Wisconsin or Miss Forward?

The Statue Many Get Wrong

by Semaia Zerezghi, age 10

Who is the statue atop the Wisconsin State Capitol? She might not be who you think she is, and you might find the truth surprising.

Many people mistake the golden statue atop the Capitol as “Miss Forward.” “Miss Forward” actually stands at the State Street corner of the Capitol Square, and the statue atop the Capitol is called “Wisconsin.”

Most people mistake “Wisconsin” for “Miss Forward” because “Wisconsin” was placed on top of the State Capitol dome as a symbol of the state motto “Forward” and also represents “the spirit of Wisconsin progress.”

Wisconsin was built in 1914 by Daniel Chester French, the same artist who created the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. Wisconsin is 15 feet and five inches tall, and she weighs 3 tons. She holds a globe with an eagle on top in her right hand. She also wears a helmet with a badger, the state animal.

The original “Miss Forward” was built in 1990 by Jean Pond Miner for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The replica of “Miss Forward” is on display at the State Street corner of the square. The original Miss Forward was damaged by Wisconsin weather. She now rests in the Wisconsin Historical Society.

It can be easy to misidentify both statues, as they resemble each other, and both have an important meaning to Wisconsin.

[Source: Isthmus; Alumni Park; State of Wisconsin; Wisconsin Public Radio]