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Explore Wisconsin History by Year

Browse stories and podcasts in the archive by the year it happened. Filter by era, jump to a year, and click any title for where to watch or listen.

Content Type
Historical Era

Aztalan State Park

Lake Mills

Watch/Listen

Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee Formation: One of America's Most Diverse Fossil Sites

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Native American Canoes in Madison

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

America's Last Intaglio Effigy Mound

Fort Atkinson

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's First Thanksgiving

Green Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

The History of Holy Hill

Hubertus

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin and the Revolutionary War

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin and the Revolutionary War

Statewide

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Marc Storch, Historical Researcher at Wisconsin Veteran's Museum
Content Type
Historical Era

How La Crosse Got Its Name

La Crosse

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Content Type
Historical Era

War of 1812 in Wisconsin

Prairie du Chien

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Content Type
Historical Era

Egg Harbor Name

Egg Harbor

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Content Type
Historical Era

Zachary Taylor in Wisconsin

Prairie du Chien

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Content Type
Historical Era

Origins of the Badger Name

Mineral Point, Platteville

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Content Type
Historical Era

Why Doesn't Wisconsin Control The UP?

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's First Capital

Belmont

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Content Type
Historical Era

Why is Milwaukee Known as "Cream City"?

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Oldest Fourth of July Celebrations

Janesville, Racine

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Content Type
Historical Era

Canal from Milwaukee to Mississippi River

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Legislature Shooting

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee Bridge War

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Could Have Been a State Earlier

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

How Did Wisconsin Get Its Name?

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Before the Dairy State: Wisconsin's Sheep Era

Statewide

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Hedge Becker, Director of the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival
Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Rise and Fall of Schlitz

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Only Execution in Wisconsin

Kenosha

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's First State Fair

Janesville

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's Oldest Prison

Waupun

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Content Type
Historical Era

Behind the Walls of Waupun

Waupun

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Zachary Dickhut, Curator at Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum
Content Type
Historical Era

The Wisconsin State Fair: 175 Years of Tradition

Statewide

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Tom Zimmerman, Wisconsin State Fair Historian
Content Type
Historical Era

Thomas Jefferson's Child Buried in Madison

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Republican Party Was Founded in Wisconsin

Ripon

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Content Type
Historical Era

How Wisconsin Helped This Escaped Slave to Freedom

Racine, Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

America's First Kindergarten

Watertown

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Content Type
Historical Era

History of Wisconsin Dells

Wisconsin Dells

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Content Type
Historical Era

Abraham Lincoln Speech At the Wisconsin State Fair

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Lady Elgin Disaster

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The History of Camp Randall

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Story of Old Abe

Eau Claire, Jim Falls

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin and the Civil War

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin and the Civil War

Statewide

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Doug Dammann, Content Manager at Civil War Museum
Content Type
Historical Era

Northernmost Confederate Cemetery

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee: World's Largest Wheat Shipper

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Youngest Civil War Soldier

Racine

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Content Type
Historical Era

Typewriter and QWERTY Keyboard Invention

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee Soldier's Home

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Milwaukee Soldiers Home: Civil War Legacy in Wisconsin

Milwaukee

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Peter Zanghi, President of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance Board of Directors
Content Type
Historical Era

History of Milwaukee's Jones Island

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Menomonee River Valley

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

No Bar Exam Requirement

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Deadliest Wildfire in Recorded History

Peshtigo

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Content Type
Historical Era

History of Neenah Foundry

Neenah

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Content Type
Historical Era

North Point Water Tower

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Oshkosh Fire of 1875

Oshkosh

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Content Type
Historical Era

Eagle Diamond Heist

Eagle

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Courtney Woolen Mill

Appleton

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Tom Courtney, Former Owner of Courtney Woolen Mill
Content Type
Historical Era

Ice Cream Sundae Invention

Two Rivers

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Hydroelectric Power Plant

Appleton

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Content Type
Historical Era

Malted Milk's Popularity

Racine

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee's Deadliest Fire

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Ringling Brothers Circus

Baraboo

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Content Type
Historical Era

Flag Day Origins

Waubeka

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Content Type
Historical Era

St. Croix River Log Jam

St. Croix Falls

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Successful Streetcars

Appleton

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Bay View Massacre

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Former World's Deepest Iron Mine

Montreal

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Content Type
Historical Era

Borchert Field in Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Chair Company

Grafton

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Content Type
Historical Era

World's Largest Water Pump

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Artifacts Episode 2: Carolina Parrot Bird Card

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Parker Pen Company

Janesville

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Pearling Business

La Crosse

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Babcock Test

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Third Ward Fire of 1892

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin State Fair River

West Allis

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Great Hygeia Spring War

Waukesha

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Great Hygeia Spring War

Waukesha

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John Schoenknecht, Waukesha Historian
Content Type
Historical Era

Is The Pfister Hotel Haunted?

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Hodag Story

Rhinelander

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee City Hall: Once the United States' Tallest Inhabitable Building

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Margarine Ban

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Lloyd Street Grounds

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Last Whaleback Ship

Superior

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Content Type
Historical Era

Yerkes Observatory

Williams Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

Yerkes Observatory: The Birthplace of Modern Astrophysics

Williams Bay

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Walt Chadick, Director of Programs at Yerkes Observatory
Content Type
Historical Era

The Gideon Bible Inception

Boscobel, Janesville

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Content Type
Historical Era

Worst Tornado in Wisconsin

New Richmond

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee's Automobile History

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Appleton's Ravines

Appleton

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Content Type
Historical Era

AL Founder and World Series Creator (Henry Killilea)

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Milwaukee Brewers Became the Baltimore Orioles

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Toilet Paper Capital of the World

Green Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

Oldest Operating Motor Speedway in the World

West Allis

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Content Type
Historical Era

Harley-Davidson Founding

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

First African American to Run For President

La Crosse

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Content Type
Historical Era

1904 Burning of the Wisconsin State Capitol Building

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Bowling Capital of America

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Ever State Basketball Tournament

Appleton

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Legal Forward Pass in Football

Waukesha

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Content Type
Historical Era

The History of "On, Wisconsin!"

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Privately Bought Airplane

Beloit

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Content Type
Historical Era

First and Last Socialist Mayors of a Major City

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Socialist in Congress

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

First State with Income Tax

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Teddy Roosevelt Assassination Attempt Part 1

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Teddy Roosevelt Assassination Attempt Part 2

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee's Hidden Lake

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Largest Fire Truck Producer

Oshkosh

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Content Type
Historical Era

Les Paul Pioneer of the Electric Guitar

Waukesha

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee Police Bombing

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's Fighter Pilots

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's Fighter Pilots

Statewide

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Gregory Krueger, Curator of Exhibits at Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Content Type
Historical Era

First Ever Highway Numbering System

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Green Bay Packers First Ever Loss

Green Bay, Beloit

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin: First State to Ratify the 19th Amendment

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Kissel Gold Bug

Hartford

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Content Type
Historical Era

Former Wisconsin NFL Teams

Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Blender Invention

Racine

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Content Type
Historical Era

Modern Portrayal of Santa Claus

Waukesha

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Content Type
Historical Era

Modern Snowmobile Invention

Sayner

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Content Type
Historical Era

Cream Puff History

West Allis

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Content Type
Historical Era

Al Capone in Wisconsin

Couderay

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Rave Pool

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Statues at US Capitol

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Unemployment Compensation Law

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Little Bohemia Lodge Shootout

Manitowish Waters

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Content Type
Historical Era

Gerald Ford Almost a Packer

Green Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

Fastest Long-Distance Passenger Train

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Cheese Puff Invention

Beloit

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Content Type
Historical Era

Founding of Greendale

Greendale

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee is the World's Frozen Custard Capital

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin NBA Teams Besides Milwaukee Bucks

Sheboygan, Oshkosh

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Content Type
Historical Era

Why Wisconsin is Called "America's Dairyland"

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Manitowoc Submarines in WWII

Manitowoc

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Content Type
Historical Era

USS Wisconsin

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Packers-Bears Playoff History

Green Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

This Building Helped Create the Atomic Bomb

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

WWII POW Camps in Wisconsin

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's Worst Earthquake

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Mars Cheese Castle History

Kenosha

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Content Type
Historical Era

Packers Almost Leaving in 1950

Green Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

County Stadium: First Stadium From Public Funds

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Baltimore Orioles Were Almost the Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Boston Braves Move to Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

EAA: Wisconsin as the Center of the Aviation World

Oshkosh

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Dick Knapinski, Director of Communications at EAA
Content Type
Historical Era

St. Louis Cardinals Almost Moved to Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

One-Yard Markers Invention

Waukesha

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Sports Illustrated Cover

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Law to Stop Milwaukee from Expanding

Milwaukee, Oak Creek

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin: Serial Killer State?

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Nuclear Missiles in Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Waukesha, Muskego, Hales Corners, Lannon, Muskego

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Content Type
Historical Era

Mitchell Park Domes

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

JFK Jr. Conceived in Wisconsin?

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Law Requiring Seatbelts

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Soviet Spacecraft Debris in Manitowoc

Manitowoc

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Content Type
Historical Era

World's Largest Block of Cheese

Denmark

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Content Type
Historical Era

History of Kwik Trip

Eau Claire, La Crosse

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Content Type
Historical Era

Medieval Chapel in Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Artifacts Episode 1: The Sporting News

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Ice Bowl

Green Bay

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Declared War on Union?

Winneconne

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Content Type
Historical Era

History of the Summerfest Grounds

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin's Crucial Role in Moon Landings

Oak Creek

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Content Type
Historical Era

Wisconsin Has the Busiest Airport in the World

Oshkosh

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Content Type
Historical Era

Joseph Stalin's Daughter Lived in Wisconsin

Spring Green, Richland Center

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Content Type
Historical Era

Bombing of Sterling Hall

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

Earth Day Founding

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Bernie Brewer's Origins

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Dungeons & Dragons Invention

Lake Geneva

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Superior

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Content Type
Historical Era

Jimmy Hoffa Buried in Milwaukee?

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Metric System in Wisconsin?

Statewide

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Content Type
Historical Era

Elvis Breaks Up Fight in Madison

Madison

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Content Type
Historical Era

First ESPN Broadcast

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Milwaukee Restaurant With Dolphins

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

The Cheese League

Platteville, La Crosse, River Falls

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Content Type
Historical Era

History of Culver's

Sauk City

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Content Type
Historical Era

The History of Cheeseheads

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

UFO Capital of Wisconsin

Belleville

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Content Type
Historical Era

NHL Team in Milwaukee

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

National Mustard Museum

Middleton

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Content Type
Historical Era

The National Mustard Museum

Middleton

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Barry Levenson, Founder of the National Mustard Museum
Content Type
Historical Era

Most Complete Woolly Mammoth Skeleton

Kenosha

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Team to Switch Leagues

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

First Gluten Free Beer

Milwaukee

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Content Type
Historical Era

Things You Didn’t Know About Wisconsin (With Wisconsin History Unlocked)

Statewide

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