Hosted by the University of Wisconsin Union team since 1940, and meant as a way to invite the university community to take part in outdoor recreation and celebrate the season, the Winter Carnival is one of the most iconic events on Madison’s…
Gay history in Wisconsin, while often focused on major cities like Madison and Milwaukee, was also being made in the often-overlooked rural parts of the state. One such place is the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where a coalition of gay students founded…
Gay students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have not always received the protection they do today; in fact, from 1962-1963 the university attempted to systematically identify and expel gay students. The Dean of Men, in collaboration with Student Health Services and the…
The Platteville lead boom spanned from 1827 to 1849, bringing diverse groups of people and the mining industry to what would later become southwest Wisconsin. In 1827, galena (lead ore) was discovered in Platteville by frontiersmen exploring the Northwest Territory, which included…
The Ingersoll-Sergeant pneumatic rock drill stands in front of the Rountree Hall Apartments in Platteville, serving as an important symbol of Platteville’s mining history. The drill was manufactured by the Ingersoll-Sergeant Rock Drill Co. sometime between 1888 and 1905. Continued improvements in…
During World War II, Americans on the home front searched for ways to become involved in the war effort. Victory gardens, scrap metal drives, and the sale and purchase of war bonds all rose in popularity to support the US military. Certain…