Welcome to Wisconsin
Though the first Europeans to reach the region were French the area came under British rule at the end of the French and Indian War, in 1763. About twenty years later, after the American Revolution ended, the land officially became part of the new country.
In the 1820s a lead-mining boom brought many settlers to the region. Native Americans fought to defend their homeland, but by 1832 most of the battles had stopped. The Wisconsin Territory was named in 1836, and in 1848 Wisconsin became a U.S. state.
Shortly before the Civil War, people met in Wisconsin to discuss stopping the spread of slavery, which resulted in the creation of the Republican Party. (The Democratic Party’s roots go back to Thomas Jefferson’s followers in 1792.) Ripon Wisconsin has preserved the white schoolhouse where the party was started.
Black bears, elk, white-tailed deer, muskrats, porcupines and flying squirrels roam the state. Downy woodpeckers, eastern bluebirds, purple finches, red-winged blackbirds, and robins (the state bird) are some common fliers.
The sugar maple is Wisconsin’s state tree, and it’s loved not only for its sap, which is used to make maple syrup, but for its leaves that turn bright red, orange, and yellow during fall. Red cedar, hemlock, ash, and black oak are other common native trees.
This is the bonus cache for the Adventure Lab, "Welcome To Wisconsin." The full coords for the location are provided when you complete the Adventrue Lab