Editing Wiota, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
When [[William S. Hamilton]], the son of [[Alexander Hamilton]],<ref name=hendrickson>Hendrickson, Robert A., [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qp7EAAAACAAJ&dq=Hendrickson,+Rise+and+Fall+of+Alexander+Hamilton,&ie=ISO-8859-1 ''The Rise and Fall of Alexander Hamilton'']. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981, p. 188. {{ISBN|0-442-26113-6}} Retrieved October 28, 2007.</ref> migrated from [[Illinois]] to Wisconsin in the late 1820s, he established a [[lead ore]] mine that became known as Hamilton's Diggings. He later renamed the settlement Wiota.<ref name=reed>Reed, Parker McCobb. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gzOmY6UBQTcC&pg=PA427&dq=%22William+S.+Hamilton%22&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA427,M1 ''The Bench and Bar of Wisconsin'']. Reed, 1882, pp. 427&ndash;28. Retrieved September 25, 2007.</ref> Hamilton, along with Elias Shook and William Haws, settled the area in 1828 and quickly struck quality deposits of lead ore.<ref name=wiotahist/> During the 1832 [[Black Hawk War]], a fort was erected at Hamilton's Diggings, which was known as [[Fort Hamilton (Wisconsin)|Fort Hamilton]].<ref name=butterfield>Butterfield, Consul Willshire. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RZ6tMZU9nsUC&pg=PA476&dq=%22Fort+Hamilton%22+Wiota+wisconsin ''History of Lafayette County, Wisconsin'']. Western Historical Co., 1881, p. 476. Retrieved September 25, 2007.</ref> Wiota was first platted in 1836 by Hamilton, and though a few buildings were built, the settlement was eventually moved from the Hamilton's Diggings site to its present site, which was platted on July 1, 1858.<ref name=wiotahist>"[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=15996&hdl=&np=&adv=yes&ln=&fn=&q=&y1=&y2=&ci=&co=Lafayette&mhd=&shd= Wiota: Town and Village]," Wisconsin Historical Society, Date and publication unknown. Retrieved September 26, 2007.</ref>

Wiota was the location of one of the earliest [[Norwegian Americans|Norwegian]] settlements in the United States, begun by immigrants traveling from Chicago, including [[Per Ivarson Undi]], in 1841.<ref>Theodore Blegen, ''Norwegian Migration to America'', p.77</ref> The East Wiota Lutheran Church, dedicated in 1852, is the oldest continually running [[Norwegian-American Lutheranism|Norwegian Lutheran church]] in America.<ref>historical marker</ref> [[Johan Storm Munch (evangelist)|Johan Storm Munch]] was an early pastor at the church. His wife, Caja, kept a diary of their time in Wiota that has since been published as ''The Strange American Way''.