The Gateway to Wisconsin's Northwoods
Argyle--Boyhood Home of Bob La Follette
Baraboo--Home of the Ringling Brothers Circus
Bayfield--Gateway to the Apostle Islands
Belleville--U. F. O. Capital of Wisconsin
Belmont--First Capital of Wisconsin
Benton--Mining Capital of Wisconsin
Black Creek--Birthplace of the First Organized National Baseball Team
Boscobel--Birthplace of the Gideon Bible (also Turkey Capital of Wisconsin)
Burlington--Home of the Liars' Club (also Chocolate City, U. S. A.)
Cashton--Home to the Largest Amish Community in Wisconsin
Cobb--Home of the Cobb Corn Roast
Delavan--Clown Town, U. S. A.; also 19th Century Circus Capital of the Nation
Dickeyville--Home of The Famous Dickeyville Grotto
Hillsboro--Czech Capital of Wisconsin
Jefferson--The Gemeutlichkeit City
Kendall--The Polkafest Capital of Monroe County (and home of General James G. Blaney)
Lodi--Home of Susie the Duck
Nekoosa--Home of Walleye Days
New Glarus--America's Little Switzerland
Norwalk--Black Squirrel Capital of the World
Platteville--Home of the World's Largest man-made "M"
Ripon--Birthplace of the Republican Party
Soldier's Grove--Nation's First Solar Village
Sparta--Bicycle Capital of Wisconsin
Tomah--Boyhood Home of Frank King
Warrens--Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin
Waunakee--The Only Waunakee in the World
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