Moscow is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in the town of
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Iowa County, Wisconsin
Iowa County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,709. Its county seat and largest city is Dodgeville. When created, it was part of the Michigan Territory. Iowa County is part of the Madiso ...
, 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 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, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...
and declined slowly as people and businesses moved to
Blanchardville 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 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.
Notes
Unincorporated communities in Iowa County, Wisconsin
Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin
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