Brodhead, Wisconsin

History

Just south of town is a historic marker for the Half-Way Tree, a bur oak supposedly identified by Native Americans as the halfway point on a foot trail between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Present day experts say the tree is off by about six miles but there is also a disagreement about the methods of measurement. The half-way tree still stands protected and still marks the half-way point.

The railroad track that runs east and west through town features a small museum with a train and army tank on display, adjacent to the park and bandstand pavilion. The museum curator said that the railroad was being wooed by two different towns and decided to split the difference and created Brodhead in the spring of 1856.

The town was named in honor of the chief engineer of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, Edward Hallock Brodhead (1809–1890), who was among the earliest promoters of the railway depot. The initial street names of the town were platted after the surnames of the landowners, eventually changed to numerical titles to reflect practical purposes.

Other cofounders include: Edmund Deacon Clinton (1804–1885), Isaac Foster Mack (1806–1886), John P. Dixon, John Lucas Vischer Thomas (1825–1917), John L. McNair (1809–1877), Edmund Abbott West (1823–1922) and Erastus M. Smith.

A nearby raceway was dredged off of a branch of the Sugar River that diverted a long canal to a hydroelectric generator that supplied electricity to the town. This gave Brodhead the distinction of having electrical service before other larger cities such as Chicago, and perhaps the first electrical service in Wisconsin.

Geography

Brodhead is located at (42.618540, -89.376291).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.84 sqmi, all of it land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Brodhead has a hot-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Brodhead was 111 F on July 21, 1901 and July 12–14, 1936, while the coldest temperature recorded was -36 F on January 30, 1951.

|Jan record high F = 61 |Feb record high F = 73 |Mar record high F = 84 |Apr record high F = 92 |May record high F = 105 |Jun record high F = 109 |Jul record high F = 111 |Aug record high F = 103 |Sep record high F = 102 |Oct record high F = 90 |Nov record high F = 80 |Dec record high F = 69

|Jan avg record high F = 47.6 |Feb avg record high F = 52.4 |Mar avg record high F = 67.8 |Apr avg record high F = 79.4 |May avg record high F = 87.3 |Jun avg record high F = 92.3 |Jul avg record high F = 92.7 |Aug avg record high F = 91.6 |Sep avg record high F = 88.9 |Oct avg record high F = 82.1 |Nov avg record high F = 66.0 |Dec avg record high F = 51.8 |year avg record high F = 94.9

|Jan avg record low F = -11.8 |Feb avg record low F = -6.8 |Mar avg record low F = 4.6 |Apr avg record low F = 23.2 |May avg record low F = 33.7 |Jun avg record low F = 44.8 |Jul avg record low F = 51.0 |Aug avg record low F = 49.2 |Sep avg record low F = 36.9 |Oct avg record low F = 25.5 |Nov avg record low F = 12.2 |Dec avg record low F = -3.9 |year avg record low F = -16.1

|Jan record low F = -36 |Feb record low F = -35 |Mar record low F = -21 |Apr record low F = 7 |May record low F = 24 |Jun record low F = 33 |Jul record low F = 40 |Aug record low F = 35 |Sep record low F = 20 |Oct record low F = 2 |Nov record low F = -18 |Dec record low F = -30

|access-date = May 4, 2023 |access-date = May 4, 2023

Demographics

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $36,506, and the median income for a family was $46,199. Males had a median income of $32,031 versus $24,442 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,455. About 6.6% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.1% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,293 people, 1,346 households, and 851 families residing in the city. The population density was 1789.7 PD/sqmi. There were 1,452 housing units at an average density of 789.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 96.4% White, 0.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.9% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.8% of the population.

There were 1,346 households, of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.8% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.01.

The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.1% were from 25 to 44; 23.3% were from 45 to 64, and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.3% male and 52.7% female.

Education

Brodhead is served by the Brodhead School District. There are 1,039 students in the district with grades Pre-K through 4th attending Albrecht Elementary school. Grades 5 through 8 attend Brodhead Middle School. Brodhead High School is the local high school. The high school is located at 2501 W 5th AVE Brodhead, WI 53520. Brodhead school district also has a student-teacher ratio of 13:1.

Transportation

Wisconsin State Highways

• [[Image:WIS 11.svg|25px]] WIS 11 runs right through town as 1st Center Ave.
• [[Image:WIS 81.svg|25px]] WIS 81 runs south of town.
• [[Image:WIS 104.svg|25px]] WIS 104 starts at the northeast corner of town.

Railroads

The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad runs through town on the branch line to Monroe.

Notable people

• Thax Douglas, poet; lives in Brodhead
• David Dunwiddie, Wisconsin state legislator; lived in Brodhead
• Milton S. Livingston, physicist; born in Brodhead
• Harvey T. Moore, Vermont and Wisconsin state legislator; lived in Brodhead
• Henry Putnam, Wisconsin state legislator; was President of Brodhead
• Archibald N. Randall, Wisconsin state legislator
• Burr Sprague, Wisconsin state legislator; lived in Brodhead
• Albert M. Ten Eyck, academic
• Fred Ties, Wisconsin state legislator; lived in Brodhead

Gallery

File:Half-Way Tree mark.JPG File:Half-Way Tree.jpg|The Half-Way tree in Brodhead File:Covered Bridge in Brodhead.jpg|Covered bridge 1½ miles North of Brodhead on the Sugar River State Trail File:Covered Bridge mark in Brodhead.jpg|Covered bridge historic plate File:Laube Building.JPG|The Laube Building, part of the Exchange Square Historic District

References

References

1. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. link. (March 11, 2007)
5. "The Half-Way Tree".
6. [https://www.brodheadhistory.org/brodhead-history/ BrodheadHistory.org] has more detail.
7. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
8. "US Gazetteer files 2010". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
10. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
11. "Brodhead School District". Niche.
12. "Brodhead school district".
13. "Brodhead · Wisconsin 53520".
14. [http://www.tonemadison.com/articles/thax-douglas-on-laying-low-in-wisconsin/ Thax Douglas on laying low in Wisconsin]
15. (1884). "History of Green County, Wisconsin". Union Publishing Company.
16. "M. Stanley Livingston".
17. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1875,' Biographical Sketch of Harvey Thomas Moore, pg. 312
18. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_zEsNAAAAIAAJ/page/n729 Henry Clay Putnam]
19. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1883,' Biographical Sketch of Archibald N. Randall, pg. 476-477
20. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1881,' Biographical Sketch of Birr Sprague, pg. 511
21. 'Wisconsin Blue Book 1907, Biographical Sketch of Fred Ties, pg. 1151