Lyman Copeland Draper was a pioneer in the cause of history. An inveterate antiquarian, librarian, and romantic, he served as corresponding secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin from 1854 until 1887. For the society he acquired books, pamphlets, newspapers, manuscripts, portraits, and autographs that helped to illuminate the early history of a region not far removed from wilderness. Simultaneously, he was driven to build a personal collection of original documents, transcriptions, correspondence, and interview notes, all attesting to his primal belief in the importance of Western history. Never able to produce the many volumes he planned to write, Draper still found a way to turn his compulsion for research into a monument all its own. For over thirty years, as he headed the State Historical Society, his creative and determined spirit led that fledgling institution to a position of national prominence. His talent laid the foundation for one...