Explore the Stories that Made Wisconsin
History is a story with many voices, always growing and evolving—a story we tell together. At the Wisconsin Historical Museum, you’ll immerse yourself in fascinating and diverse stories of people and places from Wisconsin history.
Explore the state’s diverse and dynamic past through four floors of engaging exhibits, fascinating historical objects, and hands-on experiences that focus on Native Nations and Tribes, the immigrant experience, frontier life, agriculture, industry, politics, and much more. Enter a replica of a 1,000-year-old house and examine a fur trade post. Descend into a lead mine and climb into a tractor cab. Discover the stories of Wisconsin’s political heritage, working lives, ethnic diversity, and sense of community.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Best Deal in History!
Becoming a member is the best way to explore Wisconsin history. Members get free admission to our historic sites and discounts on special events!
Follow Us!
Today is Friday the 13th!
An infamously unlucky day, but for some people in the late 1800s, it was a day to celebrate.
In the 1880s, the Thirteen Club began in New York City. Like any supper club, its members would gather for dinner and drinks. But this club had a twist: its very point was to be as unlucky as possible.
When members arrived, they wore black suits, ties, and top hats, like the sort of thing they would wear to a funeral. They made a point of bringing a ladder inside before a meal and walking underneath it. They would smash mirrors, spill salt, and most importantly, meet on Friday the 13th and sit at tables of thirteen people.
The phenomenon quickly spread around the country, especially to supper club-loving places in the Midwest. Though the club's popularity didn't last into the 20th century, its effect remains. Some historians believe, in fact, that the Thirteen Club popularized the notion of combining unlucky 13 and unlucky Friday, both established superstitions at that point, into the unluckiest Friday the 13th.
For more information on the Thirteen Club, check out this article from Atlas Obscura: www.atlasobscura.com/.../thirteen-club...
📷: Thirteen Club Feast by the Sea Menu: WHI ID# 102833 ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Today is International Nurse Day!
This is a day dedicated to showing appreciation to the hard working nurses in your life, and giving thanks for their contributions to medicine.
Pictured is student nurse, Mary Jo Oxem (left) in surgical garb assisting a surgeon in an operating room in 1958. As one of the 125 students of St. Mary's School of Nursing in Madison, she is posing for a series of photographs taken during a typical day of a senior student nurse.
📸: Typical Day of a Student Nurse: WHI ID# 139545 ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
May is State Archaeology and Historic Preservation Month!
Have you ever wondered how to research historic buildings? The Wisconsin Historic Preservation Office is holding a special webinar on May 17th to show you how!
The Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society maintains a database of over 150,000 historic buildings, structures and objects throughout Wisconsin. Leah Penzkover, Architecture and History Inventory Coordinator, will demonstrate how to research historic buildings in Wisconsin using maps, tax records, archival materials, and more.
To learn more and to register, click here: wihist.org/3L4hqpQ ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook