Three Revolutionary War Veterans Who Shaped Wisconsin’s Early Frontier Historical Horicon Wisconsin As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, three quiet Dodge County cemeteries hold a story that connects Wisconsin’s farmland to the cannon smoke of the American Revolution. Three men—Levi Holcomb, Gershom Noyes, and Richard Newsam—each carried the memory of …
During the Civil War, they answered the call. Most came home. All left something behind. Part One of Five A Town Answers the Call How Horicon, Wisconsin, went to war in the spring of 1861 165 years ago, when President Abraham Lincoln issued his first call for 75,000 volunteers in April 1861, the citizens of …
Dodge County Pioneers Before the railroads. Before the courthouses. Before Dodge County looked anything like it does today, this land was already home. The Ho-Chunk people and other Indigenous nations had lived among these marshes, prairies, and oak woodlands for countless generations before a single pioneer’s wagon ever arrived — hunting, farming, raising families, and …
A Different Revolution: Horicon Marsh and the Native World of 1776 Long before the Van Brunt Factory, the dam that created Lake Horicon, the mills, the farms, rail lines, drainage ditches, and town plats fixed the Horicon area into the modern Wisconsin map, the great marsh at the headwaters of the Rock River belonged to …
Elmina L. Clinton was born on September 3, 1823, in Canaan, Connecticut. She married George Beers on June 21, 1846, in Ithaca, New York — George’s first wife, Mary, having died just a year earlier in childbirth. Like so many young couples of their era, the Beers wasted little time. They packed up and headed …
Nestled within the peaceful confines of Bowling Green Park in Horicon, Wisconsin, stands a historic relic: a World War I MK1 60-pounder artillery piece. This imposing gun offers a fascinating glimpse into the technological advancements and strategic considerations of early 20th-century artillery — and its arrival in Horicon is a story worth telling. Special Note …
Private First Class Thomas F. Philipsky 1938 Horicon High School Graduate Private First Class Thomas F. Philipsky of Horicon, Wisconsin, is honored as the city’s first World War II casualty—a devoted son, athlete, and serviceman whose life story remains an inspiration to his community. Early Life: “Tommy” Thomas F. Philipsky was born on December 19, …
A History of Tourism at Horicon and Horicon Marsh Long before Horicon was a city — before the dam, the ducks, the duck hunters, the drainage ditches, and the hard-won restoration — this corner of Dodge County was shaped by forces far older than any of us. What we now know as Horicon Marsh began …
What happens when the U.S. Navy, Cold War paranoia, and a quiet patch of northern Wisconsin collide? You get one of the weirdest stories in American history. WTF: The Wisconsin Test Facility They Hoped You’d Never Find Forget everything you think you know about secret government projects. Area 51 had its remote Nevada desert. The …
Sometimes the archive surprises you. A digitized film reel surfaces online. A few minutes of footage that should have been lost turns out not to be. Or better yet — you’re digging through a collection and there it is. An old 8mm or 16mm film, still in its canister, label faded, sitting in the dark …
