Wisconsin 101

Nature’s Purest Drink: The Henk Mineral Spring Company

As a center of the mineral spring water industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Waukesha, Wisconsin, saw the rise of over 200 spring water companies during the period known as the Waukesha Springs Era. With over fifty mineral springs…

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February 19, 2023

Food & Cooking / Waukesha / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1880-1900 / Waukesha County / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

OBJECT HISTORY: Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle. Courtesy of Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum Collection ID: 2009.011.181. Once a small prairie town, Waukesha, Wisconsin became known as Spring City during the late 19th century with the discovery and promotion of healing springs throughout…

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February 19, 2023

Read more about the article The Whiskey War of 1854

The Wisconsin House (left) and Al Ringling Theatre (right). Before the theater was built, the Wisconsin House occupied the land. The Brick Tavern—located within the Wisconsin House—was the main target of the Baraboo Whiskey War, an event that would see its stock dumped. The Theatre was built in 1915 on the same site. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society ID # 29104 & 72938

Baraboo / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / 1840-1860 / Sauk County / Politics, Society & Government / Religion / Region 6 - South West / The Canfield Temperance Case

The Whiskey War of 1854

Alcohol consumption is an integral and often contentious facet of American life and has been for most of the nation’s history. In the 1800s, the public believed alcohol had medicinal properties and regulated health. However, the harmful effects of drunkenness on the…

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October 4, 2022

Home Furnishings / Baraboo / Object Histories / 1840-1860 / Sauk County / Religion / Region 6 - South West / The Canfield Temperance Case

OBJECT HISTORY: The Canfield Temperance Case

The straw case pictured here was created by Cordelia Canfield in 1844. Cordelia was the wife of William Canfield, a noted local historian and surveyor of the Baraboo, WI area. Canfield’s case is approximately 1 foot long with its cap on and…

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October 4, 2022

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

Drawing of the Kohler Company's "Armeda" toilet. Courtesy of the Kohler Co. Archives.

Home Furnishings / Object Histories / Sheboygan / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1920 / Sheboygan County / Region 5 - Center East / The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

OBJECT HISTORY: The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

By the year 1904, when the “Armeda” toilet pictured here appeared in the Kohler Company’s product catalogue, Sheboygan-based Kohler had become one of the largest makers of bathroom furnishings in the United States. Even at this early date in its history, as…

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March 11, 2022

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Marathon / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 2 - North East / 1920-1940 / Marathon Brewing Company "Superfine" Beer Bottle

Marathon City Brewing and the Wee Willy Basketball Team

The Marathon City Brewery sponsored local sports teams like the Wee Willy basketball team, originally known as the Catholic Youth Organization Team, which organized in 1936. Though the team temporarily disbanded during World War II, in the mid-1940s, young men from the…

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September 14, 2021