Dodge County Pioneers

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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 …

Smallpox in a small town in Wisconsin

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144 Years Ago… When Smallpox Came to Horicon — April 28, 1882 Smallpox had a devastating effect on Native Americans when Europeans arrived on this continent, and it did not end there. Smallpox was a constant threat, with mortality rates up to 70%. A new wave of immigration from Europe in 1880–1883 really leapfrogged the …