Enjoy a browse through Wisconsin 101ās collection of object histories. Click on the āRead Moreā button to view the full story and its accompanying related histories or explore the categories listed above each object history to learn more about certain themes, periods of time, and Wisconsin locales.
The beaver felt hat was one of the main reasons for the success of the fur trade in northern states, such as Wisconsin, and in Canada. But why was this hat more popular than others? Clothing allows for people to choose their…
In the 1800s, European immigrants coming to America had to find a way to preserve the objects indispensable to their lives, bringing their most precious belongings on an ocean voyage to a far-away new home. Most families were only able to bring…
This synagogue window is a testament to the successful efforts of hundreds of Russian Jews to recreate a familiar community in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in the early twentieth century.
This Racine Belles costume was worn in the 1992 film "A League of Their Own." The film focused on the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches, tracking a season in the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League. The Peaches played the Belles several times during the film.
An elder spokesman for theĀ PotawatomiĀ Indians, Chief Simon Onanguisse Kahquados made a number of trips to Washington, D.C. in the early twentieth century in an effort to regain land that his people had lost through treaties with the United States government in the 1800s. Kahquados wore this coat on his last trip to Washington and also wore it on other important occasions, such as trips to the state capital in Madison where he often spent time researching and presenting information about his ancestry.
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.