Wisconsin 101

Early Cheese Factories in New Glarus

Green County has long been known for its cheese factories, particularly ones making Swiss cheese. However, when the first Swiss immigrants arrived it wasn’t at all clear that they would go into cheesemaking at all. New Glarus’s rise to prominence as a…

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April 17, 2023

New Glarus / Dairy Industry / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Industry / Ethnicity & Identity / Green County / 1848-1877 / Everyday Life / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 7 - South Center / Swiss Cheese Kettle

OBJECT HISTORY: Swiss Cheese Kettle

This cheese kettle, now held at the Swiss Historical Village in New Glarus, reflects Green County’s cheesemaking past. Made out of copper because of its ability to retain heat well and to be heated easily on an open fire, this cheese kettle…

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April 17, 2023

Broad History / Education / Grant County / Industry / Platteville / Related Stories / Mining Industry / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

Platteville’s Mining History

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…

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December 21, 2022

Industry / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / Global Connections / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

Eastern European Immigration to Wisconsin

Between the 1880s to the 1920s, a new wave of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe began to arrive in Wisconsin. The Eastern European immigrants included Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Russians, Hungarians, and Bulgarians. Eastern European countries at this time struggled with overpopulation,…

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December 20, 2022

Grant County / Education / Object Histories / Industry / Platteville / Mining Industry / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 6 - South West / Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

OBJECT HISTORY: Ingersoll-Sergeant Pneumatic Rock Drill

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…

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December 13, 2022

Military History / Manitowoc / Object Histories / Industry / Maritime Industry / Manitowoc County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Politics & Government / Region 5 - Center East / Manitowoc's WWII Era Christening Bottle

OBJECT HISTORY: Christening Bottle

Shards of a broken champagne bottle; wrapped in a decorative casing of red, white, and blue fabric; packed with red, white, and blue ribbons inside a 15½” x 5” x 5½” wooden box. This broken bottle was used to christen the USS…

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June 21, 2022