Because of his long friendship with the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Robert M. La Follette deposited certain of his papers in the Division of Manuscripts of the Society for safekeeping in 1916. On October 1, 1927, his widow formally transferred these papers to the Society. It was agreed, however, that the collection would remain closed for ten years while she wrote a biography of her husband. Mrs. La Follette died in 1931 with the volume uncompleted, and her daughter Fola La Follette Middleton took on the task. Work progressed slowly, and it was necessary for the family to request a number of extensions on the original restriction. After the book, Robert M. La Follette, appeared in 1953, the Society opened the La Follette Papers to the public. The papers have since remained one of the most heavily used of the Society's collections.
This collection is available both in original paper form as well as on microfilm. The microfilm edition of the La Follette Papers includes papers from other sources. The 1922 and 1924 correspondence in Series 4: Wisconsin Republican Party Records is borrowed from the papers of Philip Fox La Follette, which were donated to the Society in 1959. The eleven volumes from the La Follette, Harper, Roe, and Zimmerman law partnership included in Series 5: Financial Records and Series 6: Miscellaneous Volumes were a gift of Mrs. A. G. Zimmerman in 1938. The volume of Messages to the Legislature in Series 2: Governor's Letterbooks is from the Governor's Messages to the Legislature, 1899-1905, Series No. 1/1/12-4, State of Wisconsin Archives.
