Wisconsin Death Trip

Wisconsin Death Trip is a historical nonfiction book by Michael Lesy, originally published by Pantheon Books in 1973. The work charts numerous sordid, tragic, and bizarre incidents that took place in and around Jackson County, Wisconsin—primarily in the town of Black River Falls—between 1885 and 1900. The narrative is constructed from actual written historical documents, primarily articles from the town newspaper, the Badger State Banner, as well as excerpts from literary works. It is accompanied by approximately 200 contemporaneous photographs and portraits taken by photographer Charles Van Schaick. The book explores the harsh aspects of Midwestern rural life under the pressures of crime, pestilence, mental illness, and urbanization during the American Frontier expansion.