Wisconsin 101

Read more about the article The Fromm Fur Farm

Captive foxes on a pelting range. Date unknown. Photograph courtesy of the Marathon County Historical Society.

The Fromm Fur Farm

The land that became the Fromm Fur Farm was first settled by Joachim Nieman, a forester who came to Wisconsin as part of the mass immigration from Germany after 1848. He gave his daughter Alwina a quarter section of undeveloped wilderness near…

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January 1, 2017

The history of fur and fashion runs deep in North America. October 1953 issue of Vogue.

Fashion and Fur

The End of the Old Fur TradeThe development of fur farms at the close of the 19th century was perhaps the most revolutionary change in North America’s fur industry, and fashion played a significant role in that change. Beaver pelts had been the…

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January 1, 2017

Read more about the article The Father of Malted Milk

William Horlick, the father of malted milk, in Racine, Wisconsin, c. 1910. Photograph courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Image ID: 23698

Racine County / Racine / Region 8 - South East / Horlick's Malted Milk / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Global Connections

The Father of Malted Milk

William Horlick was born on February 23, 1846 to James and Priscilla Horlick in the village of Ruardean, Gloucestershire, England. In 1869, William made his first voyage to the United States to visit his distant uncle, Joseph A. Horlick of Racine, Wisconsin.…

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October 1, 2016

Wilson Place Door / Related Stories / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Education

The Arts & Crafts Movement

Wisconsin’s Stout Institute is a major landmark of educational innovation in state history. With its emphasis on creativity as well as vocational preparation, the school was greatly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, then a major force in artistic, cultural, and progressive political…

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March 7, 2016

Read more about the article The Lumber Industry in Northern Wisconsin

Lumber rafts on the Wisconsin River near the Wisconsin Dells, c. 1886. Photograph by H.H. Bennett, courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society, Image ID 6314.

Langlade County / 2000-2020 / 2020-2040 / Bark Spud / Related Stories / Home Furnishings / Manufacturing & Trade / Clothing & Fashion / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000

The Lumber Industry in Northern Wisconsin

Prior to the Civil War, most of northern Wisconsin was inhabited by the Menominee and Ojibwe Indians and transient fur traders of European origin. Demand for wood in Chicago and Milwaukee after the Civil War brought lumbermen to the north woods. Initially,…

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February 1, 2016

Read more about the article Milwaukee: The Bowling Capital of America

American Bowling Congress tournament in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, c. 1905. Photographer unknown.

Milwaukee County / Milwaukee / Vulcan Bowling Pin / Region 8 - South East / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / Global Connections

Milwaukee: The Bowling Capital of America

Bowling evolved in the mid-nineteenth century United States from imported European games like the German kegling. Beginning with clubs in eastern U.S cities, bowling grew in popularity and spread to the Midwest—particularly cities like Milwaukee—as German-Americans migrated across the continent. Bowling was often…

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February 1, 2016