Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Lefebers’ Glass Plate Negatives

Kodachrome? Fujifilm? Ektachrome? All too modern! We're stepping back more than a century to an era when photographers used glass plates – not film – to capture an image. Glass plate negatives can be professionally restored and digitally scanned. These before-and-after images are…

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January 25, 2024

Racine / Maritime Industry / Industry / Object Histories / Racine County / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Wind Point Lighthouse

OBJECT HISTORY: Wind Point Lighthouse

Wind Point Lighthouse is located in the Village of Wind Point, which sits just north of the Racine harbor on Lake Michigan. The lighthouse was constructed in 1880 and stands 108 feet high. In 1870 the U.S. Lighthouse Board, a federal agency…

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May 10, 2023

Health & Medicine / Waukesha / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Waukesha County / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

The Saratoga of the West: Resort Culture in the Waukesha Springs Era

Famed for its healing properties, the mineral spring water of Waukesha, Wisconsin grew widely popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Waukesha Springs Era (1868-1914) saw the rise of over 200 spring water companies and a robust resort culture.…

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February 20, 2023

Waukesha / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Everyday Life / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / Waukesha County / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

Nature’s Purest Drink: The Henk Mineral Spring Company

As a center of the mineral spring water industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Waukesha, Wisconsin, saw the rise of over 200 spring water companies during the period known as the Waukesha Springs Era. With over fifty mineral springs…

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February 19, 2023

Waukesha / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Everyday Life / 1877-1900 / Nature & Environment / Waukesha County / Science & Medicine / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

OBJECT HISTORY: Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

Once a small prairie town, Waukesha, Wisconsin became known as Spring City during the late 19th century with the discovery and promotion of healing springs throughout the county. Through marketing and advertisement, Waukesha’s mineral spring water gained a reputation for its purity…

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February 19, 2023

Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Industry / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / The Harley-Davidson V-Twin Engine

Beyond the Dirt Track: Harley-Davidson Expands to New Markets

Harley-Davidson motorcycles may have had their first exposure on the dirt-track racing circuits of the early 1900s, but their legacy did not end with extreme sports. 1908 marked the Milwaukee Police Department’s creation of its novel “motorcycle unit.” Consisting of just five…

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June 18, 2022