1848-1877

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

Military History / Indigenous Wisconsin / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / Nature & Environment / Price County / Politics & Government / Eagle Feather

Finding Ogimaa Weigiizhig

Ogimaa Weigiizhig (sometimes Ahgamahwegezhig, also known as Chief Big Sky and Old Jackson) was a leader of the Ojibwe, Lac du Flambeau Band. Late in age, in March 1914, he spoke to a reporter at Lac du Flambeau about his capture of…

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May 15, 2025

Military History / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Nature & Environment / Price County / Politics & Government / Eagle Feather

Old Abe: In Life

In 1861, a group of Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe traders set up a camp near the South Fork of the Flambeau River in what is now the Chequamegon National Forest. This group was led by Ogimaa Weigiizhig (Chief Big Sky), son of…

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May 15, 2025

Military History / Object Histories / Curators' Favorites / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Nature & Environment / Price County / Politics & Government / Eagle Feather

OBJECT HISTORY: Feather from Old Abe the War Eagle

Twelve-year-old Ida Karne picked up this feather when visiting Old Abe the War Eagle in 1868. Today, it represents one of the few remaining parts of the eagle who became famous not only for his Civil War exploits, but also as a…

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May 15, 2025

Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Related Stories / Ethnicity & Identity / 1848-1877 / Politics & Government / Region 8 - South East / John Potter's Monster Knife

Ezekiel Gillespie, Black Suffrage, and the Wisconsin Idea

The Wisconsin Idea can be a lofty political goal, and it’s one that the state it is named after hasn’t always lived up to. Like so many other places in the United States, Wisconsin has a history of discriminating against its citizens…

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October 30, 2024

Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Politics & Government / Society & Religion / Region 7 - South Center / John Potter's Monster Knife

The Development of Progressive Politics in Wisconsin from Abolition into the Twentieth Century

The legacy of abolitionists and anti-slavery figures didn’t end with the Civil War or the abolition of slavery, indeed many of the political and moral sentiments that fueled this movement for freedom continued on and inspired other political movements in Wisconsin, particularly…

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October 30, 2024