Editing Barton, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The settlement of Barton began in 1845, when a land surveyor named Barton Salisbury arrived in the area from [[Mequon, Wisconsin|Mequon]], and identified the rapids on the [[Milwaukee River]] as a potential source of hydropower. He built a sawmill, and soon other settlers arrived in the area, which was called Salisbury's Mills at the time. Salisbury went on to found the [[Newburg, Wisconsin|Village of Newburg]] before he died in a construction accident in 1849.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quickert |first1=Carl |title=Washington County, Wisconsin: Past and Present |date=1912 |publisher=S. J. Clarke Publishing Company |location=Chicago, IL |pages=74–76}}</ref>

In 1848, the state legislature created the Town of Newark from land that had previously been part of the [[West Bend (town), Wisconsin|Town of West Bend]], and in 1853 the Washington County Board of Supervisors changed the name to the Town of Barton in honor of Barton Salisbury.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K4RRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2193%2C4879340 | title=Places | work=The Milwaukee Sentinel | date=July 29, 1980 | access-date=December 2, 2015 | pages=A3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Chicago and North Western Railway Company|title=A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OspBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA41|year=1908|page=41}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite web|title=Encyclopedia of Milwaukee: Town of Barton |url=https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/town-of-barton/#_ftn8-entry  |publisher=University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee|access-date=March 14, 2020}}</ref>

Many sawmills and gristmills sprang up on the river in the town's early years, and by 1855, the town's population was over 1,000, making it larger than neighboring [[West Bend, Wisconsin|West Bend]]. The first settlers were predominantly German immigrant farmers. The first church was a German Methodist church established in 1850. In 1852, the non-German settlers in the town organized the Presbyterian Society of Newark.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/> The first Roman Catholic service in the town was held on Christmas Day, 1857.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Quickert |first1=Carl |title=Washington County, Wisconsin: Past and Present |date=1912 |publisher=S. J. Clarke Publishing Company |location=Chicago, IL |page=40}}</ref> On August 12, 1858, an Austrian missionary named Father Caspar Rehrl established the Roman Catholic [[Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes]] in Barton and built the historic St. Agnes Convent and School.<ref>{{cite web |title=St. Agnes Convent and School|url=https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2134|publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society|access-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> In its early years, the order was dedicated to education, and sisters worked in rural schools in Barton and surrounding communities.<ref name=csa>[https://www.csasisters.org/about-us/history.cfm "History", Congregation of Sisters of Saint Agnes]</ref>

In April of 1925, the Village of Barton was incorporated out of some of the town's land. A vote was held in the Town of Barton to determine if a village should be incorporated on April 21st, 1925. The results of the vote were 134 in favor and 90 opposed.<ref>West Bend News April, 1925</ref> Later on September 12th, 1961 another vote was held in the city of West Bend and the village of Barton to determine if the village should consolidate into the city. The results in the village of Barton were 384 in favor and 187 opposed, while in West Bend it was 1,147 in favor and 643 opposed.<ref>West Bend News September 20th, 1961</ref> The village was annexed by the City of West Bend on November 1, 1961. In the 21st century, much of the Town of Barton's land is used for agriculture.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>


{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ class="nowrap" | List Of Village Presidents (1925 - 1961)<ref>West Bend News 1925 - 1961</ref>

! colspan="2"|Village President
!Term in Office
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1
| rowspan="2"|'''Joseph Van Beek''' 
''Office Established''<br>
 |rowspan="2"| April 21st, 1925<br />–<br />1934
|-
| 
|-
|-
| rowspan="2"| 2
| rowspan="2"|'''Anthony H. Otten'''<br>
 |rowspan="2"| 1934<br />–<br /> 1957
|-
| 
|-
|-
|-
| rowspan="2"| 3
| rowspan="2"|'''Karl A. Steinert'''
''Office Disestablished''<br>
 |rowspan="2"| 1957<br />–<br /> November 1st, 1961
|-
| 
|-
|-
|}