Wisconsin 101

OBJECT HISTORY: John Roundtree’s Sword

John Rountree’s officer’s sword is thirty and three-quarters inches long from tip to pommel with a 26-inch blade of curved steel. When you hold it, it is eerie to know that this sword might have been used in actual battle by John…

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July 20, 2025

John Rountree's Sword / Grant County / 1787-1848 / Platteville / 1848-1877 / Mining Industry / Politics & Government / Region 6 - South West

John H. Rountree and the Founding of Platteville

By many measures, John H. Rountree fit the archetype of a successful 19th century American pioneer. Born in 1805 in Kentucky, he made his fortune staking a claim near the Platte River in the then lucrative lead mining region of southwestern Wisconsin,…

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July 20, 2025

Nelson Hawks and Delafield’s Beginnings

When Nelson P. Hawks first arrived in the area that is now Delafield, there were no hotels, no mills, churches, or stores of any kind—only a few cabins and the pioneers that occupied them. This would greatly change in the twenty-three years…

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September 25, 2024

Delafield / New Object Histories / Object Histories / 1787-1848 / 1848-1877 / Waukesha County / Politics & Government / Transportation & Tourism / Region 8 - South East / Hawks Inn

OBJECT HISTORY: Hawks Inn

Standing at two-and-a-half stories, with a side-gabled roof and paired end chimneys, and painted white with black shutters, the image of Hawks Inn would have filled travelers with hope and relief during their trek along the stagecoach route from Milwaukee to Madison,…

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September 25, 2024

New Glarus / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / 1787-1848 / Green County / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Global Connections / Region 7 - South Center / Swiss Cheese Kettle

Swiss Immigration to New Glarus

For nearly a century, southeastern Wisconsin and especially Green County was a hotbed of Swiss immigration. Even though the immigration slowed dramatically in the early 1900s, the area still preserves a distinctive Swiss character. Visitors can attend the annual Cheese Days festivities…

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April 17, 2023

Baraboo / Object Histories / 1787-1848 / Sauk County / Society & Religion / Region 7 - South Center / The Canfield Temperance Case

OBJECT HISTORY: The Canfield Temperance Case

The straw case pictured here was created by Cordelia Canfield in 1844. Cordelia was the wife of William Canfield, a noted local historian and surveyor of the Baraboo, WI area. Canfield’s case is approximately 1 foot long with its cap on and…

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October 4, 2022