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Stoughton, Wis., 1871

Bird's-eye map of Stoughton. View the original source document: WHI 22761

Stoughton is located in Dane County in south central Wisconsin, 16 miles between Janesville to the south and Madison to the north. Surveyed in 1833, the Stoughton area was described as thinly timbered in burr, white and yellow oak, a strip of timber dividing the prairie along the river. When Luke Stoughton of Janesville came to the area, he was struck by its possibilities and purchased land in 1847.

The Catfish River, renamed the Yahara River in 1855, which ran through town, had a drop suitable for running sawmills and gristmills and provided a river road leading straight from Madison to the Mississippi, perfect for moving goods. Stoughton quickly platted his village, built a sawmill, hired a miller to build and run a grist mill and encouraged teachers, doctors, blacksmiths and shop owners to settle there. The railroad rerouted its track through town on land Stoughton donated for the right of way and a depot.  

Farmers planted fields of wheat and brought it to Stoughton for grinding, which, in turn, encouraged T.G. Mandt to build his Mandt Wagon Works factory. The factory employed 225 men by 1883, when a fire destroyed most of his buildings. The Mandt, and later Stoughton wagon, was well known as far away as Iowa and Minnesota for its extraordinary workmanship and design.

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Woman Playing Monochord,1941

Woman in Norwegian dress playing the monochord. View the original source document: WHI 38101

Following the demise of wheat crops in Wisconsin, farmers planted tobacco. This labor-intensive crop led to the construction of large warehouses and sorting houses, which provided work for the new flood of immigrants from Norway. While the men worked in the factories and stores, the women worked in the warehouses. Their need for time off at mid-morning to see to household chores started the tradition of a mid-day coffee break, an invention still celebrated each year in Stoughton.  

Lake Kegonsa, to the north of town, became a resort in the summer, and the city ski slide a recreational attraction in the winter. The Clark water heater was invented and manufactured here, and the first successful cataract surgeries were performed in Stoughton.  

Today, Stoughton is best known for its Norwegian heritage and celebration of Syttende Mai, Norwegian independence day, in May.

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Source: WHS Library-Archives Staff, 2009