John Muir was a man who liked to wander, but with a purpose. His affinity for the natural world in all of its manifestations was omnipresent in his writings as well as in his efforts to assure that future generations would be able to see some of the landscapes that he surveyed in the 19th century. While Muir spent some of his formative years in Wisconsin, after leaving the University of Wisconsin,...

From his days as a young man studying at the University of Wisconsin to his time in the wilderness areas of California, John Muir evolved from a "fundamental Christian to tree-hugging Transcendentalist", and these rather glorious letters that he wrote during this long period are now available on this site, provided by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Here visitors can peruse more than 100 pages...