Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Feather from Old Abe the War Eagle

Twelve-year-old Ida Karne picked up this feather when visiting Old Abe the War Eagle in 1868. Today, it represents one of the few remaining parts of the eagle who became famous not only for his Civil War exploits, but also as a…

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May 15, 2025

Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1848-1877 / Politics & Government / Region 8 - South East / John Potter's Monster Knife

Ezekiel Gillespie, Black Suffrage, and the Wisconsin Idea

The Wisconsin Idea can be a lofty political goal, and it’s one that the state it is named after hasn’t always lived up to. Like so many other places in the United States, Wisconsin has a history of discriminating against its citizens…

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October 30, 2024

Madison / Dane County / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Region 7 - South Center / John Potter's Monster Knife

The Development of Progressive Politics in Wisconsin from Abolition into the Twentieth Century

The legacy of abolitionists and anti-slavery figures didn’t end with the Civil War or the abolition of slavery, indeed many of the political and moral sentiments that fueled this movement for freedom continued on and inspired other political movements in Wisconsin, particularly…

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October 30, 2024

New Object Histories / East Troy / Object Histories / 1848-1877 / Walworth County / Politics & Government / Region 8 - South East / John Potter's Monster Knife

OBJECT HISTORY: John Fox Potter’s “Monster Knife”

Measuring over six feet in length and weighing thirty-two pounds, this gigantic folding knife belonged to Wisconsin representative John Fox “Bowie Knife” Potter who was famous as a dedicated abolitionist and infamous for his willingness to use physical force on the United…

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October 29, 2024

Nelson Hawks and Delafield’s Beginnings

When Nelson P. Hawks first arrived in the area that is now Delafield, there were no hotels, no mills, churches, or stores of any kind—only a few cabins and the pioneers that occupied them. This would greatly change in the twenty-three years…

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September 25, 2024

Delafield / New Object Histories / Object Histories / 1787-1848 / 1848-1877 / Waukesha County / Politics & Government / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Hawks Inn

OBJECT HISTORY: Hawks Inn

Standing at two-and-a-half stories, with a side-gabled roof and paired end chimneys, and painted white with black shutters, the image of Hawks Inn would have filled travelers with hope and relief during their trek along the stagecoach route from Milwaukee to Madison,…

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September 25, 2024