Wisconsin 101

Curling’s Growth in Wisconsin

When the Scottish migrated to the United States in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they brought more with them then just bagpipes; they brought the growth of curling, a winter sport in which the players slide heavy granite blocks across icy terrain…

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June 20, 2024

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Columbia County / Broad History / Lodi / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Sports & Games / Global Connections / Society & Religion / Region 7 - South Center / Wooden Curling Stone

The Lodi Curling Club: 150 Years of Curling

How do you bring leisure and fun to a newly founded city? Build a curling club of course! At least that’s what James Otis Eaton did just over a decade after the small Wisconsin town of Lodi was officially founded in 1869.…

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June 20, 2024

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Columbia County / Lodi / Object Histories / Sports & Games / 1877-1900 / Region 7 - South Center / Wooden Curling Stone

OBJECT HISTORY: Wooden Curling Stone

A stone slides across the ice as millions of people hold their breath. Furiously, two men sweep their brooms across the ice, attempting guide the hurdling block of granite to its destination. The stone slows to a crawl, hovering across the slick…

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June 20, 2024

Columbia County / Wisconsin Dells / Related Stories / Everyday Life / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Images of the Wisconsin Dells (Waterparks Not Included!)

More than a century before the Wisconsin Dells became the "Waterpark Capital of the World," it was a famous tourist destination known for its scenic beauty. Guides began taking sightseers in rowboats along the Wisconsin River as early as the 1850s, and…

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February 21, 2024

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

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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April 6, 2020

Prairie du Chien / Broad History / Brown County / Green Bay / Columbia County / Crawford County / Industry / Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Hamburg / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Marathon County / Global Connections / 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 / Fur Trade

Fashion and Fur

The End of the Old Fur Trade The 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…

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January 1, 2017