Wiota is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Lafayette County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 856 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Wiota, Woodford and Five Corners are located in the town.

History

When

William S. Hamilton William Stephen Hamilton (August 4, 1797October 9, 1850), a son of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, was an American politician and miner who lived much of his life in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory. Ham ...

, the son of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

,Hendrickson, Robert A.
''The Rise and Fall of Alexander Hamilton''
Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981, p. 188. Retrieved October 28, 2007. migrated from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

to Wisconsin in the late 1820s, he established a

lead ore Lead () is a chemical element; it has symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead ...

mine that became known as Hamilton's Diggings. He later renamed the settlement Wiota.Reed, Parker McCobb
''The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin''
Reed, 1882, pp. 427–28. Retrieved September 25, 2007. Hamilton, along with Elias Shook and William Haws, settled the area in 1828 and quickly struck quality deposits of lead ore. During the 1832

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

, a fort was erected at Hamilton's Diggings, which was known as

Fort Hamilton Fort Hamilton is a United States Army installation in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, surrounded by the communities of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. It is one of several posts that are part of the region which ...

.Butterfield, Consul Willshire
''History of Lafayette County, Wisconsin''
Western Historical Co., 1881, p. 476. Retrieved September 25, 2007. Wiota was first platted in 1836 by Hamilton, and though a few buildings were built, the settlement was eventually moved from the Hamilton's Diggings site to its present site, which was platted on July 1, 1858.Wiota: Town and Village
" Wisconsin Historical Society, Date and publication unknown. Retrieved September 26, 2007. Wiota was the location of one of the earliest Norwegian settlements in the United States, begun by immigrants traveling from Chicago, including Per Ivarson Undi, in 1841. The East Wiota Lutheran Church, dedicated in 1852, is the oldest continually running Norwegian Lutheran church in America.

Johan Storm Munch Johan Storm Munch (31 August 1778 – 26 January 1832) was a bishop in the Church of Norway. He was also known as a poet, playwright, and magazine editor. Munch was born at Vågå in Oppland county, Norway. He was the son of parish priest P ...

was an early pastor at the church. His wife, Caja, kept a diary of their time in Wiota that has since been published as ''The Strange American Way''.

Geography

Wiota is in eastern Lafayette County, bordered to the east by Green County. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.05%, are water. The western border of the town follows 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 Stat ...

, and the river's East Branch flows southward through the east side of the town.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 900 people, 331 households, and 249 families residing in the town. The population density was 17.1 people per square mile (6.6/km²). There were 364 housing units at an average density of 6.9 per square mile (2.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.00%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.22%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.56% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population. There were 331 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.12. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $40,000, and the median income for a family was $43,611. Males had a median income of $22,440 versus $22,708 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,176. About 2.6% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

George Engebretson George Engebretson (June 3, 1890 - November 19, 1961) was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate. Biography Engebretson was born in Warren, Illinois. He later moved with his family to Wiota, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin-Plat ...

, Wisconsin state senator * Julius M. Engebretson, Wisconsin state representative; born in Wiota * Martin O. Monson, Wisconsin state representative *

, a prominent early pastor of the Wiota Norwegian Lutheran Church * Per Ivarson Undi, an early Norwegian settler, and first from the county of Sogn og Fjordane; lived in Wiota and enticed others to emigrate * Ezra Wescott, Wisconsin state representative; taught school in Wiota * Grover C. Winn, Alaska territorial legislator; born in WiotaAlaska Legislature-Grover C. Winn
/ref>

References

{{authority control Towns in Lafayette County, Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin