Before the 1850s, Wisconsin did not have roads, at least not ones you would recognize. As more people moved to Wisconsin, settlers cut thick prairies and forests into roads, but these were just dirt paths that were often quite muddy. As a solution, Wisconsinites decided to build plank roads which had a lot of advantages over the dirt ones.
transportation
OBJECT HISTORY: Nash Car
By the beginning of the twentieth century, horses and wagons were quickly giving way to new horseless carriages, or automobiles—and the landscape of Wisconsin’s towns and roadways began to change as well. Wagon shops, once part of one of the largest industries in Wisconsin, began making automobile parts instead. By 1925, motor vehicle manufacture had…
OBJECT HISTORY: Badger Wheelmen Pin
During the 1880s bicycling became very popular, and many cycling clubs opened across America. The Badger Wheelmen was a cycling club based in Milwaukee. In clubs, cycling fans could meet and share their love for bicycles. In that era, many people joined social clubs to improve themselves or the world around them. Members wore pins…
OBJECT HISTORY: Door County Bookmobile
The Door County Bookmobile was the rural public library. In 1950 when the Door-Kewaunee Regional Library Demonstration first brought bookmobiles to the Door Peninsula, nearly 23% of Wisconsinites did not have access to a free library. With many remote towns and islands, a low overall population, poor transportation, and low literacy rates, the Door Peninsula offered an opportunity…
The 1890s Bicycle Craze in Wisconsin
Bicycles entered the United States on the East Coast from Europe in 1869. By 1880, bicycling in the U.S. had become so popular that the League of American Wheelmen (LAW) was founded. One of LAW’s …
OBJECT HISTORY: The SS Meteor
The SS Meteor was launched as the SS Frank Rockefeller in Superior, Wisconsin by the American Steel Barge Company in 1896. The last remaining of only 44 “whaleback” ships ever built, she was designed by a Scottish immigrant named Alexander McDougall. She is 380 feet long, 45 feet wide and 26 feet deep. You may notice that the SS Meteor looks somewhat different…