Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Old Abe, the Live War Eagle

A bald eagle stands guard over the State Assembly Chamber in Wisconsin’s Capitol building. Between two and three feet tall, the raptor has the characteristic white head and tail feathers, a brown body, and a yellow beak and talons. He sits atop a tree stump in front of a large mural called Wisconsin that represents the state’s…

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September 10, 2020

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Madison / Object Histories / Global Connections / Nature & Environment / 1900-1920 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Madison-Style Ice Boat

OBJECT HISTORY: Madison-Style Ice Boat Model

This miniature ice boat was originally built in Madison, Wisconsin about 1916-1917 by a member of the Bernard family. Carl Bernard grew up in the culture of ice boating and began making models of them at a young age. Creating models helped the Bernards try new innovative building techniques and were also raced for fun.

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September 9, 2020

Dane County / Madison / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / 1940-1960 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

OBJECT HISTORY: Babcock Ice Cream Carton

Ice cream has been a delicacy for hundreds of years, but in the last century, Wisconsin has come to be considered home to some of the world’s best ice cream. Babcock Hall, established in 1951, has contributed to this reputation, establishing ice cream as a symbol both of Wisconsin’s dairy farming past and its appeal…

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September 9, 2020

Dane County / Madison / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

OBJECT HISTORY: Babcock Butterfat Tester

The Babcock butterfat test, developed at the University of Wisconsin, provided a simple, accurate, and inexpensive way to assess milk quality and to pay farmers accordingly. By improving standards and rewarding the best milk producers, the Babcock butterfat test transformed the dairy industry in the United States and set Wisconsin firmly on the path to…

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September 9, 2020

Read more about the article Ice Boating in Madison: A Bernard Family Tradition

A gathering of gaff-rigged, stern-steering ice boats and their captains on Lake Mendota, 1896. Source: WHI 2074

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Madison / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / Global Connections / 1840-1860 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Madison-Style Ice Boat

Ice Boating in Madison: A Bernard Family Tradition

Ice boating for sport began along New York's upper Hudson River around the Civil War and soon spread to other cold weather locations. An 1878 article in Harper's Weekly includes an engraving of ice boating in Madison. The city quickly became a center for ice boating in North America, a distinction held for over a century.

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March 27, 2020

Read more about the article The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Handlers exhibit the University dairy herd for students at the Farmers Course, UW Stock Pavilion, 1900-1920. Part of the Frank N. Campbell Slide Collection. Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Archives.

Food & Cooking / Dane County / Madison / Education / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

The Babcock Tester and the Wisconsin Idea

Free As Well WaterIn 1894 Adolph Schoenman of Plain, Wisconsin, published a booklet extolling the virtues of the Babcock butterfat test. In a parable explaining its benefits, an astonished Farmer Jones exclaims, “Isn’t that a dandy little machine, though? I suppose, of…

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December 1, 2013