Wisconsin 101

Object Histories / Industry / La Farge / A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve / Manufacturing & Trade / Vernon County / Nature & Environment / Politics & Government / 1965-1987 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 6 - South West

OBJECT HISTORY: A Dam Tower in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve

This concrete obelisk stands near the Kickapoo River and is located a mile north of the village of La Farge. It rises nearly a hundred feet above the river valley floor. The tower was constructed more than forty years ago as part…

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September 9, 2020

Delafield / Object Histories / Nature & Environment / 1918-1945 / Waukesha County / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Region 8 - South East / Lapham Peak Observation Tower

OBJECT HISTORY: Lapham Peak Observation Tower

At first glance, you might recognize this iconic Southeastern Wisconsin tower. Yet, under its wooden beams lies a rich foundation of Wisconsin’s history, including one of the state’s first scientists and a state agency responsible for construction works you probably use everyday.…

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September 8, 2020

Delafield / Science & Technology / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Waukesha County / Nature & Environment / Politics & Government / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East / Lapham Peak Observation Tower

Increase Lapham and the Founding of the United States Weather Bureau

As immigration to Wisconsin swelled in the 1840s, so, too, did the state’s scientific and technological community, with innovations across industries ranging from agriculture and manufacturing to geology and environmental studies. Among Wisconsin’s first “pioneer scientists” was Increase A. Lapham, a young…

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September 8, 2020

The Works Projects Administration – An Answer to the Great Depression

In 1929, the United States fell into the deepest economic hole the country has known: the Great Depression. Over the three years following the economy’s collapse in 1929, 3,392 banks across the country closed their doors and over $1 billion in deposits…

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September 8, 2020

Indigenous Wisconsin / Forest County / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Potawatomi Beaded 'Soldier Coat'

Missionaries and Land Rights: The Story of Erik Morstad and the Potawatomi

Some histories are not as straightforward as others, especially when cultures collide. It may come as no surprise that stories about the interactions between Native Americans and white settlers are sometimes one-sided. We can partly attribute this to the European tradition of…

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August 1, 2020

Door County / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Nature & Environment / Region 5 - Center East / Peshtigo Fire Breastpin

The Peshtigo Fire in Williamsville

This breastpin was used to identify a victim of the destructive Peshtigo fire of 1871.

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July 15, 2020