Fort Atkinson is a city in

Jefferson County, Wisconsin Jefferson 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 84,900. Its county seat is Jefferson, Wisconsin, Jefferson. Jefferson County comprises the ...

, United States. It lies along the Rock River a few miles upstream from Lake Koshkonong. The population was 12,579 at the 2020 census. Fort Atkinson is the largest city located entirely in Jefferson County, as Watertown is split between Jefferson and

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

counties. Fort Atkinson is a principal city of the Watertown–Fort Atkinson micropolitan statistical area which is in turn a sub-market of the larger Milwaukee–Waukesha–Racine combined statistical area.

History

Fort Atkinson was named after General Henry Atkinson, the commander of U.S. forces in the area during the

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 ...

(1832) against a mixed band of Sauk,

Meskwaki The Meskwaki (sometimes spelled Mesquaki), also known by the European exonyms Fox Indians or the Fox, are a Native American people. They have been closely linked to the Sauk people of the same language family. In the Meskwaki language, th ...

and Kickapoo peoples. The city developed at the site of Fort Koshkonong, which was used during that war. A replica of the original 1832

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

has been built just outside town, although not at the original site. The fort was located to control the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the Rock and

Bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

rivers. The settlement grew rapidly in the mid-19th century, after the migration of pioneers from the east, especially New York State and the northern tier. They were among the many migrants carrying New England Yankee culture west across the northern tier of states. The history and natural history of Fort Atkinson and the surrounding area are presented at the Hoard Historical Museum and National Dairy Shrine Museum. William Dempster Hoard founded the nationally distributed dairy farm magazine '' Hoard's Dairyman'' in Fort Atkinson in 1885. The museums include the Frank and Luella Hoard House, the Dwight and Almira Foster House, and the Knox Research Library and Archive. The Dairy Shrine portion of the complex portrays the past, present, and future of the dairy industry. The oldest manmade features near Fort Atkinson are a cluster of prehistoric earthworks indigenous mounds just south of town. Early European settlers named them the General Atkinson Mound Group. The mounds are a remnant of the

Woodland Period In the classification of :category:Archaeological cultures of North America, archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact i ...

in present-day Wisconsin. They are

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

and geometric mounds, different from the

platform mound A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity. It typically refers to a flat-topped mound, whose sides may be pyramidal. In Eastern North America The indigenous peoples of North America built substru ...

s at nearby Aztalan State Park, built by peoples of the

Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a collection of Native American societies that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building la ...

, which reached its peak around 1300. They had settlements throughout the

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and its tributaries, extending from central Illinois northward to the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and also to the Southeastern United States. Materials were traded within the culture from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. A long panther intaglio, the

Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound The Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound is a ground depression in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. The effigy is a reverse mound: a depression in the shape of a panther or water spirit created by Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans before ...

, appears on a mound west of town, the last remaining intaglio in the state. Fort Atkinson's 19th- and early 20th-century building history is preserved in the Main Street and Merchants Avenue historic districts. Other

Registered Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

include the Fort Atkinson Water Tower, David W. and Jane Curtis House, Hoard's Dairyman Farm, and Jones Dairy Farm.

Geography and climate

Fort Atkinson is located at (42.927091, −88.840446). 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city developed along the river, which provided the earliest transportation pathways for trade and travel. Occasionally, the downtown area is flooded when the Rock River exceeds its banks. Just east of the city, the Bark River enters the Rock River and can add considerable volume in certain seasons. The Rock River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, which it joins at

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 12,579. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 5,590 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.9%

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 ...

, 1.0%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.9% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 4.7% from other races, and 7.0% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 10.6%

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.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 12,368 people, 5,125 households, and 3,214 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 5,429 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.5%

, 0.6%

, 0.3% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 4.4% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 9.1% of the population. There were 5,125 households, of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.3% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.4% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 11,621 people, 4,760 households, and 3,070 families residing in the city. The

was 2,154.8 people per square mile (832.4/km²). There were 4,983 housing units at an average density of 924.0 per square mile (356.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.09%

, 0.34%

, 0.29% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.87% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 4.37% of the population. There were 4,760 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were

living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $43,807, and the median income for a family was $51,689. Males had a median income of $36,442 versus $23,852 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $21,008. 5.3% of the population and 3.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Economy

The city's largest employer is Fort HealthCare, an integrated hospital and health system. Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital has 82 licensed beds and more than 100 physicians on staff. Fort Medical Group, a subsidiary of Fort HealthCare, employs more than 60 physicians, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare providers. The city is also home to

Cygnus Business Media Cygnus Business Media is a diversified microcap business-to-business media company, providing 1.7 million readers annually, according to the company, with many business media options, including business publications, trade shows, online opportuni ...

, NASCO, Spacesaver and Jones Dairy Farm. Fireside Dinner Theatre draws thousands of visitors each year. Another tourist attraction is a reconstruction of the original fort.

Media

Fort Atkinson is home to a daily newspaper, the ''Daily Jefferson County Union'', as well as two radio stations, WFAW and WSJY. Fort Atkinson shares a radio market with the Janesville- Beloit area and is also served by stations from

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and Madison. A small student newspaper and website called "the Signal" is also run in the Fort Atkinson High School, which focuses on local events that affect students in the district. Fort Atkinson is a part of the Milwaukee television market with stations from Madison also available over the air and on cable.

Healthcare

Fort Memorial Hospital is a 49 bed hospital located in Fort Atkinson. There are 45.6

primary care physician A primary care physician (PCP) is a physician who provides both the first contact for a person with an undiagnosed health concern as well as continuing care of varied medical conditions, not limited by cause, organ system, or diagnosis. The term ...

s per 100,000 population in the area. Fort Atkinson is designated as both a

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and primary care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) qualifying the area as a medical desert. By 2035, Fort Atkinson is expected to have a 50.3% deficit in primary care physicians, the seventh largest expected deficit in Wisconsin. There are two behavioral health professionals in Fort Atkinson.

Education

Fort Atkinson School District has four elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Barrie, Rockwell, Purdy, and Luther elementary schools serve grades kindergarten to 5, Fort Atkinson Middle School (FAMS) grades 6 to 8, and Fort Atkinson High School grades 9 to 12. The high school's mascot is the Blackhawk, named after the Sauk leader Chief Blackhawk. Crown of Life Christian Academy (2K–8) and St. Paul's Lutheran School (3K–8) are Christian schools of the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as Christian theology, theologically conservative, it was founded ...

(WELS) in Fort Atkinson. Saint Joseph's school is a private catholic school that teaches kindergarten through 8th grade. It is located in the southwest portion of the town on the corner of hackbarth road and Endl Bulevard. The school is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison The Dwight Foster Public Library, established in 1892, serves as Jefferson County's resource library. It serves residents of Fort Atkinson and its surrounding communities.

Transportation

Primary automobile transportation is provided via Highway 12, Highway 26, Highway 89 and Highway 106. Highway 26 provides easy access to

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

(to the north in Johnson Creek), leading to downtown

in about an hour; and to

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

(to the south in Janesville) leading to downtown

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in about 2.5 hours. Highway 12 provides access to the Madison metro area in about 45 minutes. Fort Atkinson was a stop on the C&NW Janesville to Fond Du Lac line. There is no public transportation available within city limits.

Airport

Fort Atkinson is served by the Fort Atkinson Municipal Airport .

Notable people

* Helmut Ajango, architect * Kyle Borland, former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player *

Neal Brown Neal Brown (born March 11, 1980) is an American college football coach and former player, who is currently the special assistant to the head coach at Texas. He was recently the head football coach at West Virginia University from 2019 to 2024. ...

, lawyer, businessman, politician, and writer * Lucien B. Caswell, served in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

and as a draft commissioner during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

* David Whitney Curtis, businessman,

veteran, and Republican politician; built the David W. and Jane Curtis House in Fort Atkinson, which is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

* Palmer F. Daugs, Wisconsin State Representative * Wallace Dollase, Thoroughbred racehorse trainer of two national Champions * Gerald L. Endl,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Charlie Grimm,

major league baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player and manager * Charles Hammarquist, state legislator; first immigrant from Sweden to be elected as a legislator from a Western state * William D. Hoard,

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

1889–1891, founder of ''Daily Jefferson County Union'' and '' Hoard's Dairyman'' * Joel Hodgson, host and creator of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on WUCW, KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then ...

'' * David Keene political consultant & former chairman of the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

* Rosemary Kennedy, sister of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, died in Fort Atkinson in 2005 * Randall S. Knox, Wisconsin State Representative * George Marston,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

community leader and department store owner * Archie McComb, Wisconsin State Representative * Guy Moon, composer * Keith Neubert, former professional

player * Lorine Niedecker, only woman associated with the

Objectivist poets The Objectivists were a loose-knit group of second-generation Modernist poets who emerged in the 1930s, members of a poetic movement within the broader movement of literary Modernism known as Objectivism. The group consisted primarily of Ameri ...

* John Offerdahl, former professional

player * Craig Rice, author, mystery writer * Jeff Sauer, ice hockey player and coach * Josh Sawyer, video game designer * Mark Seidl, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge * Robert J. Shelby, U.S. District Court judge – author of precedent-making decision on gay marriage * Charles A. Snover, Wisconsin State Senator * Howard Weiss, 1938

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

football MVP * Horace B. Willard, Wisconsin State Representative, physician, and businessman * Whitey Woodin, former professional

player * Nick Zentner, professor at Central Washington University and

science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...

References

External links

City of Fort Atkinson

Fort Atkinson Area Chamber of Commerce

{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Jefferson County, Wisconsin Watertown-Fort Atkinson 1832 establishments in Michigan Territory