Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: Box of Chlorinium

Madison’s beloved Camp Randall Stadium holds a rich history many football fans are unaware of as they pass under the iconic Memorial Arch entrance. A box of chlorinium, tucked away in the Wisconsin Historical Society archives, opens the window to Civil War-era…

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September 26, 2023

Health & Medicine / Waukesha / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Waukesha County / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

The Saratoga of the West: Resort Culture in the Waukesha Springs Era

Famed for its healing properties, the mineral spring water of Waukesha, Wisconsin grew widely popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Waukesha Springs Era (1868-1914) saw the rise of over 200 spring water companies and a robust resort culture.…

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February 20, 2023

Waukesha / Food & Cooking / Related Stories / Everyday Life / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / Nature & Environment / Waukesha County / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

Nature’s Purest Drink: The Henk Mineral Spring Company

As a center of the mineral spring water industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Waukesha, Wisconsin, saw the rise of over 200 spring water companies during the period known as the Waukesha Springs Era. With over fifty mineral springs…

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February 19, 2023

Waukesha / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / Everyday Life / 1877-1900 / Waukesha County / Nature & Environment / Science & Medicine / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

OBJECT HISTORY: Henk Mineral Spring Water Bottle

Once a small prairie town, Waukesha, Wisconsin became known as Spring City during the late 19th century with the discovery and promotion of healing springs throughout the county. Through marketing and advertisement, Waukesha’s mineral spring water gained a reputation for its purity…

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February 19, 2023

Industry / Neenah / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Winnebago County / Science & Medicine / Region 5 - Center East / Neenah Foundry Manhole Cover

An Iron Kinship: Abraham Darby and William Aylward Sr.

In 1872, William Aylward Sr. combined air, coal, and iron ore to produce his first plowshares and other agricultural implements.[1] The founder of what would become the Neenah Foundry followed a process developed by an English man named Abraham Darby more than…

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September 29, 2021

Education / Milwaukee / Milwaukee County / Science & Technology / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 7 - South Center / Sholes and Glidden Typewriter

Origins of the QWERTY Keyboard

Was QWERTY designed to slow down the typist, or was it a deliberate design for telegraphers?Christopher Latham Sholes's early typewriter models contained a keyboard that resembled a piano with an alphabetic arrangement of keys, with two rows which contained the letters of…

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September 22, 2021