It’s time once again for #FlashbackFriday with the Whitewater Historical Society.

Winter sports have always been popular in Wisconsin. This last winter image from the Scholl glass plate negative collection from around 1900 shows a little-known (at least to me) winter sport. It appears to be the set-up for horse racing on ice on Cravath Lake. Ice racing with horses? Who knew?

Apparently, this was a popular activity in northern climates during the turn of the 20th century years. A search in old Whitewater Register newspapers only uncovered a couple of references to this activity, but an internet search yielded several entries about this sport. In fact, at the Hennepin History Museum in Minneapolis this month, there was a program on ice racing on the lakes around Minneapolis at this time. And, it appears ice racing still takes place in some locations in the United States and Europe.

Join us next week for more from the collections of the Whitewater Historical Society.

(#3544GP Whitewater Historical Society)