Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Beaver Felt Hat

Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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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October 6, 2020

Wisconsin Bicycle Tourism

M.C. Rotier, the publisher and editor of The Pneumatic, a Wisconsin periodical and trade journal dedicated to bicycles in the 1890s, called bicycling “the most independent, healthful, rapid, and convenient mode of travel” in the nineteenth century.[1] Rotier, a leading bicycle advocate…

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September 24, 2020

La Farge / Pre-1787 / Education / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / Vernon County / Nature & Environment / Region 6 - South West / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve

Wisconsin’s Ancient History in the Kickapoo Valley

If you look closely, the landscapes around us tell stories about the past. Sometimes in the curve of a road, a line of trees, or stretch of prairie careful observers can find evidence of the people and animals that used to call…

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September 24, 2020

Industry / Lumber Industry / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918

OBJECT HISTORY: Log-Marking Hammer

Between the 1840s and the 1890s, logs meant money. Wisconsin had a large supply of trees. Lumber mills made money by cutting down trees. Logging was one of the largest industries in Wisconsin. There were more than 450 lumber camps across Wisconsin. If we study this log-marking hammer and think about the people that used…

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September 10, 2020

Lumber Industry / Industry / Medford / Object Histories / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 1 - North West / 1877-1900 / Nature & Environment / 1900-1918 / Taylor County / Bark Spud

OBJECT HISTORY: Bark Spud

The bark spud is an iron tool used to remove bark from cut timber. Most bark spuds have a steel head with a hard wooden handle. The head is rounded or dish-shaped and has one cutting edge. The sharp wedge on the end of the bark spud slides between bark and wood on a log…

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September 10, 2020

Sports & Games / Wisconsin Made / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Antigo / Langlade County / Global Connections / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / 1945-1965 / 1965-1987 / Mepps Fishing Lure

OBJECT HISTORY: Mepps Fishing Lure

The classic Mepps fishing lure the Aglia, was invented in France in the 1930s and patented in 1938. (Mepps is a French acronym for Manufacturier d’ Engins de Precision pour Peches Sportives, translated as “Manufacture of Precision Equipment for Sport Fishing”.) It was introduced to northern Wisconsin, and to the U.S., by a G.I. returning from France.…

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September 10, 2020