Abstract: Harry J. Hirshheimer was born in La Crosse in 1871. The son of prominent La Crosse businessman, Hirshheimer was well known as a local historian. He collaborated with Albert H. Sanford in writing A History of La Crosse 1841-1900 , and died in 1952, shortly after the book’s publication. These papers constitute materials collected by Hirshheimer while working on his book, The History of La Crosse 1841-1900 , and while doing research for his radio broadcasts on local history and his papers presented to the La Crosse County Historical Society.