Making History in Central North America

Based on the world-renowned collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago, “Frontier to Heartland” offers access to historical primary sources, scholarly perspectives on the past, and resources to help you use the site.

Perspectives

Essays with a point of view

In words and pictures Perspectives explain how central North America came to be known as a "frontier" and then a "heartland." You can trace the history of the region over 400 years, consider the cultural power of images, or learn how to read historic maps.

Galleries

Thematic collections of images

Galleries are a quick way to view a range of themes in Frontier to Heartland.  Each gallery presents eight related images and links to the image collection.

Browse Archive

Seven Days of the Life of a Soldier

Thompson, Alexander Ramsay, 1793-1837
Manuscript account by Major Alexander Thompson of a canoe journey from Green Bay to Mackinac Island, between June 1 and June 23, 1831. Accompanied by William Holiday, proprietor of an American Fur…

Photograph of Elizabeth Packard

As a result of disagreements over religion and money, Theophilus Packard committed his wife of twenty-one years, Elizabeth Ware Packard, to the Illinois insane asylum in 1860. Three years later,…

E.F. Garry to Mr. Lane on Pullman Saving Plan

In the 1920s a growing number of large industrial employers developed welfare, recreation, and representation programs for their employees. This letter, between executives of the Pullman Company,…

Fur trade contract, 1692

Francoeur, François
Fur trade contract, dated Sept. 15, 1692 in Ville-Marie, Québec, concerning transport of merchandise to Michilimackinac and Chicago to be traded for beaver pelts. The contract describes an agreement…

Residence of Ira A. Warren, Emmett Township, Calhoun County, Michigan

Pierce, H. B.
Ira and Susan Warren resided in Calhoun, County, Michigan, near the city of Battle Creek. They likely paid in advance for a copy of the History of Calhoun County, receiving in exchange a biographic…

St. Patrick's Costume Ball

This flyer from Chicago's Dill Pickle Club announces a costume ball on St. Patrick's Day, 1925. Oral histories suggest that masquerade balls at this and other clubs were an important part of the…

Capture of Louis Riel by the Scouts Armstrong and Howie, May 15, 1885

Louis Riel was a Métis leader who headed a provisional government in opposition to the Canadian government in 1885. The "Riel Rebellion" was defeated militarily and Riel was convicted of treason and…

Chicago Day, 1893 World's Fair

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942
716,881 people attended the World's Columbian Exposition on "Chicago Day," October 9, 1893.
Four more random images