Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Lapham Peak Observation Tower

Lapham Peak Observation Tower. Photo credit: Cole Roecker.

OBJECT HISTORY: Lapham Peak Observation Tower

At first glance, you might recognize this iconic Southeastern Wisconsin tower. Yet, under its wooden beams lies a rich foundation of Wisconsin’s history, including one of the state’s first scientists and a state agency responsible for construction works you probably use everyday.…

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February 9, 2018

Grant County / Region 6 - South West / James D. Williams' Windlass / Platteville / Manufacturing & Trade / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

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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January 9, 2018

1820-1840 / Manufacturing & Trade / 1840-1860 / Science & Medicine / Object Histories / Nature & Environment / Ethnicity & Identity

OBJECT HISTORY: Galena

Galena, the official state mineral of Wisconsin, is the raw material used to produce lead. During the Wisconsin “lead rush” of the 1820s-40s, lead was more valuable than gold. That is because just about everybody, rich or poor, used objects made of lead in their daily lives – products that ranged from plumbing to toothpaste!…

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December 9, 2017

Sheboygan County / Region 5 - Center East / Greenbush / Manufacturing & Trade / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / Science & Medicine / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: The Muley Sawmill

If you grew up in Wisconsin, you may be familiar with some of Wisconsin’s forests like the Black River forest, Menominee forest, or the Chequamegon-Nicolet forest. For hundreds of years these forests have provided Wisconsin with lumber used for building homes, factories,…

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September 10, 2017

Green County / Region 7 - South Center / New Glarus / The Hefty-Blum White Barn / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1860-1880 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: The Hefty-Blum White Barn

Barns are a defining feature of the Wisconsin landscape, and hold a special place in the history of Wisconsin. Among the many barns that contributed to Wisconsin’s place as a major dairy producing state is a Swiss barn that was built in 1878 in Green County. This barn, the Hefty-Blum White Barn, was used to…

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September 10, 2017

Migrant Workers and the Bond Pickle Company

The Bond Pickle Company of Oconto, Wisconsin was founded in 1915 by five brothers. The Bond brothers quickly developed the firm, by 1917 acquiring 10 “salting stations” where the cucumbers were received from local farmers and a processing factory on West Main Street in…

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September 1, 2017