Press Release History

Press Release Information



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Jan. 1, 2004

Richland Center History

Contact: City Clerk/Treasurer (608) 647-3466 or the City Administrator/Utility Manger at (608) 647-4448.

   At the time Richland Center was platted in 1851, one of its founders, Ira Haseltine, described it as “a beautiful prairie with scattering shade trees, and the whole surrounded by noble groves of thrifty timber.” Established along the east and west banks of the Pine River in the approximate center of Richland County, Richland Center’s economic history and development rests on its agricultural heritage. Serving only a small local clientele until it acquired the railroad in 1876, the economic growth of the city mushroomed in the late 1870’s and particularly in the 1880’s.

            Retail and craft services and several important industrial establishments dominated the economy. By 1854, Ira Haseltine had gained ownership of the water power on the Pine River and erected a dam at the west end of Court Street, a sawmill, and a small grist mill. By 1854, Richland Center also was served by a hotel, a post office, three mercantile stores, a blacksmith, and about eight dwellings. As in most western Wisconsin communities, Richland Center developed as a flour milling center in the 1850’s. Dependent on the railway transportation commencing in 1876, Richland Center’s lumber milling industry developed in the late 1870’s and 1880’s, processing mainly hardwood and lumber and wood products. Although lumber milling ceased in most of Wisconsin by the turn of the century, the city’s largest lumber mill and manufacturer Krouskop Lumberyard prospered not only in the lumber industry, but also in other areas of commerce. Cheese and condensory products gained increasing significance after the turn of the century, remaining a dominant industry in Richland Center through the 1940’s.

            As the economy expanded and the population grew from 660 in 1860 to 4,364 in 1940, the needs of the community grew. Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Baptist Church congregations were established in the 1850’s and 1860’s. When Richland Center was established as the Richland County seat in 1852, additional business and services were attracted to the area. The first tax-supported public school occupied in 1858 was followed by a high school in 1875. Teachers were trained at the Richland County Training School beginning in 1902. Women’s groups, fraternal organizations, temperance and suffrage and health service groups created a major impact upon the community. Richland Center organized one of the first local suffrage organizations in 1882. Faced with meeting the expanding needs of a more sophisticated early twentieth century community, the city built a modern city hall in 1911 and the first post office building in 1935. On January 1, 1952 Theron Moon brought the first cable television to Richland Center where a group of people gathered to watch the Wisconsin Badgers play football in the Rose Bowl. This was the second cable TV to be installed in the State of Wisconsin. Thereon Moon sold the business in 1978 to TCI Cable, it was owned by Breslan for a short time, and is now owned by Charter Communications. Today Richland Center looks with pride back on its heritage as well as to its future as an agricultural support community and retail trade center.

            The historical development of Richland Center as an agricultural support community and retail trade center is reflected in its fine architectural heritage. Buildings dating from as early as the mid-1850’s and 1860’s still remain in the city. The greatest wealth and diversity shown in the city’s architecture dates from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Richland Center experienced rapid growth and prosperity.

            A summary of architectural styles in Richland Center include Greek Revival 1850’s, Italianate 1840-1880, Queen Anne 1880-1910, Gothic Revival 1830-1920, Romanesque Revival 1840-1900, Bungalow 1900-1940, Prairie School 1900-1940, Spanish Colonial Revival 1910-1940, Tudor Revival 1900-1940, Utilitarian, and Vernacular.

            Acknowledgement: Some of this information was taken from a brochure that has been funded with the assistance of a grant-in-aid from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. Historic Preservation grants-in-aid are administered in Wisconsin in conjunction with the national Register of Historic Places program by the Historic Preservation Division of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. However, the contents and opinions contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of policies of the National Park Service or the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

History Links: Wisconsin Historical Society

	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
	Jan. 1, 2004
Richland Center History	Contact: City Clerk/Treasurer (608) 647-3466 or the City Administrator/Utility Manger at (608) 647-4448.

At the time Richland Center was platted in 1851, one of its founders, Ira Haseltine, described it as “a beautiful prairie with scattering shade trees, and the whole surrounded by noble groves of thrifty timber.” Established along the east and west banks of the Pine River in the approximate center of Richland County, Richland Center’s economic history and development rests on its agricultural heritage. Serving only a small local clientele until it acquired the railroad in 1876, the economic growth of the city mushroomed in the late 1870’s and particularly in the 1880’s. Retail and craft services and several important industrial establishments dominated the economy. By 1854, Ira Haseltine had gained ownership of the water power on the Pine River and erected a dam at the west end of Court Street, a sawmill, and a small grist mill. By 1854, Richland Center also was served by a hotel, a post office, three mercantile stores, a blacksmith, and about eight dwellings. As in most western Wisconsin communities, Richland Center developed as a flour milling center in the 1850’s. Dependent on the railway transportation commencing in 1876, Richland Center’s lumber milling industry developed in the late 1870’s and 1880’s, processing mainly hardwood and lumber and wood products. Although lumber milling ceased in most of Wisconsin by the turn of the century, the city’s largest lumber mill and manufacturer Krouskop Lumberyard prospered not only in the lumber industry, but also in other areas of commerce. Cheese and condensory products gained increasing significance after the turn of the century, remaining a dominant industry in Richland Center through the 1940’s. As the economy expanded and the population grew from 660 in 1860 to 4,364 in 1940, the needs of the community grew. Methodist, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Baptist Church congregations were established in the 1850’s and 1860’s. When Richland Center was established as the Richland County seat in 1852, additional business and services were attracted to the area. The first tax-supported public school occupied in 1858 was followed by a high school in 1875. Teachers were trained at the Richland County Training School beginning in 1902. Women’s groups, fraternal organizations, temperance and suffrage and health service groups created a major impact upon the community. Richland Center organized one of the first local suffrage organizations in 1882. Faced with meeting the expanding needs of a more sophisticated early twentieth century community, the city built a modern city hall in 1911 and the first post office building in 1935. On January 1, 1952 Theron Moon brought the first cable television to Richland Center where a group of people gathered to watch the Wisconsin Badgers play football in the Rose Bowl. This was the second cable TV to be installed in the State of Wisconsin. Thereon Moon sold the business in 1978 to TCI Cable, it was owned by Breslan for a short time, and is now owned by Charter Communications. Today Richland Center looks with pride back on its heritage as well as to its future as an agricultural support community and retail trade center. The historical development of Richland Center as an agricultural support community and retail trade center is reflected in its fine architectural heritage. Buildings dating from as early as the mid-1850’s and 1860’s still remain in the city. The greatest wealth and diversity shown in the city’s architecture dates from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Richland Center experienced rapid growth and prosperity. A summary of architectural styles in Richland Center include Greek Revival 1850’s, Italianate 1840-1880, Queen Anne 1880-1910, Gothic Revival 1830-1920, Romanesque Revival 1840-1900, Bungalow 1900-1940, Prairie School 1900-1940, Spanish Colonial Revival 1910-1940, Tudor Revival 1900-1940, Utilitarian, and Vernacular. Acknowledgement: Some of this information was taken from a brochure that has been funded with the assistance of a grant-in-aid from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, under provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. Historic Preservation grants-in-aid are administered in Wisconsin in conjunction with the national Register of Historic Places program by the Historic Preservation Division of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. However, the contents and opinions contained in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of policies of the National Park Service or the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. History Links: Wisconsin Historical Society