Wisconsin 101

From Cow Feed to Korn Kurl

By the mid-1930s, the Flakall Corporation was trying to build up a customer base for its machine, a version of the feed grinder initially designed and built by Clair Mathews. But, as it turned out, the machine would end up being more useful for snack food manufacturers than farmers.

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September 23, 2019

Williams Bay / Object Histories / Education / Walworth County / 1880-1900 / Yerkes Telescope / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: Yerkes Telescope

The 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, contains the world’s largest refracting lenses. Built in 1895, the telescope contains two lenses, one made of crown glass, and one made of flint glass. The lenses are each 40 inches in diameter, weigh 500 pounds, and have a 62-foot focal length. The telescope and observatory…

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September 10, 2019

Object Histories / Clothing & Fashion / Door County / Sturgeon Bay / 1940-1960 / Science & Medicine / X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

OBJECT HISTORY: X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

Intended to help customers get the perfect pair of shoes, X-Ray shoe fitting machines like this one from Sturgeon Bay were popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

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September 10, 2019

Object Histories / Whitewater / Jefferson County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1860-1880 / Nature & Environment / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Esterly Broadcast Seeder

OBJECT HISTORY: Esterly Broadcast Seeder

George Esterly, a southern Wisconsin farmer and inventor, helped revolutionize farming practices across the nation with the creation of the Broadcast Seeder.

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May 9, 2019

New Glarus / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Green County / 1860-1880 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Science & Medicine / 1960-1980 / 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

Brown County / Green Bay / Object Histories / Le Maire Sundial / Global Connections / Science & Medicine / Region 5 - Center East

OBJECT HISTORY: Le Maire Sundial

The Le Maire Sundial is a rare example of a mid-18th century French sundial (cadran solaire) compass (boussole). It was found near Green Bay in 1902 by a local antiquities collector, Frank Duchateau. The sundial is broken, missing its glass compass cover as well as the back of its gnomon holder. Located on the front surface,…

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March 9, 2019