Timeline: Pre-1860

Image description: A black-and-white portrait-style photo of Electa Quinney.

Electa Quinney

Electa "Wuhwehweeheemeew" Quinney was Wisconsin's first public schoolteacher.
Image description: A black-and-white headshot of Caroline Quarlls.

Caroline Quarlls

At age 16, Caroline Quarlls was the first known person to escape slavery through Wisconsin’s Underground Railroad network.
Image description: An artistic depiction of a Ho-Chunk settlement in the 1700s.

Ho-poe-kaw Glory of the Morning

Ho-poe-kaw, which translates to “Glory of the Morning,” was a Ho-Chunk chief in the 1700s.
Image description: A black-and-white photo of Elizabeth Baird leaning against a table.

Elizabeth Baird

Elizabeth Baird’s newspaper stories about the developing Green Bay area in the 1800s were among the earliest written accounts of life in Wisconsin.