Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article Missionaries and Land Rights: The Story of Erik Morstad and the Potawatomi

Map of Indian Settlements - including Potawatomi of Forest County, c. 1962. Image ID: 91434 Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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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September 8, 2020

Read more about the article When Lake Koshkonong was a Marsh

An Ojibwe man and woman harvesting wild rice in 1966 near Ashland, WI. Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 133699.

Industry / Broad History / Pre-1787 / Lake Koshkonong / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / 1787-1848 / 1848-1877 / Jefferson County / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / A Duck Decoy / 1918-1945 / Region 7 - South Center

When Lake Koshkonong was a Marsh

Maintaining practices like an annual visit to Lake Koshkanong to hunt and harvest food is an important way for indigenous knowledge and culture to be passed-on to the next generation.

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September 30, 2018

Industry / Wausau / Related Stories / Marathon County / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center / Transportation & Tourism / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat

The Wausau Group: The Businessmen Who Revived Wausau’s Economy

Located on the Wisconsin River, Wausau developed as a logging town in the 1830s. George Stevens chose the site because of the waterfall that spanned the river, which provided power for sawmills used to turn the felled trees into lumber. The waterfall,…

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June 15, 2018

Sports & Games / Wisconsin Made / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Langlade County / Wolf River / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Region 2 - North East / 1945-1965 / Mepps Fishing Lure

Squirrel Tails Wanted? The Improved Mepps Lure

Driving through Antigo, visitors are often puzzled by a sign proclaiming “Squirrel Tails Wanted” advertised by Sheldons’ Inc., manufacturer of Mepps lures. Squirrel tail hair has unique properties ideal for lures. [1] Its addition to the Anglia has proven to be the…

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May 24, 2018

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

Mepps Lures: The Antigo Connection

A chance encounter of an American G.I. in France after World War II with a local fisherman led to the development of a major industry in Antigo, Wisconsin and put Antigo on the sports fishing map.Frank Velek discovered a fishing lure while…

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May 24, 2018

Industry / Military History / Broad History / Langlade County / Wolf River / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Nature & Environment / Politics & Government / Region 2 - North East / Transportation & Tourism / Mepps Fishing Lure

The Wolf River

Todd Sheldon first discovered the virtues of the Mepps Aglia spinner and later realized improvements afforded by a tuft of squirrel tail while fishing at one of his favorite spots: the Wolf River. Today the Wolf continues to be a destination for sports…

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May 24, 2018