Wisconsin 101

Victor Berger and the Sewer Socialists

Victor Berger, one of the "Sewer Socialists," became the first Socialist to serve in the United States House of Representatives, winning the election in Wisconsin’s 5th congressional district in 1910.

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September 10, 2018

Grant County / Object Histories / Industry / Platteville / Ethnicity & Identity / Mining Industry / 1877-1900 / Manufacturing & Trade / Region 6 - South West / James D. Williams' Windlass

OBJECT HISTORY: James D. Williams’ Windlass

This is a machine used to lower and raise miners and materials through mine shafts in the lead mining region around Platteville, Wisconsin. Made from wooden supports with a wooden barrel shaft and crank attached to a rope with a bucket, a…

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August 1, 2018

Broad History / Pre-1787 / Lake Koshkonong / Industry / Related Stories / 1787-1848 / Ethnicity & Identity / 1848-1877 / A Duck Decoy / Jefferson County / 1877-1900 / 1900-1918 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1918-1945 / Nature & Environment / Region 7 - South Center

When Lake Koshkonong was a Marsh

Maintaining practices like an annual visit to Lake Koshkanong to hunt and harvest food is an important way for indigenous knowledge and culture to be passed-on to the next generation.

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July 1, 2018

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Art & Design / Object Histories / Lake Koshkonong / Sports & Games / Wisconsin Made / A Duck Decoy / 1877-1900 / Jefferson County / Nature & Environment / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: A Duck Decoy

With its painted black bill, brown head, and white and black body, it is likely obvious to humans that this object is made out of wood. This object is called a duck decoy, and was intended to fool other ducks into settling…

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July 1, 2018

Superior / Maritime Industry / Industry / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / Douglas County / 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 / Industry / Maritime Industry / Related Stories / 1877-1900 / Douglas County / 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