Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

The Ingersoll-Sergeant pneumatic rock drill stands in front of the Rountree Hall Apartments in Platteville, serving as an important symbol of Platteville’s mining history. The drill was manufactured by the Ingersoll-Sergeant Rock Drill Co. sometime between 1888 and 1905. Continued improvements in…

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December 13, 2022

Viroqua / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Curators' Favorites / Vernon County / 1965-1987 / 1987-2011 / Region 6 - South West / Smart Banner

OBJECT HISTORY: Butch Vig’s Drum Set

When the Beatles performed on the February 9, 1964, "Ed Sullivan Show," teenage girls in the studio swooned and those at home went crazy with excitement. Adolescent boys, however, couldn't keep their eyes off band member Ringo Starr's Ludwig drum kit with…

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July 13, 2022

Home Furnishings / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Art & Design / Related Stories / Iowa County / Everyday Life / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / 1918-1945 / Region 6 - South West / Frank Lloyd Wright Pew/Bench

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture

Born in 1867 in Richland City, WI, Frank Lloyd Wright designed nearly 150 buildings in Wisconsin alone, as well as numerous homes and churches across the United States. Wright’s philosophy of matching an architectural structure to its natural environment, along with his…

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August 19, 2021

Blanchardville / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Lafayette County / Everyday Life / Curators' Favorites / 1918-1945 / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Permanent Wave Machine

Prior to the twentieth century, a woman with straight hair who desired curls had to spend hours heating curling irons over a flame or sleep with rags and pins in her hair in order to achieve waves. If she could not attain…

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December 15, 2020

Education / La Farge / Pre-1787 / Ethnicity & Identity / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve / Related Stories / Vernon County / Nature & Environment / Region 6 - South West

Wisconsin’s Ancient History in the Kickapoo Valley

If you look closely, the landscapes around us tell stories about the past. Sometimes in the curve of a road, a line of trees, or stretch of prairie careful observers can find evidence of the people and animals that used to call…

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September 24, 2020

Industry / La Farge / Object Histories / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve / Manufacturing & Trade / Vernon County / Nature & Environment / Politics & Government / 1965-1987 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve

This concrete obelisk stands near the Kickapoo River and is located a mile north of the village of La Farge. It rises nearly a hundred feet above the river valley floor. The tower was constructed more than forty years ago as part…

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September 9, 2020