Editing Waupun, Wisconsin (section)

===Early history===
The first town election took place in 1842 at the Wilcox home; eleven votes were cast. When the village charter was ratified 15 years later, 323 votes were cast in the first election. Because of the steady growth of the village, a city charter was granted on March 15, 1878. John N. Ackerman was elected as the first city mayor.<ref name=":0" />

In 1851, the city was chosen for the State Penitentiary, owing to the abundance of limestone for construction. The main building, constructed in 1854, is still in use.

The Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad reached Waupun in 1856. It was sold to the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway June 23, 1863.  This company eventually became the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad]], known as "The Milwaukee Road", which served Waupun until 1980, when the line was sold to the state of Wisconsin and became the [[Wisconsin & Southern Railroad]].<ref>August Derleth. ''The Milwaukee Road: Its First Hundred Years''. New York: Creative Age Press, 1948.</ref>

The Waupun Library Association was established in 1858 through the efforts of William Euen and [[Edwin Hillyer]]. Hillyer ran the library out of his insurance office for 37 years without pay. In 1895, the city took ownership of the library, appointing a new library board which included Edwin Hillyer and Lucius D. Hinkley. When the city took ownership, it was soon moved to a side room in the Whiting Theater, which became the Davison Theater while still housing the library. In 1900, through the fundraising efforts of the Waupun Women's Club, it became a free public library. The [[Waupun Public Library|Waupun Carnegie Library]], now Waupun Heritage Museum, was built in 1904 with a $10,000 grant from [[Andrew Carnegie]].<ref name=":0" /> A new library building was built in 1968 and is the current Waupun Public Library.

The territorial census in 1847 showed the Town of Waupun to have a population of 956. The 1875 Wisconsin census showed the village of Waupun to have a population of 1,867.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=SQ0rAQAAMAAJ&q=The+History+of+Dodge+County,+Wisconsin The History of Dodge County, Wisconsin]''. Western Historical Company, 1880.</ref>