Wisconsin 101

Norwegian Communities in Wisconsin

When Norwegian immigrants like Kristian Magelssen came to Wisconsin in the 1860s, they found an incredibly active Norwegian Lutheran Church. Comprised of fourteen distinct synods often divided by theology, these institutions provided a foundational compass for constructing and maintaining a sense Norwegian…

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July 1, 2019

Art & Design / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Home Furnishings / Lake Koshkonong / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1877-1900 / Jefferson County / Region 7 - South Center / Norwegian Genealogical Plaque

OBJECT HISTORY: Norwegian Genealogical Plaque

Created in 1879, this beautiful plaque features the genealogy of Sara Magelssen's family, including the story of her and her husband's immigration to Wisconsin in the 1860s.

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July 1, 2019

Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Everyday Life / Global Connections / 1877-1900 / Norwegians / Old World Wisconsin

OBJECT HISTORY: Lefse Stone

Can you think of a time when someone wanted you to eat something new? Did you eat it? For many people, if they saw lefse on a plate, they would not know what it was. Lefse looks like a tortilla, but it…

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December 1, 2018

Home Furnishings / Indigenous Wisconsin / Industry / Pre-1787 / Object Histories / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / 1787-1848 / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Fur Trade

OBJECT HISTORY: Trade Blanket

This blanket, ordinary though it may seem, tells the story of an important meeting of cultures that occurred in Wisconsin between 1634 and 1763. Not long after the explorer Jean Nicolet first set foot in Wisconsin, French traders saw an opportunity to make money by sending beaver furs back to Europe for use in stylish…

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October 15, 2018

Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Ethnicity & Identity / 1787-1848 / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: Pasty

The lead mining industry of the 1830s and 1840s brought miners from Cornwall, England to southwestern Wisconsin. The miners brought Cornish traditions like the pasty, a filling food for hungry miners. The availability of pasties today demonstrates the lasting traditions of early European immigrants in Wisconsin. Pasties are folded pastries filled with meat and vegetables.…

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October 15, 2018

Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Oshkosh / Everyday Life / A Hmong Baby Sash / Global Connections / 1965-1987 / Winnebago County / Region 5 - Center East

OBJECT HISTORY: Hmong Baby Carrier

This Hmong cloth baby carrier was hand-stitched in Thailand around 1987, and its history helps tell part of the story of the Hmong community in this State. A young woman named Kia Vang crafted the carrier inside a refugee camp located in Loei province to transport her unborn child to Oshkosh, Wisconsin after the Vietnam…

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October 1, 2018