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…

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April 17, 2023

New Glarus / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / 1787-1848 / Green County / 1848-1877 / Global Connections / 1877-1900 / Region 7 - South Center / Swiss Cheese Kettle

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…

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April 17, 2023

Industry / Dairy Industry / New Glarus / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Green County / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 7 - South Center / Swiss Cheese Kettle

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…

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April 17, 2023

Agriculture / New Glarus / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Green County / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Region 7 - South Center / The Hefty-Blum White Barn

The Evolution of a Swiss Barn

The expansion of Wisconsin’s dairy industry in the 20th century not only altered the economy of the state, but it also influenced the structure of the very barns that housed the bovine champions of the industry. Barns must be adapted and altered…

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May 2, 2019

Dairy Industry / Agriculture / Industry / New Glarus / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Green County / Global Connections / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Region 7 - South Center / The Hefty-Blum White Barn

The Swiss Roots of America’s “Dairyland”

When the wheat crop failures of the late nineteenth century jeopardized the incomes of many of Wisconsin’s immigrant farmers, the region’s Swiss population transitioned to a trade that they knew from the Old World: dairying and cheesemaking. To do this, Swiss farmers…

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October 1, 2018

Agriculture / New Glarus / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Green County / Global Connections / 1877-1900 / Region 7 - South Center / The Hefty-Blum White Barn

OBJECT HISTORY: The Hefty-Blum White Barn

Barns are a defining feature of the Wisconsin landscape, and hold a special place in the history of Wisconsin. Among the many barns that contributed to Wisconsin’s place as a major dairy producing state is a Swiss barn that was built in 1878 in Green County. This barn, the Hefty-Blum White Barn, was used to…

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September 10, 2017