Moscow is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the town of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Iowa County, Wisconsin Iowa County is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 23,709. Its county seat and largest city is Dodgeville, Wisconsin, Dodgeville. When created, it ...

, United States.

History

Moscow was named after the

Mascouten The Mascouten (also ''Mascoutin'', ''Mathkoutench'', ''Muscoden,'' or ''Musketoon'') were a tribe of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans located in the Midwest. They are believed to have dwelt on both sides of the Mississippi River, adjacent to ...

(sometimes spelled Muscoutin) Indians who summered here. In 1847 Chauncey Smith built a grist mill on the Blue Mounds Branch of the

Pecatonica River The Pecatonica River is a tributary of the Rock River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the United States ...

that runs through the community. The village was platted and recorded in 1850. A post office, blacksmith, hotel, school, cheese factory, broom factory, carding mill, and doctor all prospered here. At one time the population reached about 110. In 1887 the village was by-passed by the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

and declined slowly as people and businesses moved to

Blanchardville Blanchardville is a village in Iowa and Lafayette counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 825 at the 2010 census. Of this, 648 were in Lafayette County, and 177 were in Iowa County. The Iowa County portion of Blanchardville i ...

or Hollandale.Historical Marker By the 1870s the village had become an epicenter of activity for the surrounding Norwegian settlement. During this time, the Moscow Fremad Laseselsklab (Moscow Reading Society) brought accessible literature and intellectual events to the community. Annual Syttende Mai celebrations featured such well known guests as

Rasmus B. Anderson Rasmus Bjørn Anderson (January 12, 1846 – March 2, 1936) was an American author, professor, editor, businessman and diplomat. He brought to popular attention the fact that Viking explorers were the first Europeans to arrive in the New World ...

and

Ole Bull Ole Bornemann Bull (; 5 February 181017 August 1880) was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed and clarity of his playing. Biography Background Bull was ...

, the most famous Norwegian of his day.″History of Moscow″ by Ben Holland Bjorn "Ben" Holland, was a businessman in Moscow before founding Hollandale. Alvin Blanchard brought grain to the mill in Moscow before he founded Blanchardville. File:Moscow, WI marker 01.jpg, Moscow, WI marker 01 File:Moscow, WI marker 02.jpg, Moscow, WI marker 02

Notes

Unincorporated communities in Iowa County, Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin {{IowaCountyWI-geo-stub