Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article The Hearthstone House and Electricity to Wisconsin

Front view of historic house in the summertime c. 1974. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, ID# 28719.

The Hearthstone House and Electricity to Wisconsin

Built in 1882, the Hearthstone House operated using the first system of central electricity designed by Thomas Edison and it was the first private residence in the nation powered through hydroelectricity. The house was originally known as the Henry J. Rogers House,…

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June 7, 2021

Read more about the article Increase Lapham and the Founding of the United States Weather Bureau

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

Science & Technology / Delafield / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Nature & Environment / Waukesha County / Politics & Government / Science & Medicine / Region 8 - South East / Lapham Peak Observation Tower

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

Science & Technology / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Related Stories / Curators' Favorites / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Science & Medicine / 1945-1965 / X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

The Rise and Fall of Shoe Fitting Fluoroscopes

Shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were invented almost simultaneously in the United States and England. Milwaukee quickly became a center of the new technology.

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May 11, 2020

Science & Technology / Williams Bay / Education / Object Histories / Walworth County / 1877-1900 / Yerkes Telescope / Science & Medicine / Region 7 - South Center / Region 8 - South East

OBJECT HISTORY: Yerkes Telescope

The 40-inch refracting telescope at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, contains the world’s largest refracting lenses. Built in 1895, the telescope contains two lenses, one made of crown glass, and one made of flint glass. The lenses are each 40 inches in diameter, weigh 500 pounds, and have a 62-foot focal length. The telescope and observatory…

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September 10, 2019

Science & Technology / Object Histories / Sturgeon Bay / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Door County / 1945-1965 / Science & Medicine / Region 5 - Center East / X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

OBJECT HISTORY: X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

Intended to help customers get the perfect pair of shoes, X-Ray shoe fitting machines like this one from Sturgeon Bay were popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

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September 10, 2019

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

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