Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: A Hudson’s Bay Company Point Blanket Coat

This wool coat was constructed from a ‘point blanket’ made by the Hudson’s Bay Company, likely during the early 1920s. A Wausau businessman wore it at one of the town’s early Winter Frolics, an annual winter sports festival that attracted tourists from as far as Chicago. The businessman belonged to a group of local business…

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February 1, 2018

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Kenosha County / Kenosha / Industry / Object Histories / Wisconsin Made / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Sterling Safety Bicycle

OBJECT HISTORY: Sterling Safety Bicycle

What did a bicycle rider in 1890 look for in a new bike? Safety and comfort, of course, but also beautiful construction—many of the same qualities that contemporary bicycle riders also seek. Sterling Bicycle advertisement featuring Annie Oakley on the safety bicycle, 1890s. The bicycle pictured here was donated to the Wisconsin Historical Museum, where it…

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April 10, 2017

Menomonie / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Education / Related Stories / Dunn County / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Region 3 - Center West / Wilson Place Door

The Stout Institute and Educational Innovation

Wilson Place Mansion in Menomonie, Wisconsin, was once the home of James Huff Stout (1848-1910), a lumber baron, longtime state senator, and philanthropist. He is best known for founding the Stout Institute, now the University of Wisconsin-Stout. According to local tradition, Stout…

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March 9, 2016

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Home Furnishings / Art & Design / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Wilson Place Door

The Arts & Crafts Movement

Wisconsin’s Stout Institute is a major landmark of educational innovation in state history. With its emphasis on creativity as well as vocational preparation, the school was greatly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, then a major force in artistic, cultural, and progressive political…

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March 7, 2016

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Menomonie / Art & Design / Education / Object Histories / Dunn County / 1877-1900 / Region 3 - Center West / Wilson Place Door

OBJECT HISTORY: Wilson Place Door

The Wilson Place Mansion front door was crafted at the turn of the twentieth century, likely by a well-known Arts and Crafts Movement blacksmith named Thomas F. Googerty. Wilson Place Mansion was the home of James Huff Stout, a lumber baron, longtime state senator, and philanthropist. Area tradition has it that the door was fashioned to honor Stout,…

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March 7, 2016

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Antigo / Wisconsin Made / Langlade County / Sports & Games / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / 1945-1965 / Region 2 - North East / Vulcan Bowling Pin

OBJECT HISTORY: Vulcan Bowling Pin

This bowling pin was produced by the Vulcan Corporation in Antigo, Wisconsin, sometime in the late 1950s after Vulcan had introduced its patented “Nyl-Tuf Supreme” plastic coating (as indicated by the pin’s red label).

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February 1, 2016