Watertown, Wisconsin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Watertown is a city in Jefferson and Dodge Counties in Wisconsin. The population was 21,598 at the 2000 census. In Dodge County, the city is surrounded by the Town of Watertown. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, is built on the county line.

Watertown is the largest city in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson micropolitan area, which also includes Johnson Creek and Jefferson. The 2005 population of the micropolitan area is 79,328.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Education
4 Transportation
5 Demographics
6 Famous people from Watertown
7 External links
8 References

[edit] Geography

Watertown is located in Southeastern Wisconsin, approximately midway between Madison and Milwaukee, at 43°11′35″N, 88°43′26″W (43.193066, -88.723774)¹. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.3 km² (11.3 mi²). Small communities in the immediate area (e.g., within 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. The city originally developed inside the horseshoe, though it has long since grown beyond. Silver Creek adjoins the river in the city, as does a short creek on the west side.

The most notable geographical feature is a high density of drumlins, long hills formed by the glaciers of the Wisconsin glaciation as they retreated northwards. All hills in the area are elongated in the north-south direction.

[edit] History

Watertown was first settled by Timothy Johnson,^[1] who built a cabin on the west side of the river in 1836. A park on the west side of the city is named in his honor. A town was settled to utilize the power of the Rock River, which falls 20 feet in two miles.^[2] In contrast, the Rock River falls only 34 feet in the 58 miles upstream from Watertown.^[3] The waterpower was first used for sawmills, and later prompted the construction of two hydroelectric dams, one downtown (where the river flows south) and one on the eastern edge of the city (where the river flows north). The Watertown economy remains heavily reliant on light industry.

In 1853, a plank road was completed from Milwaukee to Watertown.^[4] After plank roads were no longer used, the route was replaced by highway (Wisconsin Highway 16) and railroad. However, a street named "Watertown Plank Road" survives in Milwaukee. The road is referenced by the "Plank Road Brewery" family of beers, including Icehouse beer, produced by Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee.

Similarly, a plan for a canal from Milwaukee to the Watertown area was once planned, but was replaced by railroad before any work had been completed other than a dam in Milwaukee.^[5] The territorial legislature incorporated the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal company in 1836, but the plan was abandoned in 1848. The canal would have provided a waterway between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River, but even if completed it may not have seen much success, similar to the Portage Canal, which was completed after railroads had already become the preferred mode of transportation.

The city did not grow quickly at first, but an influx of German immigrants increased the population to over 10,000 in the late 19th century. The city is the home of the first kindergarten in the United States, started by German immigrants; the building that housed this kindergarten is now located on the grounds of the Octagon House Museum in Watertown.

An interesting point in history occurred when the City of Watertown government issued almost half a million dollars in bonds to support the building of two railroads to town: the Chicago & Fond du Lac Company and the Milwaukee, Watertown & Madison Road.^[6] These were issued from 1853-1855. Soon afterwards, the two railroads went bankrupt due to the Panic of 1857. The bonds were sold off to out-of-town speculators by the original investors at a small fraction of their face value. Since the railroads were never built and therefore did not produce revenue, the City of Watertown was unable to pay off the bonds. Moreover, the city did not exactly feel compelled to do so because the creditors (those who held interests in the bonds) were not only from out of town, but weren't even the original holders. Yet the creditors exerted so much pressure on the 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. The case was not resolved until 1889, when it had risen all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, who essentially dismissed the case of the creditors. A small amount remained to be paid, and this was not paid off until 1905, half a century later.^[7]

[edit] Education

The school district is Watertown Unified School District.[1] Watertown has one public high school, Watertown High School. Its mascot is the Gosling, a reference to large quantity of foie gras once produced in the city by goose noodling. Completed in 1994, it is located on the northwest edge of town on approximately 160 acres. The public middle school, Riverside Middle School, is on the eastern edge of town. There are four public elementary schools in the city: Lincoln, Schurz, Douglas, and Webster. An additional public elementary school in the Watertown district is in Lebanon. One more existed in Concord, but was closed in 2004.

The campus of Northwestern College, which closed in 1995 after 130 years of higher education, is now part of Luther Preparatory School, both affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The college merged with Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. Four of the WELS churches have elementary schools, as well as St. Bernard's catholic church. Maranatha Baptist Bible College is also located on the western side Watertown.

[edit] Transportation

Primary automobile transportation is provided via Highway 19, Highway 26 and Highway 16. Highway 19 begins in Watertown and runs westward. Highway 16 runs east-west across Wisconsin from Milwaukee to La Crosse, passing around Watertown via a bypass. Highway 26 runs north-south through the center of town. Highways 26 and 16 provide easy access to Interstate 94. Highway 16 provides access to the Milwaukee metro area and highway 19 provides access to the Madison metro area.

General aviation interests are served by the Watertown Municipal Airport.

Amtrak's Empire Builder passes through, but does not stop in, Watertown. The Milwaukee to Madison leg of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative is planned to pass through Watertown.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 21,598 people, 8,022 households, and 5,567 families residing in the city. The population density was 762.3/km² (1,974.1/mi²). There were 8,330 housing units at an average density of 294.0/km² (761.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.90% White, 0.25% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.69% from other races, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.94% of the population.

There were 8,022 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population 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. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $42,562, and the median income for a family was $50,686. Males had a median income of $34,825 versus $23,811 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,977. About 4.6% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.8% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.