Wisconsin 101

Slavery in Wisconsin

Slavery in Wisconsin

It may come as a surprise to learn that during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries slavery existed in the region that would become the state of Wisconsin. Over this period, thousands of enslaved African Americans or enslaved American Indians lived and…

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September 11, 2018

Industry / Mining Industry / Object Histories / Grant County / Ethnicity & Identity / Platteville / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Region 6 - South West / James D. Williams' Windlass

OBJECT HISTORY: James D. Williams’ Windlass

This is a machine used to lower and raise miners and materials through mine shafts in the lead mining region around Platteville, Wisconsin. Made from wooden supports with a wooden barrel shaft and crank attached to a rope with a bucket, a…

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January 9, 2018

Industry / Mining Industry / Grant County / Object Histories / Iowa County / 1787-1848 / Lafayette County / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Galena

Galena, the official state mineral of Wisconsin, is the raw material used to produce lead. During the Wisconsin “lead rush” of the 1820s-40s, lead was more valuable than gold. That is because just about everybody, rich or poor, used objects made of lead in their daily lives – products that ranged from plumbing to toothpaste!…

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December 9, 2017

Wisconsin Made / Industry / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Ellenboro / Grant County / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 6 - South West / Sterling Safety Bicycle

OBJECT HISTORY: The Crab Tree Special

In the 1890s, mass-produced safety bicycles sparked a bicycle craze across Wisconsin. However, despite the lowered costs associated with mass production, not everyone could afford this new luxury. Walter Atkinson of Ellenboro, Wisconsin, was not going to let a $100 price tag deter him from experiencing the liberating power of bicycle transportation. Tapping into the…

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September 10, 2017

Read more about the article Fashion and Fur

The history of fur and fashion runs deep in North America. October 1953 issue of Vogue.

Prairie du Chien / Fur Trade / Broad History / Industry / Green Bay / Milwaukee / Brown County / Columbia County / Crawford County / Milwaukee County / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Related Stories / Hamburg / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 4 - Center / Region 5 - Center East / Region 6 - South West / Region 7 - South Center / Region 8 - South East / Fromm Fox Fur Coat

Fashion and Fur

The End of the Old Fur TradeThe development of fur farms at the close of the 19th century was perhaps the most revolutionary change in North America’s fur industry, and fashion played a significant role in that change. Beaver pelts had been the…

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January 1, 2017

Read more about the article Becoming the Dairy State

A woman runs the milking operation at the G.L. Hamon dairy farm, Juda, Wisconsin, circa 1929. Image courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 24439.

Agriculture / Industry / Dairy Industry / Education / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 4 - Center / Region 6 - South West / Region 7 - South Center / Region 8 - South East / Babcock Butterfat Tester

Becoming the Dairy State

The Decline of WheatFrom 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 1880, wheat supremacy had passed westward to Minnesota…

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December 1, 2013