Wisconsin 101

Polka’s Popularity in the United States

After World War II, polka made its first mainstream American appearance thanks to Cleveland, Ohio’s celebrated “Polka King,” Slovenian-American Frankie Yankovic. The genre remains popular today, especially with the older crowd in the Midwest.

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May 17, 2020

Women in the American Art Pottery Movement

Pauline Pottery Covered Jar / Home Furnishings / Manufacturing & Trade / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / Ethnicity & Identity / Curators' Favorites

Women in the American Art Pottery Movement

Women played a central role in the American Art Pottery movement, both as leaders like Pauline Jacobus and as workers like Lulu Deveraux Dixon.

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April 20, 2020

The Pauline Pottery

Chicago-born artist and entrepreneur Pauline Jacobus was the central figure of Edgerton, Wisconsin's art pottery movement. In 1888, Jacobus and her husband Oscar relocated the Pauline Pottery from Chicago to Edgerton to take advantage of the area's quality clay.

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April 20, 2020

Victor Berger Campaign Banner / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Related Stories / Milwaukee County / Manufacturing & Trade / Politics, Society & Government / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / Curators' Favorites

Victor Berger and the Sewer Socialists

Victor Berger, one of the "Sewer Socialists," became the first Socialist to serve in the United States House of Representatives, winning the election in Wisconsin’s 5th congressional district in 1910.

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April 13, 2020

Jewish Immigration from Russia to Sheboygan

The first Russian Jews arrived in Sheboygan in the 1880s. Like many other immigrants, they often followed their "landsleit" (fellow townsmen) to settlements in the new world, with the result that many of Sheboygan's Jewish immigrants came from a relatively small area east of Vilna and north of Minsk in current-day Belarus. They settled on the northwest side of Sheboygan, in a neighborhood bounded by 13th and 15th Streets, Geele Avenue on the north, and Bluff Avenue on the south.

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March 20, 2020

Waukesha County / Region 8 - South East / Home Furnishings / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Education

OBJECT HISTORY: Slate

Before chromebooks, iPads, and even lined paper, students still had to complete their assignments. In the past, students did most their schoolwork on a slate. A slate is a small, rectangular blackboard made from slate stone. They had two sides and the edges were wrapped in leather or wood to protect students’ hands. In the…

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February 10, 2020