Queer Wisconsin — A living history of LGBTQ+ life in Wisconsin

A living history of LGBTQ+ life in Wisconsin

About Queer Wisconsin

Our mission

An archive of the people, places, bars, businesses, organizations, and events that shaped LGBTQ+ history across Wisconsin.

A searchable, structured archive of people, places, bars, organizations, events, and media — built to preserve facts, memories, and the love woven through Wisconsin queer history. We document bars, businesses, people, organizations, events, and places across the state with neutral, factual writing and clear citations to source material.

Our partner in Wisconsin LGBTQ history

Independent. Inspired. Relentless.

The Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project is an active, volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Don Schwamb in 1994. The Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project documents, preserves, elevates and celebrates Wisconsin's hidden histories — reconnecting the state with its lost heritage to inspire a more inclusive future.

Where to go for what: WLHP is the place for News, articles, walking tours, exhibits, podcasts, ongoing research, and community events that keep Wisconsin's LGBTQ story moving forward.. Queer Wisconsin is a separate, independent archive — searchable records, citations, and community contributions built to preserve Wisconsin queer history.

WLHP is an active, volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Visit their site for the latest news, blog posts, tours, and ways to support their work.

We are grateful for WLHP's decades of research and wholeheartedly support their work. For current news, events, and ways to contribute to their nonprofit, please visit wislgbthistory.com.

Queer Wisconsin is an independent archive project, built with deep respect and gratitude for the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project. Much of our foundational research draws on decades of their volunteer work, shared under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. We cheer on WLHP's mission and wish them every continued success.

How to contribute

Know a correction, a memory, a photo, or a missing entry? Sign in to contribute. Submissions are reviewed before anything is published.

You can also suggest edits from any entry page. We welcome names, dates, addresses, and scanned ephemera with permission to share.

Credits

Website design and software: Billie Hawkins, Soniq Designs . Custom built for the Queer Wisconsin history project.

Historical facts and images adapted from the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project (Don Schwamb), licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Many entry sources link to the WLHP research archive at archive.wislgbthistory.com.

Archive prose on this site is rewritten into neutral field data; we do not republish source text verbatim.

Contact

Questions about the archive or permissions: admin@queerwisconsin.org