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HISIORY 15 ESIERDA?, TAD^Y, AryD rOA{ORRolt

OCTOBER 2013

TRAIL MARKER DEDICATION

On Sunday, October 206 the FHS Fall GeoeralMeeting will take place in two sections. The firstsession wiil be held at 1:30 p.m. along theBadger State Bike Trail on what is now WendtRoad. (Wendt Road runs north and southbetween Adarns Road and Highway M.) At thattime there will be a dedication ceremony of anew Dane County Historical Society markerhonoring the early settlement at that site and theIllinois Central Railroad which ran fromFreeport IL. to Madison through Fitchburg. TheFitchburg sefflement was once the location of abustling communiry of homes, a general storethat included among other things, a post office, a

on€-room schooi, a blacksmith shop, alurnberyard, and the depot of the Iliinois CentralRailroad. After the short dedication ceremonythe meeting will reconvene at 2:30 in the lowerlevel dining room of the Fitchburg CommunityCenter, 5510 Lacy Road. Access will be on thenorth side of the building with plenty of parkingand handicap accessibility. At that time we wilibe able to view photo exhibits about the historyof the settlement and the Iilinois CentralRailroad. Discussion will be encouraged and it ishoped that FACTv will have a video of the

dedication ceremony ready to view on the bigscreen TV. You are welcome to attend bothsessions and you are especialiy encouraged toattend the 2:30 session to view the photos andadd to the discussion. Refreshments will beserved. Membership in the FHS is not required.The Historic Marker is a joint project of theFitchburg Historical Society and the DaneCounty Historical Society.

OTIIER SETTLEMENTS

Besides the settlement on V/endt Road therewere other early settlements in the Township ofFitchburg that have all but disappeared.Lakeview had an inn and a saloon, Oak f{all hada creamery and a blacksmith shop, and Syenehad a railroad stop on the Chicago NorthwesternRailway line. The area called "Dogtown",located where Lacy and Fish Hatchery road nowintersect, had a butcher shop and a quarry in thevicinity. These settlements had various otherbusinesses and usually a one-room school. Youcaa read about them in the books, FITCHBURG:o history, and IRISH SETTLERS OFFITCHBURG 1840 -1860. Both books are

available for purchase through the FHS.

I

FACEBOOK PAGF.

There is now a Facebook page for the FitchburgHistoricai Society that is interesting to checkout. Just make sure you get FitchburgWisconsin, not Fitehburg, Massachusetts. Oneof the items oa the site includes a photo of a

boulder with a marker that hoaors the workLawrence and Esther Monthey did to restore thenative habitat on the famr they purchased onFitchburg Road. It also telis of the work theyeach Cid io their oia'n fields of endeavor. Theirchiidren installed the marker. It can be seen on!ii.^hhiiic i{a'rii frr^rfrh ,-'t 'rA,'irq!cr R.-':r.i --

;i;;.";; ii- i"Ji*";;";';; d; ;these and o&er items of interest about Fitchburg.Perhaps it wiil inspire you to add some of yourphotos for others to see.

HELP

The archivists of the FHS are urgently asking youto add a family history to the collection 'we havestarteci. T-he history cioes not have to be a

genealogist's book. A single page or two of yourfamily's arrival in Fitchburg w'ou1d be sufficient.They are also asking for volunteers from thegeneral membership to help with archival projectssuch as sorting and identiffing photos, fi1ingnewspaper articles anti copying obituaries. You-r.^r,1,:l nnr La av*attaA r^ ',,^-L -.1^-^ -A - ^-^L:=.:.+lrvolu dva uv L^PwvLvu ru wul[ orulrv. rut oLuYIDL

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suggestions.

BAR]Y QUILT

The history of American tsarn Quilts can be tracedback almost 300 years to the arrival of immigrants&om the centrai regions of Europe. Decoratingbarns with colorful designs and quiit squarespeaked by the beginning of the 20th century. Todaybarn quilts have become popular again with moreand more becoming visible. Fitchburg ao'r has itsfirst "barn quilt". There is a iovely barn quilt oa thea.;s; ia-'inr' .'i,la r'i- +ha ao,.l'i-o .1"-; ^- +h- p-',1!sr! rswl!6

Lacy farm at the comer of Mutchler and LacyRoads. Paul and Milda l-acy's elaughter, Joan

Kleinheinz, did the artwork. The pattern, "MarinersCompass", stan<is out niceiy on the green si<iing oithe shed.