Stoughton is a city in
Dane CountyDane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Its estimated population in 2007 was 476,785. The county seat is Madison. The U.S. Census Bureau's Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Dane County...
,
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It straddles the
Yahara RiverThe Yahara River is a tributary of the Rock River, about 45 mi long, in southern Wisconsin in the United States. Via the Rock River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River...
about 20 miles southeast of the capital,
MadisonMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. Stoughton is part of the Madison
Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Wisconsin, anchored by the city of Madison...
. Its estimated population in 2004 was 12,692.
Stoughton is known for its Norwegian heritage: It hosts a citywide celebration of Syttende Mai, the Norwegian constitution day, on the weekend closest to May 17. Its sister city is
Gjøvikis a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik....
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. Part of the city's celebration of its Norwegian heritage is the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers dance group, sponsored by Stoughton High School.
Stoughton was founded in 1847 by Luke Stoughton, an Englishman from Vermont.
Stoughton is a city in
Dane CountyDane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Its estimated population in 2007 was 476,785. The county seat is Madison. The U.S. Census Bureau's Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Dane County...
,
WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It straddles the
Yahara RiverThe Yahara River is a tributary of the Rock River, about 45 mi long, in southern Wisconsin in the United States. Via the Rock River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River...
about 20 miles southeast of the capital,
MadisonMadison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. Stoughton is part of the Madison
Metropolitan Statistical AreaThe Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Wisconsin, anchored by the city of Madison...
. Its estimated population in 2004 was 12,692.
Stoughton is known for its Norwegian heritage: It hosts a citywide celebration of Syttende Mai, the Norwegian constitution day, on the weekend closest to May 17. Its sister city is
Gjøvikis a town and a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Toten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Gjøvik....
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. Part of the city's celebration of its Norwegian heritage is the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers dance group, sponsored by Stoughton High School.
History
Stoughton was founded in 1847 by Luke Stoughton, an Englishman from Vermont. Many Norwegian immigrants settled in the town from 1865 through the early 1900s.
In 1919, Stoughton Wagon Company began putting custom wagon bodies on Model T chassis; by 1929
FordThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
was by far the biggest seller of station wagons.
On August 18, 2005, an F3 tornado cut a 10-mile path across rural subdivisions and farms north of Stoughton, killing one person and damaging hundreds of homes.
Events
The
coffee breakFor the book, go to Coffee Break A coffee break is a daily social gathering for a snack and short downtime practiced by employees in business and industry...
is said to have originated in Stoughton, when the immigrant men became employed en masse at T.G. Mandt's wagon factory, leaving their wives to fill the shortages at the tobacco warehouses, who agreed to work under the condition that they were allowed to go home every morning and afternoon to tend to chores and, of course, drink coffee. The city of Stoughton celebrates the coffee break every summer with the Stoughton Coffee Break Festival.
The first weekend in December marks Stoughton's Victorian Holiday Weekend celebrating the city's wealth of beautifully preserved Victorian homes and commercial buildings. Events include a Victorian Holiday Ball featuring Period dances in a casual atmosphere, a production of the Nutcracker Ballet, carriage rides, a silent decorated fire truck parade, children's parade, and more.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 4.1
square mileThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
s (10.6 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (3.41%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 12,354 people, 4,734 households, and 3,185 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 3,116.6 people per square mile (1,204.5/km²). There were 4,890 housing units at an average density of 1,233.6/sq mi (476.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.66% White, 0.92% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.24% of the population. 32.0% were of
GermanThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
, 28.9% Norwegian, 8.5%
IrishThe Irish people are a Western European ethnic group who originate in Ireland, in north western Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolgs, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians The Irish...
and 5.3%
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity as a people is of early medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn....
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 4,734 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,633, and the median income for a family was $58,543. Males had a median income of $37,956 versus $26,187 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $21,037. About 3.1% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
In the media
In 2004 a Norwegian TV crew traveled to the Midwest to witness the modern manifestations of
Norsky culture in the state. The team was affiliated with the
Sogn og Fjordaneis a county in Norway, bordering Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, Buskerud, and Hordaland. The county administration is in the town of Hermansverk in Leikanger municipality while the largest town is Florø....
branch of NRK, Norway’s public television network, but worked as free-lancers on this project. During their stay the team visited Stoughton, as well as
Mount HorebMount Horeb is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,860 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Mount Horeb is located at ....
and
Decorah, IowaDecorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,172 at the 2000 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S...
. In Stoughton the Norwegians focused on Jessica Lippart, then a
bunadA bunad is a traditional Norwegian costume, typically of rural origin. Bunads are local to Norway's traditional districts, and the result both of traditional evolution and organized efforts to discover and modernize traditional designs. The designs are typically elaborate, with embroidery,...
-clad member of the Stoughton Norwegian Dancers, as she danced and commented on the Norwegian-American cultural aspects of the area. The documentary
Ja, de elsker (
Yes, they love, a reference to the
Norwegian national anthemis the national anthem of Norway. It is commonly referred to as just "Ja, vi elsker" . The lyrics were written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson between 1859 and 1868, and the melody was written by his cousin Rikard Nordraak in 1864. It was first performed publicly on 17 May 1864 in connection with the 50th...
) was aired on
NRK1NRK1 is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's main channel. The broadcasting company is government owned and is called, in Norwegian, Norsk rikskringkasting ....
on May 16, and May 17 2006, just in time for that year's
Norwegian Constitution DayThe Norwegian Constitution Day is the National Day of Norway and is an official national holiday each year. Among Norwegians, the day is referred to simply as syttande/syttende mai , Nasjonaldagen or Grunnlovsdagen , although the latter is less frequent.- Historical background :The Constitution of...
. The program was also shown on December 30 2006.
Notable people
- Harold Drotning
Harold Drotning served in the United States Army during World War I. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.-Citation:The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Private First...
, Distinguished Service CrossThe Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, awarded for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high...
recipient.
- John Edward Erickson
John Edward Erickson was an American politician of the Democratic Party from Montana.He was born in Stoughton, Wisconsin and later lived in Kansas. He graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in 1890; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1891 at Eureka, Kansas. He began practicing law...
, Governor of Montana, was born in Stoughton.
- Jerry Frei
Gerald L. Frei was a long-time college and National Football League coach and administrator, most notably serving five years as the head coach at the University of Oregon -- when the Ducks had, among others, Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad -- and spending most of his time in professional football with...
, head coach of the Oregon DucksThe University of Oregon Ducks football team is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific Ten Conference. Known as the...
football team, NFL assistant coach.
- Russell Hellickson
Russell Owen "Russ" Hellickson is a former American wrestler who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics, for the United States.In 1976 he won the silver medal in the Freestyle Heavyweight competition....
won the silver medal in freestyle wrestling (light-heavyweight class) at the 1976 Summer OlympicsAt the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, 20 wrestling events were contested, for all men only. There were 10 weight classes in each of the freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling disciplines.-Freestyle:-Greco-Roman:-Medal table:...
. He was the head wrestling coach at UW-Madison from 1982 to 1986 and at Ohio State UniversityOhio State University is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the largest single-campus university in the United States. Ohio State is currently ranked by U.S...
from 1986 to 2006, and he has been a television commentator at six Olympics. He was a state champion for Stoughton High School in 1966.
- Bob Homme
Robert "Bob" Homme, CM was an American-born television actor perhaps best known as the host of The Friendly Giant, a popular Canadian children's television program from the 1950s through the 1980s which was broadcast on CBC Television.Homme was invested into the Order of Canada as a Member on...
was the star on the long-lived Canadian television series The Friendly GiantThe Friendly Giant was a popular Canadian children's television program on the CBC from September 1958 through to March 1985. It featured three main characters: a giant named Friendly , who lived in a huge castle, along with his puppet animal friends Rusty and Jerome...
. Seen initially on Madison's WHA-TVWisconsin Public Television is a network of non-profit PBS stations operated primarily by the Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin Extension....
, the show was broadcast for decades on CBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.-Overview:CBC Television provides a complete 24-hour network schedule of news, sports, entertainment and children's programming, in most cases feeding the same programming at the same local times...
and was one of the most successful children's television series in Canada. He received the Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
, the nation's highest official decoration.
- Henry Huber
Henry A. Huber was a Wisconsin politician. He was born in Evergreen, Pennsylvania in 1869, but moved to Pleasant Springs, Wisconsin with his parents at the age of ten. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1892 and set up a law practice in Stoughton...
, Lieutenant Governor of WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
.
- Per Lysne
Per Lysne was famous for bringing the traditional Norwegian folk art of Rosemaling to the United States.-Biography:Lysne was born in Laerdal, Sogn, Norway. He had been trained in rosemaling by his father, Anders Olsen, an artist whose work was recognized at the Paris Exposition in 1893. Lysne...
, artist.
- John McCarthy
John Jay McCarthy was a Nebraska Republican politician.Born in Stoughton, Wisconsin on July 19, 1857, he attended Albion Academy. He moved to David City, Nebraska in 1879 and to Dixon County, Nebraska in 1882. He was admitted to the bar in 1884 and set up practice in Emerson, Nebraska.He was...
, Nebraska politician and member of the United States House of Representatives, was born in Stoughton.
- Truman O. Olson
Truman O. Olson was a United States Army sergeant who was awarded the United States military's highest decoration, Medal of Honor, for his actions in World War II....
, Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
recipient.
- Andrew Rein
Andrew Roland Rein is a former American wrestler who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics, for the United States.In 1984 he won the silver medal in the Freestyle Lightweight competition.-External links:*...
won the silver medal in freestyle wrestling (lightweight class)The Men's Freestyle 68 kg at the 1984 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, California.- Medalists :- Tournament results :The wrestlers are divided into 2 groups...
at the 1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. Los Angeles was selected as the host of the Games on May 18, 1978 on the 80th IOC session at Athens, Greece, without a vote,...
. He was an NCAA champion (150-pound class) at UW-Madison in 1980 and the head wrestling coach there from 1987 to 1993. He was a state champion for Stoughton High School in 1975 and 1976.
- Norman Wengert, political scientist
External links