Wisconsin 101

Early Cheese Factories in New Glarus

Green County has long been known for its cheese factories, particularly ones making Swiss cheese. However, when the first Swiss immigrants arrived it wasn’t at all clear that they would go into cheesemaking at all. New Glarus’s rise to prominence as a…

0 Comments

April 17, 2023

Green County / Region 7 - South Center / New Glarus / Related Stories / Swiss Cheese Kettle / 1840-1860 / Politics, Society & Government / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections

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…

0 Comments

April 17, 2023

Green County / Region 7 - South Center / New Glarus / New Object Histories / Swiss Cheese Kettle / Food & Cooking / 1860-1880 / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Global Connections

OBJECT HISTORY: Swiss Cheese Kettle

This cheese kettle, now held at the Swiss Historical Village in New Glarus, reflects Green County’s cheesemaking past. Made out of copper because of its ability to retain heat well and to be heated easily on an open fire, this cheese kettle…

0 Comments

April 17, 2023

Read more about the article The History of Smart Studios

Exterior of Smart Studios at 1254 East Washington Avenue, Madison, WI. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 243309.

Dane County / Madison / 2000-2020 / Region 7 - South Center / Related Stories / Smart Banner / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000

The History of Smart Studios

Smart Studios, founded by Butch Vig and Steve Marker, was a recording studio located on Madison’s east side. Over its twenty-seven years of operation, Smart Studios was responsible for producing music for both local acts and world-famous artists in the late twentieth…

0 Comments

July 13, 2022

Read more about the article Garbage’s Origins in Madison

Garbage band members (pictured left to right) Steve Marker, Butch Vig, Shirley Manson, and Duke Erikson. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 93605.

Dane County / Madison / Region 7 - South Center / Related Stories / Smart Banner / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1980-2000

Garbage’s Origins in Madison

Out of all the bands and musicians who have roots in Wisconsin’s capitol city, Garbage is perhaps one of the most successful products of the Madison music scene, having sold more than seventeen million albums worldwide over the course of their career.Garbage…

0 Comments

July 13, 2022

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: “SMART” Banner by Dennis Nechvatal

“SMART” Banner by Dennis Nechvatal, Madison, WI, 1983. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society ID #2011.63.2

Madison / Region 7 - South Center / Smart Banner / Dane County / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / 1980-2000

OBJECT HISTORY: “SMART” Banner by Dennis Nechvatal

“SMART” Banner by Dennis Nechvatal, Madison, WI, 1983. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society ID #2011.63.2 Not many people would expect that some of the most legendary music of the late twentieth and early twenty first century was made right here in…

0 Comments

June 24, 2022