Wisconsin 101

Janesville General Motors Assembly Plant

The Janesville Assembly Plant’s near ninety-year run helped define both the city and its workers and the General Motors Company as one of the most successful automakers in the world. The history of the plant is deeply rooted in Janesville’s agricultural past.…

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February 17, 2025

Agriculture / Indigenous Wisconsin / Ricing Sticks / Lac du Flambeau / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Curators' Favorites / Region 2 - North East / Vilas County / 1987-2011

OBJECT HISTORY: Wild Rice Threshing Machine

Harvested in the early autumn, wild rice has long been an important commodity to Native Americans, including the Ojibwe, who lived in areas where it grew abundantly. This improvised wild rice threshing machine was made and used by Duane Poupart, Sr., a…

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November 17, 2024

New Object Histories / Object Histories / Dane County / Madison / Clothing, Apparel & Fashion / Ethnicity & Identity / 602 Club / Everyday Life / 1987-2011 / Region 7 - South Center

OBJECT HISTORY: 602 Club T-Shirt

Not all bars make commemorative T-shirts for their closing, like the one pictured here, but the 602 Club was not an average bar. The bar, previously located at 602 University Avenue, was just a short walk from the heart of campus, making…

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November 2, 2023

Read more about the article The History of Smart Studios

Exterior of Smart Studios at 1254 East Washington Avenue, Madison, WI. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 243309.

Music, Theatre & Cinema / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Madison / Dane County / Related Stories / 1965-1987 / 1987-2011 / Region 7 - South Center / Smart Banner

The History of Smart Studios

Smart Studios, founded by Butch Vig and Steve Marker, was a recording studio located on Madison’s east side. Over its twenty-seven years of operation, Smart Studios was responsible for producing music for both local acts and world-famous artists in the late twentieth…

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July 13, 2022

Read more about the article Garbage’s Origins in Madison

Garbage band members (pictured left to right) Steve Marker, Butch Vig, Shirley Manson, and Duke Erikson. Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, image ID 93605.

Music, Theatre & Cinema / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Dane County / Madison / Related Stories / 1987-2011 / Region 7 - South Center / Smart Banner

Garbage’s Origins in Madison

Out of all the bands and musicians who have roots in Wisconsin’s capitol city, Garbage is perhaps one of the most successful products of the Madison music scene, having sold more than seventeen million albums worldwide over the course of their career.Garbage…

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July 13, 2022

Viroqua / Music, Theatre & Cinema / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Curators' Favorites / Vernon County / 1965-1987 / Region 6 - South West / 1987-2011 / Smart Banner

Object History: Butch Vig’s Drum Set

When the Beatles performed on the February 9, 1964, "Ed Sullivan Show," teenage girls in the studio swooned and those at home went crazy with excitement. Adolescent boys, however, couldn't keep their eyes off band member Ringo Starr's Ludwig drum kit with…

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July 13, 2022