J Tyler Friedman

Discussing "Among the Wonders of the Dells."

press release: More than four million visitors travel each year to the Wisconsin Dells, making it the most economically significant tourist destination in the state. After the first non-Native settlers arrived in the late 1830s, photographers began capturing images of the region. H. H. Bennett marketed his iconic images, some of which exploited the image and history of the Ho-Chunk tribe living in the region, to travel agents who sold them across the United States, encouraging early tourism in the area focused on the untamed nature of the frontier. In the next century, this continued desire for adventure was built into exotic hotel names, water parks, and amusement rides.