Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article Early Fishing in Northern Door County: Before the Turn of the 20th Century

This photograph, taken by Harold Hone in the late 1930s, shows the fishing village at Gills Rock. Image from Wisconsin Historical Society (#78114).

Early Fishing in Northern Door County: Before the Turn of the 20th Century

The impact of the fishing industry on Door County cannot be understated, as it held the keys for the original formation of the County and many of its cities and villages. Although commercial fishing has waned, the tradition persists in area as…

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April 10, 2024

Fish Boil Kettle / Door County / Related Stories / 1860-1880 / Nature & Environment / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Region 5 - Center East / Transportation & Tourism / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000

Tourism in Droves: Door County as a Tourist Destination

In the present day, the Door County tourism industry brings in over $500 million in total economic impact every year, with the summer as peak season. Rising from humble beginnings, and getting some help along the way from innovation, mainly the rise…

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April 10, 2024

Read more about the article Images of the Wisconsin Dells (Waterparks Not Included!)

Cornelius and May posed at Anvil Rock

Wisconsin Dells / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Columbia County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Nature & Environment / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Region 7 - South Center / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Images of the Wisconsin Dells (Waterparks Not Included!)

More than a century before the Wisconsin Dells became the "Waterpark Capital of the World," it was a famous tourist destination known for its scenic beauty. Guides began taking sightseers in rowboats along the Wisconsin River as early as the 1850s, and…

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February 21, 2024

Wauwatosa / Milwaukee County / Related Stories / Everyday Life / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

Wauwatosa’s Lefeber Brothers Department Store

“A clerk had to show Mother each item. She retrieved a pair of folded silk stockings and carefully inserted her hand to show how the color looked against the skin.”--Jean Lobe, from her memoir recounting her experiences growing up in Wauwatosa in…

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January 25, 2024

New Object Histories / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Wauwatosa / Object Histories / Milwaukee County / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Region 8 - South East / Lefeber Glass Plate Negatives

OBJECT HISTORY: Lefebers’ Glass Plate Negatives

Kodachrome? Fujifilm? Ektachrome? All too modern! We're stepping back more than a century to an era when photographers used glass plates – not film – to capture an image. Glass plate negatives can be professionally restored and digitally scanned. These before-and-after images are…

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January 25, 2024

Read more about the article From Fairs to Football Games: A History of Camp Randall

A group poses in front of the newly built Camp Randall Arch during its dedication to the Civil War veterans trained at Camp Randall. Wisconsin Historical Society ID: 11270.

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Politics, Society & Government / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / 2000-2020 / Region 7 - South Center / 2020-2040 / Box of Chlorinium

From Fairs to Football Games: A History of Camp Randall

University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium has been through many transformations yet has remained a pillar of statewide community. First put to public use as fairground enjoyed by residents across the state of Wisconsin, the site housed the state’s largest soldier training…

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September 26, 2023