Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Rise of Skilled Manufacturing
Between 1870 and 1900 the United States became the world's foremost industrial nation, emerging as the leader in meatpacking, timber and steel production as well as in mining. The nation experienced a stunning growth in the scale and pace of industrial production, which transformed business, the environment, the workplace, the home, and everyday life. In Wisconsin, early manufacturing was primarily extractive - - removing raw materials such as fur, lumber, and lead from the landscape and processing them for market. In contrast, by 1860 Milwaukee had become a center of modern manufacturing - - creating finished consumer goods from those... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | A tariff advocate seeks worker support, 1880 |
| The Sheboygan Press covers the strike in Kohler, 1934 |
| How aluminum becomes Mirro cookware |
 | Parker Pen trim lathe |
| A gas powered tractor for small-scale farmers |
 | A catalogue of industries from Milwaukee's Industrial Exposition in 1881 |
| A guide to Milwaukee's commercial industries, 1882 |
| A bathing suit catalog from Gimbel Brothers of Milwaukee |
| An 1888 milling catalogue from the Allis Company |
| A history of aluminum manufacturing in Manitowoc |
| The history and making of Holeproof Hosiery |
| Three new flour mills open in Superior in 1893 |
| A trip through an instrument factory in Elkhorn, 1920 |
| A colorful and opinionated guide to Milwaukee businesses, 1877 |
| A Labor Day souvenir from the 1900 celebration |
| The many products of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, 1948 |
| The National Labor Relations Board tries to settle the Kohler strike, 1934 |
| Kohler workers strike for Union recognition |
| Kohler: A place to work and live (1920) |
| The Kohler Company celebrates industrial progress, 1934 |
| A look at Wisconsin industry on the eve of the Depression |
| Annual summaries of Milwaukee industry, 1919-1929 |
| Susan Frackelton's manual on ceramic arts, 1886 |
| Catalog of outboard motor manufacturer Evinrude, 1929. |
| Kimberly-Clark Company celebrates its history, 1922. |
| A Depression-era quilt design catalog from Walworth, Wis. |
 | Photographs of automobile manufacturing in Wisconsin, 1905-1968. |
| Photographs of Wisconsin workers and factories, 1900-1909 |
| Advertisements for farm equipment |
| Images of the Winther Motor Truck Company |
| Toy carriages and wagons from a Sheboygan factory, 1873-1875 |
 | Papers of ceramic artist Susan Frackelton, 1882-1953. |
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