Watertown, Wisconsin
Watertown, Wisconsin Location of Watertown, Wisconsin Location of Watertown, Wisconsin Watertown is a town/city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the US state of Wisconsin.
Most of the city's populace is in Jefferson County.
The populace of Watertown was 23,861 at the 2010 census. Of this, 15,402 were in Jefferson County, and 8,459 were in Dodge County.
Watertown is the biggest city in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson micropolitan area, which also contains Johnson Creek and Jefferson.
Watertown was first settled by Timothy Johnson, who assembled a cabin on the west side of the Rock River in 1836.
In contrast, the Rock River falls only 34 feet (10 m) in 58 miles (93 km) upstream from Watertown. The water power was first used for sawmills, and later prompted the assembly of two hydroelectric dams, one downtown (where the river flows south) and one on the easterly edge of the town/city (where the river flows north).
It was deemed better to be poor or middle class in America than it was to be wealthy in Germany, as a result most of the German immigrants who appeared in Watertown brought with them the trappings of the German middle class, including a proclivity for classical music, the Latin language and ornate furniture.
Unlike other instances in other parts of the nation in which they faced discrimination and xenophobia, they were welcomed with open arms by the English-Puritan descended "Yankee" populace of Watertown and Jefferson County as a whole.
A canal from Milwaukee to the Watertown region was once planned, but was replaced by barns before any work had been completed, other than a dam in Milwaukee. The territorial council incorporated the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal business in 1836, but the plan was abandoned in 1848.
In 1853, a plank road was instead of from Milwaukee to Watertown. After plank roads were no longer used, the route was replaced by highway (Wisconsin Highway 16) and a barns .
A street titled "Watertown Plank Road" survives in Milwaukee.
The town/city is the home of the first kindergarten in the United States, started in 1856 by Margarethe Schurz, wife of statesman Carl Schurz; the building that homed this kindergarten is now positioned on the grounds of the Octagon House Museum in Watertown.
Growth of the town/city was substantially hampered when Watertown issued nearly half a million dollars in bonds to support the building of two barns s to town to encourage further growth: the Chicago & Fond du Lac Company and the Milwaukee, Watertown & Madison Road. The success of the plank road convinced inhabitants that a barns would be even more beneficial, and bonds were issued from 1853 to 1855.
The Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad, as it was called before it extended to Madison, was instead of in 1855, only the second line in the state. Yet the creditors exerted so much pressure on the town/city to pay off the bonds that Watertown effectively dissolved its government so that there was no legal entity (the government as a whole or officers) that could be served a court order to pay or appear in court.
Watertown is positioned in southeastern Wisconsin, roughly midway between Madison and Milwaukee, at 43 12'N 88 43'W (43.193, 88.724). According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 12.51 square miles (32.40 km2), of which, 12.11 square miles (31.36 km2) is territory and 0.40 square miles (1.04 km2) is water. Small communities in the immediate region (e.g., inside the school district) include Richwood, Lebanon, Old Lebanon, Sugar Island, Pipersville, Concord, Ebenezer, and Grellton.
The Rock River flows through Watertown in a horseshoe bend before heading south and west on its way to the Mississippi River.
Climate data for Watertown, Wisconsin In the city, the populace was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older.
Watertown is in the Watertown Unified School District.
The town/city has one enhance high school, Watertown High School.
The five enhance elementary schools in the town/city are: Lincoln, Schurz, Douglas, and Webster, and Lebanon (which is actually outside the city, in Lebanon).
The town/city also has one charter high school, Endeavor Charter School.
Six parochial schools serve elementary and middle school pupils in Watertown, four Lutheran and two Catholic.
Luther Preparatory School, a school affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), is positioned in the central city.
Maranatha Baptist University and its associated private high school, Maranatha Baptist Academy, are positioned on the west side of Watertown.
Watertown's primary employers are the school district, Watertown Regional Medical Center, Bethesda Lutheran Communities, a several light industries, food processing, metals, electronics, and county-wide distribution companies. Highway 19 begins in Watertown and runs westward.
Highway 16 runs east-west athwart Wisconsin from Milwaukee to La Crosse, passing around Watertown via a bypass.
Business highway 26 runs north-south through the center of the city, while highway 26 bypasses the town to the west.
Highway 16 provides access to the Milwaukee metro area, and highway 19 provides access to the Madison metro area.
Watertown Municipal Airport (KRYV) provides service for the town/city and encircling communities.
The airways broadcast WTTN, AM 1580, was licensed to Watertown but is now licensed to with the transmitter positioned west of Columbus, Wisconsin while the studio was moved to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. WJJO 94.1 FM was originally in Watertown, but is now positioned in Madison.
Watertown operates a small-town Government-access tv (GATV) channel. Programming contains church services from around the area, as well as special programming, sports, and improve affairs.
"Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Watertown city, Wisconsin".
"The Johnsons Reunited: Family of city's first citizen arrives".
The German-speaking Forty-eighters: Builders of Watertown, Wisconsin.
Watertown Historical Society.
Watertown Wisconsin History Timeline.
Ben Feld, "City Government 101" in Ken Riedl (ed.), History of Watertown, Wisconsin.
Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad.
"Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Watertown, Wisconsin, United States of America".
"Watertown Wisconsin Major Employers".
Daily Times History, Watertown Daily Times, March 31, 2011.
Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for the Years 1880, 1881, and 1882 vol.
9, Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1882, p.
The German-Speaking 48ers: Builders of Watertown, Wisconsin.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Watertown, Wisconsin.
City of Watertown Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce Wikisource-logo.svg "Watertown, a town/city of Wisconsin".
Contains a segment on the history of the German improve in Watertown Municipalities and communities of Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States Municipalities and communities of Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States
Categories:
Cities in Wisconsin - Cities in Jefferson County, Wisconsin - Cities in Dodge County, Wisconsin - Micropolitan areas of Wisconsin
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