Editing Roxbury, Wisconsin

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Town of Roxbury
|settlement_type          = [[Administrative divisions of Wisconsin#Town|Town]]
|nickname                 =
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            =  Roxbury Town Hall.jpg
|imagesize                =
|image_caption            = Town hall
|image_flag               =
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = Dane County Wisconsin incorporated and unincorporated areas Roxbury highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 260px
|map_caption              = Location of the Town of Roxbury in [[Dane County, Wisconsin|Dane County]] and the state of [[Wisconsin]].

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name  = {{flag|United States}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Wisconsin}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Wisconsin|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Dane County, Wisconsin|Dane]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     =
|government_type          =
|leader_title             =
|leader_name              =
|leader_title1            =
|leader_name1             =
|established_title        =
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  =  Imperial
|area_footnotes           =
|area_magnitude           =
|area_total_km2           = 93.0
|area_land_km2            = 89.6
|area_water_km2           = 3.4
|area_total_sq_mi         = 35.9
|area_land_sq_mi          = 34.6
|area_water_sq_mi         = 1.3

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[United States Census, 2000|2000]]
|population_footnotes     =
|population_total         = 1871
|population_density_km2   = 19.0
|population_density_sq_mi = 49.1

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|elevation_m              = 319
|elevation_ft             = 1047
|coordinates              = {{coord|43|15|34|N|89|39|57|W|region:US-WI|display=inline}}
|postal_code_type         =
|postal_code              =
|area_code                = [[Area code 608|608]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 55-69850<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1584070<ref name="GR3" />
|website                  = http://town.roxbury.wi.us/
|footnotes                =
}}
The '''Town<ref>"Towns" in Wisconsin perform most of the same functions as townships in many other states. see 'Wisconsin Blue Book 2022,' Town, pp 354–355</ref> of Roxbury''' is located in [[Dane County, Wisconsin|Dane County]], [[Wisconsin]], United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated communities of Alden Corners and [[Roxbury (community), Wisconsin|Roxbury]] are located in the town. The unincorporated community of [[Lutheran Hill, Wisconsin|Lutheran Hill]] is also located partially in the town.

==History==
The Town of Roxbury has been called "[[Dane County, Wisconsin|Dane County's]] most historic township (sic)".<ref name="historic">{{cite news | title=Roxbury, Dane County's most historic township | url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=14690&key=roxbury&cy= | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | date=June 8, 1924 | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref> Among its earliest recorded occurrences is the [[Battle of Wisconsin Heights]], the penultimate engagement of the 1832 [[Black Hawk War]] between the United States militia and the [[Sauk people|Sauk]] and [[Meskwaki]] tribes, led by [[Black Hawk (chief)|Black Hawk]]. After being pursued from [[Illinois]], Black Hawk's band took a stand against the militia just south of the [[Wisconsin River]], in what is today the Town of Roxbury. Although Black Hawk's band took severe casualties, their stand allowed several hundred noncombatant Sauk and Meskwaki to retreat to the [[Mississippi River]] which saved their lives.

Five years later, Charles Floyd, an Eastern speculator, established a company whose goal was to build an exemplary city in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]].<ref name="Floyd">{{cite news | title=Floyd's Prediction True, Ordnance Plant Places Roxbury in Public Eye | newspaper=The Capital Times | location=Madison, Wisconsin | page=6 | date=May 20, 1942}}</ref> Floyd bought over {{convert|300|acre|km2}} of land in section 19 in the Town of Roxbury and had it surveyed. Then he drew up a map depicting streets, public buildings, and parks in what he called the "City of Superior", boasting that he would make the area known throughout the country.<ref name="Floyd"/> His map was circulated in Chicago, New York, and Boston, along with glowing descriptions of the city.<ref name="Madison">{{cite book | title=Madison, Dane County and Surrounding Towns | year=1877 | publisher=Wm. J. Park | location=Madison, Wisconsin | pages=498–499 | url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?id=WI.MadDane}}</ref> Lots were sold to investors, including [[Daniel Webster]],<ref name="Madison"/> but there were no settlers. The 1842 census showed only two residents in the town. Floyd's grand plan had been a failure.<ref name="speculator">{{cite news |title=Speculator first to attempt settlement of Roxbury township |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=5555&key=roxbury&cy= |newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal |location=Madison, Wisconsin|date=April 4, 1920 |access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref>

A settlement located across the Wisconsin River, in what is today [[Sauk City, Wisconsin|Sauk City]], was the impetus for the next development in Roxbury. In 1840, [[Agoston Haraszthy]], a colorful<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1363&term_type_id=1&term_type_text=People&letter=H|title=Haraszthy [De Moksca), Agoston 1812 - 1869|work=Dictionary of Wisconsin History|publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society|access-date=November 16, 2009}}</ref><ref name="derleth">{{cite book|last=Derleth|first=August|title=The Wisconsin: River of a Thousand Isles|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison|year=1942|isbn=0-299-10374-9}}</ref> nobleman and political refugee from [[Hungary]], arrived in the United States. By 1841, he had purchased a large parcel of land where Sauk City now stands.<ref name="speculator"/><ref name="count">{{cite news | title=Roxbury township founded by Hungarian Count in 1840 | url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=14689&key=inama&cy= | newspaper=The Capital Times | location=Madison, Wisconsin | date=March 31, 1923 | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref> He also built a hunting lodge, opposite his home, on a bluff in Roxbury overlooking the river.<ref name="historic"/><ref name="Floyd"/><ref name="speculator"/><ref name="count"/> For the next several years, Haraszthy was active as a trader, hunter, steamboat operator, and viticulturist, and his business activities attracted attention to the area.<ref name="historic"/> He established a ferry that crossed the river, connecting Roxbury with Sauk City (then named "Haraszthy"), and in 1841, Robert Richards and Jacob Fraelich, the ferry operators, became the first settlers in Roxbury after Haraszthy.<ref name="Floyd"/>

For several years, no other settlers appeared in the town. Then in 1845, Rev. Adelbert Inama, a [[Premonstratensian|Norbertine]] missionary originally from the [[Tyrol (state)|Tirol]] in [[Austria]], arrived in the area.<ref name="Madison"/><ref name="speculator"/><ref name="Inama"/> Impressed with what he found, Inama extolled the virtues of Roxbury to his superiors in Austria:

{{blockquote|text=It lies in a district of the Wisconsin Territory as healthful as it is fruitful, on the elevated shores of the Wisconsin River, opposite [[Prairie du Sac]], in the midst of mining districts, only 20 English miles from the capital, [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], and well suited to become quickly and easily populated. The place is joined in three different directions with European seaports, by means of an unbroken waterway: to the south by means of the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] to [[New Orleans]]; to the east by means of the [[Erie Canal]] to [[New York (state)|New York]]; to the north by means of the [[Saint Lawrence River]] and the [[Great Lakes]].
I certainly maintain that at present few localities can outdo the environs of Sac Prairie in fertility, variety, romantic beauty, and healthfulness of climate.<ref name="letters3">{{cite journal | last=Inama | first=Adelbert | year=1927 | title=Letters of the Reverend Adelbert Inama, O. Praem | journal=Wisconsin Magazine of History | volume=11 | issue=3 | url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wmh/archives/search.aspx?area=browse&volume=11&articleID=6020 | access-date=December 5, 2008 }}</ref>}} Inama's active promotion of the area was instrumental in attracting immigrants, mostly from German territories, particularly [[Bavaria]].<ref name="Inama">{{cite news | title=Father Inama - pioneer priest of Dane County | url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=1528&key=inama&cy= | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | date=July 13, 1924 | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref> Within two years of his arrival, 15 families had settled in Roxbury.<ref name="Floyd"/>

Known as "the Apostle of the Four Lakes Region" because of his pioneering missionary work in the area,<ref>{{cite book | title=St. Norbert Parish, 1846-1971: One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary | year=1971 | page=1}}</ref> Inama established the first [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] church in Dane County in Roxbury.<ref name="Pioneer">{{cite news | title=Roxbury Honors Pioneer Priest | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | page=7 | date=July 22, 1946}}</ref> In 1845, he erected a log chapel in section 18 of the town.<ref name="Inama"/><ref name="Pioneer"/><ref name="center">{{cite news | title=Catholic church is community center of Roxbury | url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=14692&key=inama&cy= | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | date=August 13, 1922 | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref> Church services were held there until 1853, when a small brick church was constructed.<ref name="Madison"/><ref name="Inama"/>

Inama also acquired {{convert|1200|acre|km2}} of land in the area, {{convert|100|acre|km2}} of which had been donated by Haraszthy.<ref name="letters3"/><ref name="Pioneer"/> Three acres were set aside for the construction of a church and a school.<ref name="Inama"/> The remainder were sold to immigrants at cost, which was done to prevent speculators from preying on the naïve newcomers.<ref name="Pioneer"/>

As an increasing number of settlers arrived, they called for their own local government, and in 1849 the area that is now the Town of Roxbury was detached from the Town of Dane (then known as Clarkson).<ref name="count"/> The Town of Roxbury was formed by an act of the legislature on March 21, 1849.<ref name="Floyd"/><ref name="count"/> Burke Fairchild was elected the town's first chairman.<ref name="historic"/> In a vote held to select the town's name, two factions debated the issue. One wanted "Nelson", after [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Admiral Nelson]], the hero of the English wife of the town chairman; another wanted "Roxbury", after a town in New York where some of the settlers originated. A tie vote resulted in the secretary casting the deciding ballot for Roxbury.<ref name="historic"/>

Although many of the first settlers of Roxbury were [[Yankee]]s, Inama's work attracted an element that was heavily German.<ref name="speculator"/> Within a short time, the original Yankee settlers moved on and Germans predominated.<ref name="Floyd"/><ref name="Madison"/> As the town grew, the small settlement of Alden's Corners developed in the southern part of the town, and at one time a post office was located there.<ref name="speculator"/> By 1875 the population of the town had reached 1,151.<ref name="Madison"/>

Having outgrown the church built only a few years earlier, a new one was constructed in 1857. Though it has been enlarged several times, the 1857 building remains at the core of the present church.<ref name="Inama"/> Erected on a hill, the Romanesque Revival style church<ref name="Hamlets">{{cite book | title=Unincorporated Hamlets of Dane County, Wisconsin: Intensive Survey Report | author=Timothy F. Heggland | year=2002 | url=http://danedocs.countyofdane.com/webdocs/PDF/PlanDev/ComprehensivePlan/updates/ancr/20031112_hamlets_surveyreport.pdf |publisher=Dane County Department of Planning and Development | location=Madison, Wisconsin | page=26 | access-date=December 8, 2008 }}</ref> is a stately edifice overlooking a small settlement below.<ref name="center"/> It is graced by a large altar painting depicting [[Norbert of Xanten|St. Norbert]] and the allegory of life, which was donated to Inama in 1860 by King [[Ludwig I of Bavaria]].<ref name="Madison"/><ref name="Inama"/><ref>{{cite book | title=St. Norbert Parish, 1846-1971: One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary | year=1971 | page=23}}</ref><ref name="shrine">{{cite news | title=Ruins of Roxbury chapel to be rebuilt as shrine | url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=14691&key=inama&cy= | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | date=December 11, 1928 | access-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:St. Norbert's Church, Roxbury, WI.JPG|thumb|right|St. Norbert's Church]]
St. Norbert's Church has always been the centerpiece of the hamlet and focal point of the community.<ref name="speculator"/><ref name="center"/> School was originally held in the basement of the church, until a separate school building was erected in 1864.<ref name="StNorbert">{{cite book | title=St. Norbert Parish, 1846-1971: One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary | year=1971 | page=42}}</ref> A convent to house the [[Racine Dominican Sisters|Dominican]] nuns who ran the school was erected in 1879.<ref>{{cite book | title=St. Norbert Parish, 1846-1971: One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Anniversary | year=1971 | page=59}}</ref> The only settlement in the town is the hamlet of Roxbury, which is centered around the church.<ref name="count"/> At one time, the hamlet consisted of the church, school, convent, a blacksmith shop, an auto garage, two stores, a meat market, and a handful of houses, but now only the church, the school, a restaurant, and a tavern remain, and the school is no longer in operation, with the exception being religious instruction twice weekly.<ref name="speculator"/><ref name="count"/> The number of houses in the hamlet has been increasing since the 1970s.

Because Roxbury was populated almost exclusively by Germans,<ref name="historic"/> [[German language|German]] was spoken in the community for over 80 years, well into the 1930s.<ref name="Abuse">{{cite news | title=Ach! Abuse in German Court Finds | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | page= 20 | date=November 22, 1933}}</ref><ref name="German">{{cite news | title=Henry Noll's Sunday Thoughts | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | page= 6 | date=May 17, 1942}}</ref> Tradition has it that the Kelly family were the only ones in Roxbury who could not speak German.<ref name="historic"/><ref name="German"/> School classes at St. Norbert's were conducted in German until 1905, when they began to be taught half in German and half in English.<ref name="StNorbert"/> For many years, the church also followed a German tradition of segregating the congregation during services, with men on one side and women on the other, married adults in the rear, single adults in the center, and children in the front.<ref name="Segregation">{{cite news | title=Madison Day by Day | newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal | location=Madison, Wisconsin | page=1 (part 2) | date=August 4, 1930}}</ref> Local residents still refer to the hamlet of Roxbury as "the Dorf", German for ''village''.

Given the proximity of the town to the city of [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], concerns have been raised about development in the town. As a result, the town's most recent comprehensive plan addressed a number of issues, including growth and economic development; land use and preservation; agricultural, natural, and cultural resources; community facilities; and housing. The key goals that were identified by residents of the town of Roxbury and delineated in the plan were to preserve agricultural land and agriculture as a way of life, to preserve natural resources and wildlife, to preserve areas of cultural and historic importance, and to carefully site and design new development so as to maintain the existing character of the town.<ref>{{cite web|title=Town of Roxbury Comprehensive Plan Summary|url=https://danedocs.countyofdane.com/webdocs/PDF/plandev/roxburySumPlan.pdf |access-date=November 16, 2009}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Roxbury, Wisconsin.jpg|thumb|Roxbury, Wisconsin]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 35.9&nbsp;square miles (93.0&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which, 34.6&nbsp;square miles (89.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of it is land and 1.3&nbsp;square miles (3.4&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of it (3.65%) is water. The Town of Roxbury occupies Township 9 North, Range 7 East of the fourth principal meridian.<ref>''[http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=turn&id=WI.AtlasDane1899&entity=WI.AtlasDane1899.p0055&isize=XL&title=New%20atlas%20of%20Dane%20County%2C%20Wisconsin%2C%20prepared%20from%20actual%20surveys%20and%20from%20the%20county...%2C%20p.%2055 New Atlas of Dane County, Wisconsin]''. Madison, Wis.: Leonard W. Gay, 1899, p. 55.</ref> The land in the Town of Roxbury is hilly, with high limestone bluffs in the west adjoining the Wisconsin River. Throughout the town, small areas of prairie are interspersed with oak groves. In the north lie several small lakes, including Crystal Lake and Fish Lake. Springs, ponds, and creeks also dot the area.<ref name="Madison"/> Aside from the small hamlet of Roxbury, the town is agricultural. A vineyard, the successor to one founded by Agoston Haraszthy, lies in the northwest, overlooking the Wisconsin River.

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,700 people, 603 households, and 499 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 49.1 people per square mile (19.0/km<sup>2</sup>).  There were 640 housing units at an average density of 18.5 per square mile (7.1/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 99.65% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.12% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.12% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.12% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.35% of the population.

There were 603 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.2% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.10.

The population was 28.4% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $60,463, and the median income for a family was $63,542. Males had a median income of $38,750 versus $29,118 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $24,708. About 3.9% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

==Transportation==
[[U.S. Route 12|U.S. Highway 12]] traverses the town, running northwest–southeast. Wisconsin Highways [[Wisconsin Highway 78|78]] and [[Wisconsin Highway 188|188]] parallel the Wisconsin River along the western edge of the town.

==Education==
Most of the Town of Roxbury is served by the Sauk Prairie School District. A small southwestern portion of the town is in the Wisconsin Heights School District, while the northeast corner is in the Lodi School District.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://danedocs.countyofdane.com/webdocs/PDF/PlanDev/ComprehensivePlan/plan/CF9_School_Districts.pdf|title=School Districts Dane County, Wisconsin|publisher=Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization|access-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

*Keyes, Elisha W., ed. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=E11AAAAAYAAJ&q=History+of+Dane+County:+Biographical+and+Genealogical History of Dane County: Biographical and Genealogical]''. Madison, WI: Western Historical Association, 1906.
*Richards, Robert Jr. "Reminiscences of Robert Richards Jr. of Dane County Wisconsin, 1843–1855."
*"Roxbury" in ''[http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wch/id/69791/rec/2 History of Dane County, Wisconsin]''. Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1880.

==External links==
*[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=Ntk:All|%3a+roxbury|3|,Nrc:id-5|id-4294961467,N:1135-4294963829-4294961456&dsNavOnly=N:1135 Wisconsin Historical Society Online Image Collection] - Licensed historical photos of Roxbury
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080808202956/http://www.wisconsincentral.net/Culture012906.html Roxbury, a historic hamlet community in a magnificent countryside setting] - Description and contemporary photos
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091028071050/http://www.geocities.com/old_lead/wisheights01.htm The Battle of Wisconsin Heights] – Includes landscape photos of the Town of Roxbury
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=7CipCkCeRwwC&dq=roxbury+%22block+and+stack%22&pg=PT1 Block-and-stack houses in Roxbury]
*[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1363&keyword=haraszthy Haraszthy [De Moksca), Agoston 1812–1869] ''Dictionary of Wisconsin History''
*[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=1419&term_type_id=1&term_type_text=People&letter=I Inama, Adelbert 1798–1879] ''Dictionary of Wisconsin History''
{{Dane County, Wisconsin}}
{{Black Hawk War (1832)}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Dane County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Madison, Wisconsin, metropolitan statistical area]]
[[Category:Black Hawk War]]
[[Category:German-American history]]
[[Category:Towns in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:1849 establishments in Wisconsin]]