by Steve Tesmer | Apr 22, 2012 | Historic Places
Date in History: 1890-1916 The first public library in Fort Atkinson opened in 1892 thanks to the efforts of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. It was located on the second floor of the old Wigdale building, or where JM Carpets is today. Space was limited here,...
by Steve Tesmer | Apr 22, 2012 | Historic Places
Date in History: Early 20th century The old Lawton Hotel used to be a familiar landmark on the corner of South Third Street and Janesville Avenue in Fort Atkinson. At one time the Congregational Church’s parsonage, the expanded house was purchased in 1901 by Raymond...
by Steve Tesmer | Apr 22, 2012 | Historic Places
Date in History: 1840 Lucien Caswell was one of the first white settlers to live on Lake Koshkonong. The following is his description of the lake in 1840, before the Indianford Dam was built. “When August came, Lake Koshkonong was like a great magnificent...
by Steve Tesmer | Apr 22, 2012 | Historic Places
Date in History: 1896 When Milo Jones settled in Fort Atkinson in 1838, he purchased 800 acres of land along the Rock River from the United States government. On some of that land he operated a dairy farm, but over the years, a slightly wooded portion on the southern...
by Steve Tesmer | Apr 22, 2012 | Historic Places
In 1883 while surveying the Scuppernong Marsh, Milo Jones contracted a case of rheumatism that would cripple him for life. Confined to a bedroom off the Jones’ farmhouse kitchen, Milo watched every fall as the family butchered a couple of pigs and made sausages using...
by Steve Tesmer | Apr 22, 2012 | Historic Places
Date in History: 1853-present One hundred and fifty years ago, in 1853, a group of pioneer farmers in the county got together to form the Jefferson County Agricultural Society to encourage improvements in farming and animal husbandry. They held their first annual...
