Wisconsin became the 30th state of the union in 1848. Being shortly before the Civil War, people met in Ripon, Wisconsin to discuss stopping the spread of slavery, resulting in the creation of the Republican Party. The state then became an important part of the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves reach freedom in Canada.
Wisconsin’s prairie soil is very fertile, boosting corn, the state’s #1 crop. The Sun Prairie’s sweet corn festival is one of the largest of its kind in the nation.
The Badger State is so famous for its cheese that it has a cheese museum. In truth, the Swiss Cheese Capitol of the World is in Wisconsin, rather than in Switzerland. The term “cheesehead” started as a term used by German soldiers to insult the Dutch during World War II, long before Green Bay Packers’ fans adopted it. Famous for its dairy products, Wisconsin banned the sale and use of margarine from 1895 to 1967. It remains illegal for a restaurant to serve margarine as a butter substitute unless a customer requests it.
The name Wisconsin hails from a Native American word “meskonsing,” meaning “this stream meanders through something red,” likely referring to the state’s reddish sandstone. Eleven Native American tribes still live in Wisconsin today.
With a current population nearing 6 million people, the state is noted for its forests and fertile farmland.
Neighboring Minnesota is called the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but Wisconsin has more than 15,000, all created during the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago when glaciers scraped across the land.
Glaciers carved a sandstone gorge called the Dells of the Wisconsin River, along with flattop hills called buttes and mesas.
Wisconsin is also home to a major archaeological find: 14,500-year-old mammoth bones with human-made tool marks.
Here are a few more fun facts.
Nearly 21 million gallons of ice cream are consumed by Wisconsinites each year.
Green Bay, the oldest city in Wisconsin, is known as the “Toilet Paper Capital” of the world.
Sheboygan, which freshwater surfers know as the “Malibu of the Midwest” is also known as the “Bratwurst Capital” of the world.
The Fox River is one of the few rivers in the nation that flows north.
More than 800,000 deer roam Wisconsin woods.
With 250 miles of lake front shoreline, Door County has more shoreline than any other U.S. county.
A long list of famous folks hail from Wisconsin, including magician Harry Houdini, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, actor Orson Wells, and performer Liberace.
Wisconsin contains 60,570 acres of State parks and 471,329 acres of State forests.
Its highest elevation is Timms Hill at 1,951.5 feet.
The town of Warrens has 400 residents but draws 100,000 visitors each September for the world’s largest cranberry festival. Wisconsin produces 60% of the nation’s cranberries.
