Mazomanie, Wisconsin
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Mazomanie is a village in
Dane County, Wisconsin Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County. Dane County is the fastest growing county in Wisconsin. ...
, United States. The population was 1,768 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Mazomanie. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.


Geography

Mazomanie is located at . 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 village has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water.


Etymology

The land on which rests the town of Mazomanie fell within the hunting grounds of the Hočąk, or Winnebago, Indian nation. About a decade after the Winnebago cession of 1832, there were only a small number of white settlers in the area. The village received its name; many years later, Edward Brodhead explained its derivation: “He (Mazomanie) was an Indian chief in our state and was well known to the old gentleman, H.L. Dousman, who said the Indians pronounced it as though it was spelled Man-zo-ma-nie and the English of it is Iron Horse, which I adopted for the name of a railroad town and also for the name of my horse.” This distinguished chief was Mą́zamąnį́ga, "Iron Walker." The Hočągara, who have persisted in the area despite many attempts to eject them, call this town ''Mą́zamąnį́,'' dropping the suffix ''-ga'' (a definite article used to indicate a person's name). The first syllable of this name is pronounced as Brodhead indicated ('man') since the /ą/ is nasalized. The first element of the name is ''mąs'', "iron, metal, ax," which before a consonant may be softened to ''mąza-'' or ''mąze-'', although the free standing form ''mąz'' is also known."Hočąk Lexicon" in The Encyclopedia of Hočąk Mythology
s.v.
This is seen in the variant forms ''mązara'', ''mązera'', "the ax." In like fashion, in the same sources, we find the names ''Mązawįga'' or ''Mązewįga'', "Iron Woman." This accounts for the variant name of the chief recorded by Col. John Kinsey as ''Mau-zay-mau-nee-kaw'' 'Mązemąnįka'' The second part of the name is formed by the word ''mąnį́,'' which means "to walk, he walks" — thus "Iron Walker." The double meaning of this name has long been appreciated: “The proprietors f the railroadhave christened it Mazo-Manie, The-Iron-that-Walks, after a somewhat noted Indian chief; and as it is the offspring of an iron way, the name is not inappropriate.” The actual village of Iron Walker was located near Watertown, about 45 miles to the east. Dodsworth, however, adduces considerations that greatly complicate the eponymy of the present day Mazomanie. The town for some time was known as "Mazo Manie," and recalls in its spelling the name of a pair of Wahpeton Dakota chiefs of that era named ''Maz-zo-ma-nee''. The Dakota (Sioux) language is akin to Winnebago, and it may be immediately appreciated that these names are exactly cognate to one another. Both of the Dakota chiefs were known to H.L. Dousman, the aforementioned source of Brodhead's information about the Indian names. He also knew the Hočąk chief, having been caught up in the incident that led to that chief's notoriety. It transpired that in October 1836, Iron Walker had shot dead the well-known interpreter Pierre Poquette in an affair of honor. He was initially convicted of murder, but in a second trial was acquitted. Dousman acted as guardian of Poquette's orphaned children and petitioned to secure for them a pension. Dodsworth concludes that the town was intended to have been named for the Dakota chief. However, the proper rendering of the Dakota name is ''Máza-máni'', lacking the nasalized letter to which Brodhead referred. Furthermore, neither of them was "an Indian chief in our state isconsin" but were from Minnesota. The real attraction of the spelling and pronunciation now in effect is made clear in a newspaper article of the time: “We are daily asked how to pronounce this beautiful looking name. We have heard various ways, but none that sounded so naturally and well as by accenting the second syllable, thus Ma-zom-anie, the accent as in Menominee. That makes a very pretty thing of it. It is the station on the Mil. & Mis. R. R. 22 miles west of here.” The /o/ in the name is a pure artifact of introducing the Indian name into English, and is found in neither Dakota nor Winnebago. The present rendering of the town's name owes to euphony and spelling conventions, none of which invalidates Brodhead's attribution of the name to the gunslinging chief of the Hočągara.


History

What precipitated the birth of the town was the advent of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad in 1855, which passed through the region to connect
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 ...
with La Crosse. The superintendent of the railroad was Edward Brodhead. By the nation's centennial, Mazomanie had grown to 1,100 people, making it the second largest community in Dane County. Since that time, the village has gained only 350 people, but its small size and slow growth has preserved its nineteenth century character. The village has thirty-four commercial buildings 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 ...
, the best known among these being the Mazomanie Railroad Depot which has, with minor changes, remained as it was when it was built in 1857.


Demographics


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 1,652 people, 689 households, and 463 families residing in the village. 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 734 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.6%
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 ...
, 1.7%
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 ...
, 0.2% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 1.5% from other races, and 0.8% 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 2.4% of the population. There were 689 households, of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% 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, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.8% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% 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 2.90. The median age in the village was 37.3 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.


2000 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 2000, there were 1,485 people, 594 households, and 427 families residing in the village. 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 1,088.6 people per square mile (421.6/km2). There were 618 housing units at an average density of 453.0 per square mile (175.4/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 96.36%
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 ...
, 0.88%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.47% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 1.14% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. 1.95% of the population were
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. There were 594 households, out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.6% 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 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94. In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $49,191, and the median income for a family was $56,442. Males had a median income of $35,156 versus $28,424 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 village was $21,634. About 2.5% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.


Education

Mazomanie has one elementary school: Mazomanie Elementary School, with about 200 students. The high school and middle school are located in a single building, the Wisconsin Heights High School, which enrolls about 380 students. The middle school and high school serves students from Mazomanie, Black Earth and other communities in the area.


Awards

* Voted one of "America's Coolest Small Towns" by ''Budget Travel'' magazine in 2008.


Notable natives and residents

* Marissa Bode, actress known for playing Nessarose in the two-part film adaptation of '' Wicked'' * James R. Brandon, a professor of the
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...
in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, while specializing in Japanese
Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...
and Indian classical drama at the
University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
* Esther Coopersmith, American diplomat, philanthropist, political lobbyist, and
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNESCO goodwill ambas ...
*
Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2004, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and a recording contract w ...
(formerly known as Holly Brook), singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer * Lorenzo D. Harvey, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin * Angus R. McDonald (1832–1879), Scottish-American immigrant from the Isle of Eigg with a long and proud warrior pedigree, early pioneer settler of Mazomanie, and who served as a 1st Lieutenant, and eventual Captain, in the 11th Wisconsin Regiment of the Union Army 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 ...
, after which he was widely known as "The Hero of Fort Blakeley. * Henry Powell, Wisconsin State Representative'Wisconsin Blue Book 1887, Biographical Sketch of Henry Powell, pg. 495 * Robert Joseph Wells,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
State Representative * Leonard G. Wolf,
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...


References


External links


Village of Mazomanie
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
18861892189919051915
{{authority control Irish-American culture in Wisconsin Scottish-American culture in Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin Villages in Dane County, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan statistical area