Wisconsin 101

Sheboygan County / Region 5 - Center East / Greenbush / Manufacturing & Trade / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine / 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

Grant County / Region 6 - South West / Sterling Safety Bicycle / Ellenboro / Manufacturing & Trade / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: The Crab Tree Special

In the 1890s, mass-produced safety bicycles sparked a bicycle craze across Wisconsin. However, despite the lowered costs associated with mass production, not everyone could afford this new luxury. Walter Atkinson of Ellenboro, Wisconsin, was not going to let a $100 price tag deter him from experiencing the liberating power of bicycle transportation. Tapping into the…

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September 10, 2017

Kenosha County / Kenosha / Region 8 - South East / Sterling Safety Bicycle / Manufacturing & Trade / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: Sterling Safety Bicycle

What did a bicycle rider in 1890 look for in a new bike? Safety and comfort, of course, but also beautiful construction—many of the same qualities that contemporary bicycle riders also seek. Sterling Bicycle advertisement featuring Annie Oakley on the safety bicycle, 1890s. The bicycle pictured here was donated to the Wisconsin Historical Museum, where it…

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September 10, 2017

Read more about the article The Cherry Industry in Door County

Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Image ID: 48771.

Door County / Cherryland T-Shirt / Region 5 - Center East / Related Stories / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Nature & Environment / 1940-1960 / Transportation & Tourism

The Cherry Industry in Door County

While early European immigrants in Door County survived by subsistence farming, efforts in later years to grow cash crops proved challenging, due in large part to the area’s rocky landscape. Despite little success with traditional crops, Door County residents continued to look…

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July 1, 2017

1600-1800 / 2000-2020 / 2020-2040 / Pre-1600 / 1800-1820 / Home Furnishings / 1820-1840 / 1840-1860 / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Object Histories / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / Ethnicity & Identity / 1980-2000

OBJECT HISTORY: Cradleboard

Native Americans used cradleboards in North America to protect, carry, and entertain their babies. Cradleboards allowed women to keep babies close to their side. Women carried cradleboards on their backs. They also could rest them against a tree. The cradleboard protected babies from danger and kept them happy. Native tribes made cradleboards in many ways,…

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June 9, 2017

Scene from Poale Zion Chasidim, an Americanization pageant held in the Milwaukee auditorium to welcome Milwaukee’s new citizens, 1919. Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, ID: 5348.

The Settlement House Movement

Mass immigration from eastern and southern Europe dramatically altered America’s ethnic and religious composition around the turn of the twentieth century. Unlike earlier immigrants, who had largely come from western European countries like Britain, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia, the new immigrants came…

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May 1, 2017