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Grange Store, 1905 ca.

View of the Grange Store on Main Street East. View the original source document: WHI 30941

Evansville is located 23 miles south of Madison in Rock County. The first residents originally referred to it simply as "the Grove" because of the beautiful trees that surrounded the few houses there. Its official name comes from a Dr. J.M. Evans, the community's first physician.

Evansville has always been a center for agriculture, including tobacco, wheat and dairy farming. During the 19th century, the small town was known mainly to outsiders as a stopping point on the stagecoach route (and later, the railroad) between northern Illinois and Madison. As late as 1923, the ruins of the "Old Ball" tavern were still visible, though the tavern itself had long since closed. The tavern was one of four along the route where travelers could get food and drink as the horses rested.

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Evansville, Wisconsin

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Source: WHS Library-Archives Staff, 2009