The Neville Blog

  Fur Trade: The Beaver Pelt During the fur trade, the beaver pelt was the most desired commodity—especially in the Midwest. Not only are they incredibly soft, but they are also warm and waterproof. Fur traders often travelled by water, so to survive brutal Wisconsin winters during their voyages, they looked to the beaver.                 Beavers were such a central point to the fur trade that, when they began to be overhunted, the fur trade began to collapse. Other animals were just as accessible as the beaver, but they were not as desirable. Deer and muskrat pelts were just as abundant as beavers once were; however, they did not have the same insulation or waterproof quality. Thus, the demand was much lower for these furs, causing the fur trade to collapse.                 At this time, Green Bay heavily relied on the fur trad...

Here at the Neville Public Museum, we care for an extensive doll collection. This collection houses dolls from around the world and even includes some Barbie dolls. The Barbie dolls in our collection range in date from the 1950s through the 1990s. This Barbie was received as a gift from the Neville Public Museum Corporation. It was purchased from Georgia Rankin, a Barbie Doll collector from Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in the 1960’s. The black and white swimsuit being worn by the doll is the original outfit traditionally worn by dolls manufactured from 1959-1961. This picture shows one of the newer Barbie dolls in our collection. It is a part of the Hollywood Legends Collection/Collector’s Edition and represents Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. It was a gift from the Neville Public Museum Corporation in 1995. Although both of these dolls are manufactured by the same company, they were created using different materials. This means we have to care for these dolls in different ...