Editing Elkhorn, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
In 1836, Colonel Samuel Phoenix spotted a rack of [[elk]] [[antlers]] in a tree and proclaimed the area as "Elk Horn."<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA117 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Henry Gannett | year=1905 | page=117}}</ref>

The area's beauty and fertile soil led Daniel Bradley, his brother Milo, and LeGrand Rockwell to create a community in the area.<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.cityofelkhorn.org/Community/History.asp|website=City of Elkhorn|access-date=15 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616205246/http://www.cityofelkhorn.org/Community/History.asp|archive-date=16 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Its growth to a population of 539 led to the first town meeting in 1846. Elkhorn was designated county seat that same year because of its location in Walworth County.

In 1851, Elkhorn became the location of the Walworth County Fair, which is now hosted annually at the [[Walworth County Fairgrounds]]. The Walworth County Fair is the largest county fair in Wisconsin.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brands |first=Rachel |date=August 24, 2023 |title=Walworth County Fair returns for 174th end-of-summer celebration |work=[[The Gazette (Janesville, Wisconsin)|The Gazette]] |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D8DE8DE83992E4A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F1939CE1B633E1070 |url-access=registration |access-date=November 24, 2023 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref>

In the 1870s, [[saline water]] from springs located in Elkhorn was believed to cure [[rheumatism]].<ref>Editor (4 Sep 1874) [https://www.ci.brainerd.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/1195/September-5-1874-PDF “Remarkable Cure.”] Brainerd Tribune, Vol 3 No 30. Page 1. (Retrieved November 13, 2019).</ref>

Because the city places [[Christmas]] decorations around its center, Elkhorn has been called the "Christmas Card Town" since before [[World War II]]. This tradition is celebrated every year by an annual oil painting by local artist Jan Castle Reed. These watercolor paintings are turned into Christmas cards.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cityofelkhorn.org/Community/History.htm |title=History, City of Elkhorn, Wisconsin (WI) |access-date=2009-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202112654/http://www.cityofelkhorn.org/Community/History.htm |archive-date=2008-12-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Elkhorn is also known for the folklore of the [[Beast of Bray Road]], a supposed [[werewolf]] type creature that has become the focus of books, documentaries, and other media including 2005 movie, [[The Beast of Bray Road (film)|The Beast of Bray Road]].<ref name="Book">{{cite book |last1=Godfrey |first1=Linda S. |title=The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin's Werewolf |date=2003 |publisher=Prairie Oak Press |location=Black Earth, Wisconsin |isbn=9781879483910 |language=en |quote=53090741}}</ref>