Digitized Tornado Photos

1958 Colfax Tornado

As part of a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Colfax Public Library has digitized the collection of the 1958 tornado photographs taken my professional photographer, Ron A. Blakeley. These items are now part of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections’ (UWDC) State of Wisconsin Collection and are freely available online. The ability to keyword search the text and images is a great new tool for local history research. In addition, having digital copies of the 1958 Colfax tornado pictures preserves it for future generations.


The Colfax 1958 tornado photographs are part of a larger regional collection entitled Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, St. Croix, and Rusk Counties: Local History Collections. This collection showcases selections from the local history collections of the Baldwin Public Library, Chippewa Falls Public Library, L.E. Phillips Memorial Library in Eau Claire, Rusk County Community Library in Ladysmith, Pepin Public Library, Somerset Public Library, Menomonie Public Library, Colfax Public Library, Durand Community Library, Woodville Community Library, and Carleton A. Friday Memorial Library in New Richmond. These libraries, and several other Indianhead Federated Library System members, serve as repositories for important local history documents. The Indianhead Federated Library System is comprised of 53 member public libraries in West-Central and Northwestern Wisconsin.

The Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, St. Croix, and Rusk Counties: Local History Collection was funded, in part, through a 2010 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant. These grants provide financial support for public libraries to digitize and make available online, their local library resources. For more information about LSTA grants in Wisconsin, contact the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Division for Libraries, Technology, and Community Learning or visit the LSTA grant Web site at http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dltcl/pld/lsta.html.

To access the 1958 Colfax tornado photographs, go to http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.IndianheadLocHist. There are many other valuable Wisconsin resources on the UWDC site. If you need assistance, please call the Colfax Public Library @ 715-962-4334, or stop by for more information.