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Highlights

Museum Exhibits Rare Photos of Taliesin I

Reproductions of 33 rare and historic photographs and a small selection of original photographs that document the construction of the original Taliesin, the residence and studio Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built in Spring Green, Wisconsin, in 1911-1912, are on... more...
Posted February 8, 2010

Library Reading Room Renovation Work Done

After months of noisy and labor-intensive toil, all spaces of the Society's grand Library Reading Room are again available to the public. Patrons and staff endured cramped spaces, dusty conditions and the sights and sounds of daily construction work, but... more...
Posted February 4, 2010

Civil Rights Collections Are a Research Gem

February is Black History Month, an appropriate time to highlight the richness and depth of the Wisconsin Historical Society's civil rights collections. The holdings are particularly strong in three areas: the movement in Wisconsin, particularly Milwaukee; the activities of national... more...
Posted February 1, 2010

Prophetic Pictures from Menomonie, Wisconsin

The Visual Materials Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society holds a most unusual photograph album that takes one back to the future — an imaginary future, that is. The album comprises 32 photographs taken in 1905 of graduates of Menomonie... more...
Posted January 28, 2010

Brunch, Bunyan and Books on February 6

Join folklore-loving friends on Saturday, February 6, for Taste Traditions of Wisconsin: Lumberjack Brunch and Book Discussion of Out of the Northwoods: The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan at the Wisconsin Historical Museum in Madison. Enjoy a hearty lumberjack brunch... more...
Posted January 25, 2010

Holocaust Survivors' Interviews Now Online

Recorded interviews with 22 survivors of the Nazi Holocaust who settled in Wisconsin have just been published online, making it possible to listen and read along as the survivors recount their experiences before, during and after the Holocaust. The Helen... more...
Posted January 21, 2010

It's Laura Ingalls Wilder Day in Wisconsin

By gubernatorial proclamation, Governor Jim Doyle has designated Tuesday, January 19, Laura Ingalls Wilder Day in Wisconsin, just ahead of the premiere of Little House on the Prairie, The Musical at Madison's Overture Center for the Arts. Wisconsin Historical Society... more...
Posted January 19, 2010

Martin Luther King Jr. & Highlander Folk School

Young people are often shocked at the complacency with which, just a few decades ago, their parents and grandparents accepted injustice. One has to be more than 50 to remember when the local newspaper routinely divided classified ads into "white"... more...
Posted January 14, 2010

Two New Badger Biographies

Two new Badger Biographies for young readers pay homage to a pair of Wisconsin's most famous native sons: legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright and politician and environmental giant Gaylord Nelson. This series of nonfiction books aims to help fourth-graders (ages... more...
Posted January 11, 2010

Blast from the Past: Aluminum Christmas Trees

Tick, tock, time is winding down on your last chance to take in the largest exhibit of aluminum Christmas trees the Wisconsin Historical Museum has ever offered. The vintage trees from the 1960s, all made in Wisconsin, include all of... more...
Posted January 7, 2010

The Society's Year in Review — 2009

A Message from Ellsworth Brown, The Ruth and Hartley Barker Director of the Wisconsin Historical Society Despite the challenges presented by an economy in recession throughout 2009, I am pleased to report that the Society made major headway on several... more...
Posted January 4, 2010

New Year's Day Originally Bigger Than Christmas

"Christmas was not the day to give and receive presents," recalled Elizabeth Baird (1810-1890), who came to Green Bay as a teenage bride in 1824. "This was reserved for New Year's." The custom of New Year gifts dated back many... more...
Posted December 28, 2009

Wisconsin History's Top 10 News Stories of 2009

In 2009 Wisconsin slogged through the doldrums of an economy in recession, received a visit from President Barack Obama, lost several of its own soldiers in a mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, and Green Bay Packers fans suffered... more...
Posted December 21, 2009

Recalling Women for a Peaceful Christmas

Under the slogan "No More Shopping Days 'Til Peace," a group of Wisconsin women organized Women for a Peaceful Christmas (WPC) in1971. Inspired during a time when the women's movement, the peace movement, and the environmental movement were in full... more...
Posted December 17, 2009

'Tis the Season to Give from Your Heart

The holidays are a wonderful time of year filled with precious memories, favorite stories, and a spirit of joy and goodwill. With that in mind, I hope you'll consider a gift to the Wisconsin Historical Society, our state's memory and... more...
Posted December 16, 2009

Give a Society Membership for the Holidays!

Is there someone on your holiday list who is difficult to buy for? Why not give the gift of a Society membership? You already enjoy membership and know its value. So, to make it even easier for both you and... more...
Posted December 14, 2009

World War II Mobilization Posters

During World War II the U.S. government organized the largest home-front propaganda campaign implemented up to that time. Its goals were to boost morale and sell war bonds. Milwaukee's Gugler Lithographic Company worked alongside Bugs Bunny, Judy Garland and Norman... more...
Posted December 10, 2009

Donation Funds Conservation of Paintings

A generous donation by the Wisconsin Antique Dealers Association through a grant to the FRIENDS of the Wisconsin Historical Society paid for the conservation of two of the Wisconsin Historical Museum's prized paintings: a landscape by renowned German-American folk artist... more...
Posted December 7, 2009

Wisconsin Historical Museum Holiday Sale

The holidays are a time for giving. And one great way to give to the Wisconsin Historical Society, while getting something in return, is to shop the Wisconsin Historical Museum's annual sale December 10-13. Here you can find inexpensive (but... more...
Posted December 3, 2009

Celebrate Christmas at Old World Wisconsin

Storytelling, a visit from Father Christmas, a stroll through the charming streets of the 1870s Crossroads Village all decked out for the season, and caroling in historic St. Peter's Church — these are just some of the things that make... more...
Posted November 30, 2009

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