Wisconsin 101

The Wausau Group: The Businessmen Who Revived Wausau’s Economy

Located on the Wisconsin River, Wausau developed as a logging town in the 1830s. George Stevens chose the site because of the waterfall that spanned the river, which provided power for sawmills used to turn the felled trees into lumber. The waterfall,…

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February 1, 2018

Wausau / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Sports & Games / Related Stories / Marathon County / A Hudson's Bay Company Point Blanket Coat / 1918-1945 / Region 4 - Center / Transportation & Tourism

The Wausau Winter Frolic: Wausau’s History as a Sports Capital

In 1929, a teacher in Waupaca asked her pupils what Wisconsinites did for winter sports. According to one newspaper, the children “with one accord all exclaimed: ‘They go to Wausau!’” In the 1920s, when Wisconsinites thought of winter sports, they thought of…

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February 1, 2018

Superior / Industry / Maritime Industry / Related Stories / Douglas County / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / 1918-1945 / Region 1 - North West / Transportation & Tourism / The SS Meteor

Great Lakes Shipping and the SS Meteor

The SS Meteor sailed the lakes longer than most ships of her day, and in her many reincarnations she offers a portrait of how some of the industries on the Great Lakes changed – and what those changes meant for Wisconsin. Launched in 1896,…

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October 1, 2017

Superior / Maritime Industry / Industry / Related Stories / Douglas County / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 1 - North West / Transportation & Tourism / The SS Meteor

The American Steel Barge Company

Duluth, MN and Superior, WI face each other across the Saint Louis Bay. In the mid-nineteenth century, as grain harvests of the northern plains expanded, logging grew, and as iron and copper mining developed in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula, shipping…

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October 1, 2017

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: <i>The SS Meteor</i>

Superior / Industry / Object Histories / Maritime Industry / 1877-1900 / Douglas County / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 1 - North West / Transportation & Tourism / The SS Meteor

OBJECT HISTORY: The SS Meteor

The SS Meteor was launched as the SS Frank Rockefeller in Superior, Wisconsin by the American Steel Barge Company in 1896. The last remaining of only 44 “whaleback” ships ever built, she was designed by a Scottish immigrant named Alexander McDougall. She is 380 feet long, 45 feet wide and 26 feet deep. You may notice that the SS Meteor looks somewhat different…

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October 1, 2017

Agriculture / Object Histories / Industry / Ephraim / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Door County / Everyday Life / 1945-1965 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 5 - Center East / Cherryland T-Shirt

OBJECT HISTORY: Cherryland T-Shirt

In 1927, Marilyn Färdig’s grandparents, Andrew and Esther Färdig, purchased twenty acres of land in Ephraim, Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Image ID: 79142. Wisconsin, and started a cherry orchard. With the help of their seven children and workers from a variety of locations, including the southern United States, Mexico, and Jamaica, Andrew…

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July 1, 2017