WI 101: Check out this coat!

The Hudson’s Bay Company began with the Canadian fur trade in 1670. It grew and thrived and diversified as customer needs changed, communities expanded, and retail businesses developed.

A striped wool coat made by the Hudson’s Bay Company made its way into the artifact collection at MCHS. This coat was worn by a judge at one of Wausau’s early Winter Frolics, a winter festival that began in 1927. The coat was researched by college student Anna Wright, with help from MCHS Curator of Artifacts Kathy Volkmann, and submitted to the Wisconsin 101 online museum. You can read all about it here .

The Hudson’s Bay Company point blanket coat joins a Fromm Furs coat and an Employers Mutual audiometer among the objects from Marathon County highlighted in the WI 101 online museum. These and other objects from around the state combine to tell unique stories about Wisconsin.