Wisconsin 101

Manitowoc’s Maritime Identity

The city of Manitowoc has been deeply shaped by its maritime industry. Located directly on the shores of Lake Michigan, Manitowoc’s identity is intimately tied to the Great Lakes. Manitowoc utilized the access to Lake Michigan to build an economy fueled by…

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May 29, 2023

Orlando Metcalf Poe and Wisconsin’s Waterways

Photograph of Orlando Metcalf Poe. Image courtesy of the Village of Wind Point Brochure. Orlando Metcalf Poe was an engineer who shaped the landscape of Wisconsin’s harbors and waterways, playing a crucial role in the development of Wisconsin’s commerce. Through his lighthouse…

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May 10, 2023

Swiss Immigration to New Glarus

For nearly a century, southeastern Wisconsin and especially Green County was a hotbed of Swiss immigration. Even though the immigration slowed dramatically in the early 1900s, the area still preserves a distinctive Swiss character. Visitors can attend the annual Cheese Days festivities…

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April 17, 2023

Read more about the article Pleasant Ridge: Southwest Wisconsin’s Integrated Pioneer Community

Schoolhouse of District #5 in Pleasant Ridge. Both Blacks and whites built, attended, and taught at the school, circa 1890. Image ID: 4239, WI Historical Society.

Beetown / Grant County / Education / Iowa County / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Pleasant Ridge / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Politics, Society & Government / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

Pleasant Ridge: Southwest Wisconsin’s Integrated Pioneer Community

Schoolhouse of District #5 in Pleasant Ridge. Both Blacks and whites built, attended, and taught at the school, circa 1890. Image ID: 4239, WI Historical Society. Pleasant Ridge was a rural agricultural community located near present-day Beetown in central Grant County that…

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December 21, 2022

Read more about the article Eastern European Immigration to Wisconsin

A Bulgarian miner operating a pneumatic rock drill at a zinc mine in Platteville, circa the early 1900s. Image courtesy of The Mining and Rollo Jamison Museums Platteville, WI.

Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Politics, Society & Government / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

Eastern European Immigration to Wisconsin

Between the 1880s to the 1920s, a new wave of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe began to arrive in Wisconsin. The Eastern European immigrants included Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians, Hungarians, and Bulgarians. Eastern European countries at this time struggled with overpopulation,…

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December 20, 2022

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