Prior to the Civil War, most of northern Wisconsin was inhabited by the Menominee and Ojibwe Indians, and transient fur traders of European origin. Demand for wood in Chicago and Milwaukee after the Civil War …
Agriculture & Environment
The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea
Free As Well Water In 1894 Adolph Schoenman of Plain, Wisconsin, published a booklet extolling the virtues of the Babcock butterfat test. In a parable explaining its benefits, an astonished Farmer Jones exclaims, “Isn’t that …
The Men Behind the Butterfat Test
The “Real” Inventor Although Stephen M. Babcock has been immortalized for his work on the butterfat test that received his name, it was not really his idea. The Babcock test was originally conceived by the forgotten man …
Becoming the Dairy State
The Decline of Wheat From 1840 to 1880, Wisconsin produced about one-sixth of the nation’s wheat. But soil depletion, insect infestations, plant disease and competition from other states lowered Wisconsin yields and eroded profits. By …