Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article Frank Lloyd Wright’s Organic Architecture

Delonge Studio, Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright, c. 1930. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Image ID 26555.

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

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Beaver Felt Hat

Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Industry / Prairie du Chien / Fur Trade / Brown County / Columbia County / Crawford County / Green Bay / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Curators' Favorites / Everyday Life / 1787-1848 / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 5 - Center East / Region 6 - South West / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: Beaver Felt Hat

The beaver felt hat was one of the main reasons for the success of the fur trade in northern states, such as Wisconsin, and in Canada. But why was this hat more popular than others? Clothing allows for people to choose their…

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October 6, 2020

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

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

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Pasty

A pasty. Image via Flickr.

Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1787-1848 / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Pasty

The lead mining industry of the 1830s and 1840s brought miners from Cornwall, England to southwestern Wisconsin. The miners brought Cornish traditions like the pasty, a filling food for hungry miners. The availability of pasties today demonstrates the lasting traditions of early European immigrants in Wisconsin. Pasties are folded pastries filled with meat and vegetables.…

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September 10, 2020

Blanchardville / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Everyday Life / Curators' Favorites / Lafayette County / 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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September 10, 2020

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

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