Wisconsin 101

La Crosse / Industry / Ethnicity & Identity / Related Stories / 1848-1877 / 1877-1900 / Global Connections / La Crosse County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1900-1918 / Region 3 - Center West / King Gambrinus Statues of LaCrosse

The Heileman Family: A German Immigration Story

The G. Heileman Brewing Company is often remembered by historians as the vision of the two ambitious men who founded the brewery in La Crosse, Wisconsin. At the height of its popularity in 1983, Heileman’s was the fourth largest brewery in the…

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August 17, 2021

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Madison / Dane County / Related Stories / Sports & Games / 1848-1877 / Curators' Favorites / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Transportation & Tourism / Region 7 - South Center / Madison-Style Ice Boat

Ice Boating in Madison: A Bernard Family Tradition

Ice boating for sport began along New York's upper Hudson River around the Civil War and soon spread to other cold weather locations. An 1878 article in Harper's Weekly includes an engraving of ice boating in Madison. The city quickly became a center for ice boating in North America, a distinction held for over a century.

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October 1, 2020

Delafield / Science & Technology / 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