Named for Col. Stephen Van Rensselaer Ableman, who settled there in 1851. The place was once called Ableman Mills, Rock Springs, and Excelsior. The name of Rock Springs was given from the springs at the base of the rocky bluff, and Excelsior from the seal of New York.

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[Source: p. 18 of Cole, Baraboo and other place names in Sauk county, Wisconsin]