Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Hearthstone House Chandelier

Hearthstone House chandelier. Photo courtesy of Trase Tracanna, 2021.

OBJECT HISTORY: Hearthstone House Chandelier

Known as Edison Light Fixtures, the original lighting fixtures of Appleton’s Hearthstone House, were created by Bergmann and Co., in association with the Edison Company for Isolated Lighting, out of New York. They designed the electric lights with the same general components…

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June 7, 2021

Industry / Wisconsin Made / Home Furnishings / Sheboygan / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Sheboygan County / Science & Medicine / Region 5 - Center East / The 1904 Kohler “Armeda” Toilet

The Early History of the Kohler Company

As was so often the case with major American businesses in the 1800s, the Kohler Company grew from modest roots. The company’s founder, John Michael Kohler, began his working life first as a delivery truck driver and then a salesman. Born in…

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November 10, 2020

Industry / 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

Industry / Wisconsin Made / Dairy Industry / Racine / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / 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

Dairy Industry / Industry / Agriculture / Madison / Object Histories / Food & Cooking / Dane County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1877-1900 / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Babcock Butterfat Tester

OBJECT HISTORY: Babcock Butterfat Tester

The Babcock butterfat test, developed at the University of Wisconsin, provided a simple, accurate, and inexpensive way to assess milk quality and to pay farmers accordingly. By improving standards and rewarding the best milk producers, the Babcock butterfat test transformed the dairy industry in the United States and set Wisconsin firmly on the path to…

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September 9, 2020

Studio portrait of Increase A. Lapham in suit and tie, photographic print, c 1859. Image ID: 43831 Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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