Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article James Duane Doty

William Cogswell’s Portrait of Doty ca. 1858. Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

James Duane Doty

As settlers continued moving westward during the nineteenth century, the United States was a mix of states and large territories. From 1805-1837, Wisconsin was part of the Michigan territory. James Duane Doty spearheaded the movement to create partitions in the Michigan territory, …

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December 18, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

Pipe bowl. Courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society

Ojibwe Presentation Pipe / Madeline Island / Region 1 - North West / Politics, Society & Government / 1840-1860 / Bayfield County / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Religion

OBJECT HISTORY: Ojibwe Presentation Pipe

This Ojibwe presentation pipe consists of two pieces: a pipe bowl and a pipe stem. It was most likely for spiritual ceremonies. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the pipe bowl is carved from heavy stone, and has two common images to…

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November 17, 2020

1800-1820 / Home Furnishings / 1820-1840 / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Ethnicity & Identity / Transportation & Tourism / Global Connections

OBJECT HISTORY: Norwegian Trunk

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…

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October 6, 2020

Greenbush / Region 5 - Center East / Sheboygan County / 1840-1860 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: Plank Roads

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.

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September 10, 2020

Manufacturing & Trade / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: Log-Marking Hammer

Between the 1840s and the 1890s, logs meant money. Wisconsin had a large supply of trees. Lumber mills made money by cutting down trees. Logging was one of the largest industries in Wisconsin. There were more than 450 lumber camps across Wisconsin. If we study this log-marking hammer and think about the people that used…

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September 10, 2020

Read more about the article OBJECT HISTORY: Fiddle

A fiddle from a lumberjack camp. Image courtesy of Ron Dennis.

Manufacturing & Trade / 1840-1860 / Art, Sport & Entertainment / Object Histories

OBJECT HISTORY: Fiddle

As the lumber industry flourished in Wisconsin beginning in the 1840s, immigrants from all over Europe and Canada came to live and work in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. All winter, men called lumberjacks would cut down pine trees, preparing the timber to be used as building material, or sometimes to be turned into pulp or…

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September 10, 2020