Wisconsin Trivia & Tidbits - Page 13

Looking for Wisconsin trivia? Try our list Wisconsin little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

The 1846 Beloit College in Beloit (pop. 35,775) is the state’s oldest college in continuous service.

first appeared: 8/11/2002

A 100-year-old octagonal barn in Grafton (pop. 4,132) is among three remaining of 14 built by Ernest Clausing in Ozaukee County. The German and Dutch design allowed the barns to withstand fierce winds from Lake Michigan.

first appeared: 8/4/2002

The all-volunteer Hydroflites Water Ski Team in Chetek (pop. 2,180) gives free weekly performances each summer on Lake Chetek.

first appeared: 7/28/2002

The state’s record high temperature of 114 degrees was set July 13, 1936, in Wisconsin Dells (pop. 2,418).

first appeared: 7/21/2002

The first state Capitol was in Belmont (pop. 676), where territorial lawmakers met in 1836, 12 years before statehood.

first appeared: 7/14/2002

Built in 1859, the Iowa County Courthouse in Dodgeville (pop. 4,220) is the state’s oldest courthouse.

first appeared: 7/7/2002

Appleton has been home to professional baseball on and off since 1891, when four local businessmen posted a $200 bond to enter a team in the Wisconsin State League. The town now hosts the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a minor league team and affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, at Fox Cities Stadium.

first appeared: 6/30/2002

Writer Zona Gale, born Aug. 26, 1874, in Portage (pop. 9,728), became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama, with the comedy Miss Lulu Bett in 1921.

first appeared: 6/23/2002

To promote the dairy and aviation industries, Elm Farm Ollie became the first cow to fly and be milked in an airplane on Feb. 18, 1930. Ollie’s milk was bagged and dropped during the St. Louis International Air Exposition. She inspired an opera, Madame Butterfat, and a fan club in Madison.

first appeared: 6/16/2002

Fishermen can thank Ole Evinrude, who grew up in Cambridge (pop. 1,101), for the first commercial outboard boat motor. In 1906, while rowing five miles in 90-degree weather to fetch ice cream for his fiancee, Evinrude’s thoughts turned to the need for a gasoline motor to power a boat.

first appeared: 6/9/2002

America’s most disastrous forest fire began Oct. 8, 1871, in Peshtigo (pop. 3,357), on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire. Twelve hundred people died, and an area 40 miles long and 10 miles wide was charred. Three hundred died in the Chicago fire.

first appeared: 6/2/2002

The Museum of Norman Rockwell Art in Reedsburg (pop. 7,827) showcases 4,000 pieces of original art by the illustrator, who is known for his affectionate portrayals of American life.

first appeared: 5/26/2002

Wisconsin exported $10.5 billion in goods and services abroad in 2000, including more than $4 billion to Canada, its largest foreign customer.

first appeared: 5/19/2002

At Stony Hill School in Fredonia (pop. 2,903), teacher Bernard Cigrand first celebrated Flag Day with his students June 14, 1885. In 1949, it became a national holiday.

first appeared: 5/12/2002

Covering 137,708 acres, Lake Winnebago is the largest lake in Wisconsin.

first appeared: 5/5/2002

Abuzz from 1854 to 1910, the water-powered Herrling Sawmill was reconstructed on its original site near Greenbush (pop. 2,773) and dedicated last June.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

Since opening with Noel Coward’s Hay Fever in July 1935, the Peninsula Players have staged 500 plays near Fish Creek and claim to operate the nation’s oldest professional summer theater.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

Founded in 1925, Forest Lodge Library in Cable (pop. 836) is the oldest log-cabin library in Wisconsin and features a large selection of natural history books.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

Wisconsin Dells (pop. 2,418) gets its name from French explorers who called the region the “dalles” for the slab-like rock atop a narrow gorge created by the Wisconsin River.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

Established in 1916 with the call letters 9XM, radio station WHA-AM in Madison was among the nation’s first radio stations and is the oldest one in continuous operation.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

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