WISCONSIN
Celebrating People, Place and Past
Work
Use these links to learn more about agriculture, industry and trade,
education and the arts in Wisconsin, both past and present.
Quick Links: Agriculture / Economics / Industry / Arts and Education / Historical
Agriculture
Wisconsin Farm Facts
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau provides facts and statistics about Wisconsin agriculture.
Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service
From the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. You may also view a variety of USDA reports, including the annual production of milk, various crops, livestock, and so on.
Dairy Trends
These charts from the UW-Madison graphically show information about the dairy industry in Wisconsin, such as milk sales since 1960 or the percent decline in number of dairy farms.
Life on the Farm
Meet the Condons, a farming family from Horicon. Find out about life on a farm and see many pictures of their home, farm, and equipment.
Breeds of Livestock
This illustrated guide from Oklahoma State University gives photographs and description of many breeds of cattle, goats, horses and other animals all over the world.
The Story of Milk
Take a virtual tour of milk production, from field to carton.
Ho Chunk Cranberry Harvest
See a video clip and hear an account of the harvest on Wisconsin Public Television's "Sesquicentennial Minutes."
Economics
Wisconsin Economic Profile
This site from the Department of Commerce provides statistics on population, employment, agricultural and industrial output and more.
Wisconsin Department of Commerce
This site provides information about employment, industry, economic and community development in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s Largest Employers
This searchable database is from the Department of Workforce development.
Wisconsin Job Center
An electronic employment service from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development features a nationwide job database.
Industry
Forest and Paper Products
See these resources about paper:
The History of Paper from the Wisconsin Paper Council.
Paper and Wood Products from the American Forest and Paper Association.
Paper Facts and Trivia from the Paper Project at Arizona State University.
Great Lakes Shipping
This site from the Lake Carriers Association describes the ships and products involved in the Great Lakes shipping industry.
Great Lakes and Seaway Shipping
This site for Great Lakes boat enthusiasts includes many photographs of ships and facts and figures about Great Lakes shipping.
Wisconsin State Minerals Information
The USGS publishes information about the mineral industry in Wisconsin, and a map of mineral-producing areas.
Public Education in Wisconsin
Links to the state's public educational institutions.
Wisconsin Arts Board
This site includes a calendar showing art and craft fairs throughout the state and information about Arts Board grant programs.
Milwaukee Architecture
Provides a historic look at the city through its buildings.
The Wisconsin Music Archives
Information about Wisconsin Music and Wisconsin Composers is provided by the Mills Music
Library at UW-Madison.
Historical
Fur Trade
History of the Fur Trade: Les Coureurs des Bois
A detailed history of the French role in the fur trade in the 1600's from the Virtual Museum of New France. Includes maps, a timeline and biographies of some early French explorers.
History of the Fur Trade: Voyageurs and Hired Men
The story of the fur trade after 1700 from the Virtual Museum of New France.
History of Minnesota's Lake Superior
The Minnesota Historical Society provides a history of early native settlement and European exploration of the Lake Superior region, as well as a detailed history of the Fur Trade.
Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site
This Canadian historic site includes extensive information on the fur trade, including details about beaver hats, the Northwest and Hudson's Bay Companies, and the role of the trading post.
Lumbering
Early Lumbering on the Chippewa
This account written in 1925 brings the lumbering process alive through stories, photographs and drawings.
Farming
Living History Farms
Three living history farm sites in Iowa provide information about farming in the midwest in 1700, 1850 and 1900.
Maritime
Keepers Journal
Learn what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper in the Apostle Islands in the 1890's.
Ice Water Mansions: Wisconsin's Lake Superior Shipwrecks
This site provides a multimedia tour of many Lake Superior shipwrecks.
Lighthouses of Door County
Learn about the history of these lighthouses and the people who lived and worked in them.
Wisconsin Marine Historical Society
Focuses on Wisconsin's maritime history.
Industry and Labor
The Rise of Labor and Wisconsin's "Little New Deal"
This article from Wisconsin Lawyer describes the evolution of Wisconsin labor law.
