BARABOO 101: From River to Ringling - Part 3: From Railroad to Ringling 1871 - 1884

Registration for both the in-person and online presentations is required and can be made at the Sauk County Historical Society website - www.saukcountyhistory.org

Baraboo 101:  From River to Ringling

They say real estate is about three things, “Location, location, location.” One could say that history is often the same. It certainly is the case with the City of Baraboo. Its history and existence are tied to its location. While a community called Baraboo has existed since 1847, the story of human habitation on this stretch of river by the same name goes back thousands of years. The river passes through a gentle valley dropping over 40 feet becoming quite shallow in spots making for easy places to cross and great places to catch fish. Humans have thrived here at various times and made it a sacred place. Hundreds of earthen burial mounds were once found within yards of the river, many built over 1,000 years ago. When the Ho-Chunk established a village here in the early 1800s they built a council house between the mounds. When Euro-American settlers arrived in the late 1830s the river, with its drop in elevation, was seen as a great place to harness water power. Dams were built and two villages were platted, one as the county seat.

The story of Baraboo and before Baraboo will be the topic of three presentations given by SCHS Executive Director Paul Wolter. The presentations are co-sponsored by the Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library and will be held in the library’s new auditorium. The presentations will be held on Thursday evenings beginning at 6:30 pm on the following dates: February 1 and 22 and March 14. The three presentations will each cover different topics beginning with the river and taking the story of Baraboo up to the advent of the Ringling Brothers Circus.

The presentations will also be given online one week after the in-person events. Registration for both the in-person and online presentations is required and can be made at the Sauk County Historical Society website - www.saukcountyhistory.org