B.F. Mills, the Amateur Meteorologist
Each year as our Wisconsin seasons quickly change from fall to winter, we often comment on, or quietly observe, how much colder (or warmer) the days are than the previous year. Historic records show that this practice has been an integral part of human existence for thousands of years. Weather has been observed to help determine a safe place to sleep for the night, to help predict food resources, and many other reasons.
While organizing and moving records over to our History Center, museum staff came across a box of weather records kept by Baraboo doctor and founder of the Corner Drug Store, B.F. Mills. These records date from 1850-1853 and contain tables of meteorological data and correspondence between B.F. Mills and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. During the 1850s, Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, ran a nationwide project to collect weather data from a network of volunteers. The Smithsonian mailed volunteers large meteorological forms, and when completed, volunteers would mail them back and receive additional blank copies. In our collection are letters mailed to B.F. Mills from the Smithsonian, which discuss the receipt of Mills’s records, and are signed by Smithsonian clerk E. Foreman.
According to Mills’s record for November 1852, the weather in Baraboo was not too different from the weather we are seeing this year, with highs in the mid to upper 30s. Mills remarks on the presence of snow on a few days. On November 13th he describes, “snow flurries during the day and aurora very fine at 9 pm - lasted ½ hour”. “Aurora” refers to the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, which would’ve been quite the sight for this observer!
Earlier that year, on the bitterly cold day of January 19th, Mills writes, “During last night the earth cracked in many places producing explosive sounds which some instances were the cause of much alarm being mistaken for an earthquake - The ground was slightly covered with snow exposing it [to] the full force of the extreme cold.” What could have caused these “explosions”?
Mills’s weather records and correspondence are housed in our archives at the History Center, 900 2nd Ave in Baraboo. These records are available for viewing, by request, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12-4 pm. We hope you will stop by and check out this fascinating piece of history!
Click to enlarge the document for a full read.
