Wisconsin 101

Chief Kahquados

Chief Simon Onanguisse Kahquados was the last hereditary descendant in a long line of Potawatomi chiefs, his family being one of the oldest known Potawatomi inhabitants of Wisconsin. An engaging speaker, Kahquados often served as an interpreter and provided a wealth of information to the Wisconsin Historical Society regarding traditional Potawatomi culture and history.

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April 6, 2020

Sheboygan County / Sheboygan / Region 5 - Center East / Synagogue Window / Related Stories / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / Ethnicity & Identity / Religion / Curators' Favorites / Global Connections

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

Science & Medicine / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940

OBJECT HISTORY: Silsby’s Steam Powered Pumper

In the late 1800s, the Silsby Company created the Steam Powered Pumper in New York. This technological advancement made the lives of firefighters everywhere easier. They no longer had to rely on bucket brigades to fight fires. This impacted communities all over the country, including in Berlin, Wisconsin.

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February 10, 2020

Milwaukee County / Settlement Cook Book / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / 1900-1920 / Ethnicity & Identity

OBJECT HISTORY: Settlement Cook Book

The first edition of The Settlement Cook Book was published on April 1, 1901 with an original printing of 1,000 copies. Copies not distributed to the settlement’s cooking school students were sold at the Boston Store in Milwaukee for 50 cents each and sold out within the first year. Kander made notes on the recipe for Mocha…

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February 10, 2020

Dunn County / Region 1 - North West / Menomonie / Wilson Place Door / Home Furnishings / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / 1900-1920

OBJECT HISTORY: Wilson Place Door

The Wilson Place Mansion front door was crafted at the turn of the twentieth century, likely by a well-known Arts and Crafts Movement blacksmith named Thomas F. Googerty. Wilson Place Mansion was the home of James Huff Stout, a lumber baron, longtime state senator, and philanthropist. Area tradition has it that the door was fashioned to honor Stout,…

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September 10, 2019

Green County / Region 7 - South Center / New Glarus / The Hefty-Blum White Barn / Related Stories / Manufacturing & Trade / Food & Cooking / 1860-1880 / Science & Medicine / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / 1920-1940 / 1940-1960 / 1960-1980

The Evolution of a Swiss Barn

The expansion of Wisconsin’s dairy industry in the 20th century not only altered the economy of the state, but it also influenced the structure of the very barns that housed the bovine champions of the industry. Barns must be adapted and altered…

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May 2, 2019