Explorers Fr. Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet portaged June 14, 1673, en route to exploring and mapping the upper Mississippi. A monument is erected on East Wisconsin Street in Portage across from the Wisconsin River in honor of their visit.
The Stevens Point Brewery is steeped in a history that has transcended the trials of the great Depression and Prohibition. Over 140 years later, the Stevens Point Brewery is the 5th oldest continuously operating brewery remaining in the United States of America.
The Fox and Wisconsin Rivers meet via the Portage Canal.
oBeloit is known for many ‘firsts,’ including: First college in the Northwest Territory (1846, Beloit College); First Federation of Women’s Club in the U.S. (1894); First automobile speedometer invented by AG Warner (1901); First turn signal lights for automobiles (1927); First electric clutches for automobiles (1934).
Wisconsin became the 30th state in the Union in 1848. Its nickname is “Gathering of the Waters,” and rightfully so with nearly 15,000 inland lakes and 33,000 miles of rivers and streams. It is bordered by the Great Lakes (Michigan and Superior) and the Mississippi River.
Wisconsin’s tourism industry is one of the state’s top three industries (along with manufacturing and agriculture), accounting for nearly $12 billion in travel expenditures each year.
Wausau’s Rib Mountain, called a “monadnock” by geologists, is the third highest point in Wisconsin and, at 700 feet above the surrounding plain, is the tallest mountain in Wisconsin.
Manitowish Waters is home to Little Bohemia Restaurant, famous for its original bullet holes and memorabilia displaying the 1934 shoot-out between John Dillinger, his gangster friends and the FBI.
In 1886, the largest dam was built in Tomahawk, known as the “Pride Dam”
Edgerton’s post office houses a 1941 mural entitled ‘Tobacco Harvest’ by W. Vladimir Rousseff, completed by laborers funded by the Work Projects Administration under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”
6 of Wisconsin’s 10 tallest waterfalls are located within 20 minutes of downtown Hurley.
Madison’s Dane County Farmers’ Market on the Square has been around for more than 30 years and is the largest producers-only farmers’ market in the United States. Madison is literally surrounded by water, situated on an isthmus of rock between Lakes Mendota and Monona.
Did you know that Downtown Minocqua is actually an island, hence the name Minocqua – The Island City
NFL Hall of Famer Bart Starr threw his first touchdown pass as a professional in Janesville.
The State Capitol building in Madison has four wings and is four stories high. On top of the 200 foot high dome in the center of the Capitol is the bronze statue “Wisconsin.” She points toward Washington D.C., our nation’s capitol. The dome is the only granite dome in the United States and is the largest by volume.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Stoughton was home to the tallest man made ski jump in America. It was a 138 feet tall wooden structure and drew internationally known ski jumpers to Stoughton’s ski tournaments. The jumpers would walk up a narrow flight of stairs at the side of the jump and then ski down. Unfortunately it was destroyed by a wind storm in March of 1914, but you can still see photos of this amazing ski jump in the lower level of Stoughton’s City Hall.
The Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest in Northern Wisconsin (including areas such as Manitowish Waters and Minocqua-Arbor Vitae-Woodruff) is Wisconsin’s largest state forest with over 225,000 acres
Wisconsin Trivia
(Courtesy of The Wisconsin Department of Tourism)
WISCONSIN SYMBOLS
State Animal: Badger
State Tree: Maple
State Flower: Wood Violet
State Wildlife Animal: White tailed Deer
State Domestic Animal: Dairy Cow
State Bird: Robin
State Fish: Muskellunge
State Insect: Honey Bee
State Motto: “Forward”
State Dance: Polka
State Nickname: “Gathering of the Waters”
VITAL STATISTICS
State Capitol: Madison
Population: 5,363,675
Largest City: Milwaukee
Average Rainfall: 31 inches
Average Snowfall: 45 inches
Average Temperature Summer: 67 degrees
Average Temperature Winter: 16 degrees
Largest Inland Lake: Lake Winnebago (137,708 acres)
State Parks: 60,570 acres
State Forests: 471,329 acres
Highest Elevation: Timm’s Hill (1,951.5 feet)
GEOGRAPHY
The total land area of the state is 56,154 square miles, which includes 1,439 square miles of inland water.
Wisconsin has nearly 15,000 inland lakes and 33,000 miles of rivers and streams. It is bordered by two of the Great Lakes (Michigan and Superior) and the Mississippi River.
Door County has more miles of shoreline (250 mi.), more lighthouses (10), and more state parks (five) than any other county in the United States.
Big Manitou Falls at Pattison State Park in Superior is the highest waterfall in Wisconsin at 165 feet.
Northeastern Wisconsin’s Fox River is one of the few rivers in the nation that flows north.
The largest Indian reservation in Wisconsin is the Menominee Reservation with 234,900 acres.
The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a scenic chain of 21 islands in Lake Superior just off the tip of Bayfield County.
Located near Ogema, Timm’s Hill is the state’s highest elevation at 1,951.5 feet.
The Kickapoo River, located in Crawford County, is known as “the crookedest river” in the world.
AGRICULTURE
Known as “America’s Dairyland,” Wisconsin’s 1.3 million dairy cows produce a year’s supply of milk for nearly 42 million people, butter for 68 million, and cheese for 86 million.
Wisconsin is first in the nation in total cheese production..
Chalet Cheese Co op in Monroe is the only cheese factory in the United States that still makes the notoriously odd smelling limburger variety of cheese..
Wisconsin is the nation’s leading cranberry producer, accounting for nearly 48 percent of the nation’s total crop. .
Wisconsin is the nation’s leading producer of ginseng and 8th in honey production..
OTHER WISCONSIN FACTS
The first circus in the United States was performed in Delavan. The Ringling Brothers put on their first circus performance in 1884 in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
Each August, Wisconsin hosts the largest experimental aviation event in the world, the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh.
Hayward is the home to the largest muskie in the world, a four story replica at the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. The world’s largest carousel is located at House on the Rock in Spring Green.
Wisconsin boasts three nationally known outdoor theaters: American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Peninsula Players Theatre in Fish Creek and Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua.
More than 800,000 deer roam Wisconsin’s woods each year.
America’s largest waterpark, Noah’s Ark, is located in Wisconsin Dells.
One of the two remaining Russian Mir space station core modules is on display in the Wisconsin Dells, with the other located in Russia.
Sheboygan is the “Bratwurst Capital of the World.”
The first ice cream sundae was concocted in Two Rivers in 1881.
Milwaukee’s Summerfest is the world’s biggest outdoor music festival, drawing nearly one million visitors per year.
Elmwood, Wisconsin, where a number of reported UFO sightings have occurred, hosts “UFO Days” every July.
Mount Horeb’s internationally known Mustard Museum holds the world’s largest collection of mustards, totaling more than 3,500 varieties.
Port Washington is home to the world’s largest one day, outdoor fish fry, which takes place every July.
Sun Prairie’s Sweet Corn Festival, held in August, is one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
Mt. Horeb Mustard MuseumThe Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw draws nearly 40,000 spectators to Sauk Prairie during Labor Day weekend every year.
The U.S. Watermelon Seed Spitting and Speed Eating Championships are held every September in Pardeeville. Sauk City and Prairie du Sac are home to North America’s largest population of wintering eagles.
Kewaunee is home to the world’s largest grandfather clock, which stands 35 feet tall.
Milwaukee derives its name from the Algonquin word mahn a wauk ee meaning “gathering place by the waters.”
The Milwaukee Public Museum has the world’s largest collection of typewriters, totaling more than 700.
Dickeyville GrottoLake Geneva has the only postal route in Wisconsin for which mail is delivered by boat.
Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant in Door County draws people not only for the food but those who want to catch a glimpse of the goats that graze on the restaurant’s sod roof.
More than 2,000 tops are on display at the Spinning Top Exploratory Museum in Burlington.
Muscoda is the self proclaimed “Morel Mushroom Capital.”
Al Capone retreated from Chicago to his vacation getaway in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. Known as “The Hideout, the lakeside home in Couderayis complete with machine gun portals, a gun tower and 18 inch thick walls.
The exact geographic center of the northwest hemisphere is located in Poniatowski, just a few miles west of Wausau. Poniatowski is half way between the Equator and the NorthPole and half way between Greenwich Meridian and the International Date Line. There are only four places like this in the entire world withtwo being under water and the other in China. The site is located in a cornfield and marked with the Reitbrock Geographical Marker.