Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Beaver Felt Hat

The beaver felt hat was one of the main reasons for the success of the fur trade in northern states, such as Wisconsin, and in Canada. But why was this hat more popular than others? Clothing allows for people to choose their…

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April 6, 2020

Agriculture / Food & Cooking / Industry / Beloit / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / Rock County / 1918-1945 / 1945-1965 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Clair Mathews' Feed Grinder

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

Agriculture / Beloit / Object Histories / Wisconsin Made / Manufacturing & Trade / Rock County / 1918-1945 / Region 7 - South Center / Clair Mathews' Feed Grinder

OBJECT HISTORY: Clair Mathews’s Feed Grinder

Recognizing the need to grind feed for his dairy cows, but unable to afford a mill, Clair Mathews designed his own version of a feed grinder. That grinder would inadvertently create the snack that would come to be known as Korn Kurls.

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September 23, 2019

Greenbush / Object Histories / Industry / Lumber Industry / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Sheboygan County / Region 5 - Center East / Wade House Museum

OBJECT HISTORY: The Muley Sawmill

If you grew up in Wisconsin, you may be familiar with some of Wisconsin’s forests like the Black River forest, Menominee forest, or the Chequamegon-Nicolet forest. For hundreds of years these forests have provided Wisconsin with lumber used for building homes, factories,…

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September 10, 2019

Soo Engine 1003 / Maritime Industry / Lumber Industry / Related Stories / Mining Industry / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Region 1 - North West / 1918-1945 / Transportation & Tourism

The Soo Line

In the second half of the nineteenth century, railroads remade the geography of the Midwest. In an era when roads were often muddy filled with holes, the railroad made it faster to travel from Superior to Milwaukee by rail than from Superior…

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April 15, 2019

Soo Engine 1003 / Object Histories / Industry / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 1 - North West / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: Soo Line Engine #1003

In the second half of the nineteenth century, railroads remade the geography of the Midwest. In an era when roads were often muddy filled with holes, the railroad made it faster to travel from Superior to Milwaukee by rail than from Superior to Ashland by wagon. In Wisconsin, the Chicago and Northwestern, The Milwaukee Road,…

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April 15, 2019