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

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

Bethesda Spring Park, ca. 1900. The springhouse stands on the right. The spring runs into the pond, which reflects the words “1868-Bethesda.” The Terrace Hotel can be seen in the left background. People sit on the lawn and stand around the springhouse.…

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February 20, 2023

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

Drawing of the Kohler Company's "Armeda" toilet. Courtesy of the Kohler Co. Archives.

Industry / Wisconsin Made / Health & Medicine / Home Furnishings / Object Histories / Sheboygan / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / Sheboygan County / 1900-1918 / Region 5 - Center East / The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

OBJECT HISTORY: The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

By the year 1904, when the “Armeda” toilet pictured here appeared in the Kohler Company’s product catalogue, Sheboygan-based Kohler had become one of the largest makers of bathroom furnishings in the United States. Even at this early date in its history, as…

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March 11, 2022

Industry / Health & Medicine / Home Furnishings / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Science & Medicine / The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

The Bathroom as a Household Space

When we think of a “bathroom,” we usually imagine a room containing three standard fixtures—a bathtub, a sink, and a toilet. Bathrooms such as these are so universal in homes today that we can hardly imagine a time when they did not…

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November 10, 2020

Horlick’s Malted Milk

Health & Medicine / Dairy Industry / Wisconsin Made / Industry / Racine / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Everyday Life / Racine County / 1848-1877 / Manufacturing & Trade / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East / Horlick's Malted Milk

OBJECT HISTORY: Horlick’s Malted Milk

Invented in 1873 by British food manufacturer William Horlick, malted milk is made from wheat and malted barley extract mixed with reduced, dry whole milk.

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September 9, 2020

Science & Technology / Health & Medicine / Wausau / Object Histories / Marathon County / Society & Religion / Region 4 - Center / Employers Mutual Audiometer / Science & Medicine / 1945-1965

OBJECT HISTORY: Employers Mutual Audiometer

This Maico Audiometer was one of many devices used by health and safety consultants of the Employers Mutual Liability Insurance Company of Wisconsin throughout the mid-to-late 1960s. Employers Mutual was the very first workers compensation insurance company in the United States. The company was founded in Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1911 shortly after the nation’s first workers compensation law was…

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March 9, 2019