Reedsburg, Wisconsin

Reedsburg
City
Downtown Reedsburg
Reedsburg Location within the state of Wisconsin
Coordinates: 43°32′2″N 90°0′10″W / 43.53389°N 90.00278°W / 43.53389; -90.00278Coordinates: 43°32′2″N 90°0′10″W / 43.53389°N 90.00278°W / 43.53389; -90.00278
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Sauk
Area
• Total	5.93 sq mi (15.36 km2)
• Land	5.83 sq mi (15.10 km2)
• Water	0.10 sq mi (0.26 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	9,200
• Estimate (2012)	9,437
• Density	1,578.0/sq mi (609.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	608
Website	www.reedsburgwi.gov

Reedsburg is a city in Sauk County, Wisconsin, along the Baraboo River. The population was 10,014 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Reedsburg. It is part of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area.

James W. Babb and his wife Rebecca Scarff Babb brought their family to Wisconsin from Ohio in the mid 1840s. At a place fifty-fives miles northeast of Mineral Point (the capitol of Wisconsin Territory), long identified by the Winnebago who inhabited these lands as a convenient place to cross the Baraboo River, Babb left a flat-bottomed boat to help move supplies. At "Babb's Ford," in 1847 David C. Reed built a dam and a shanty to house the workers who constructed it. In June 1848 a sawmill followed. By 1850, “Shanty Row” comprised five tamarack shanties. Reedsburg was platted in 1852, and four years later the town had grown to fifty buildings serving 27 families and 122 people. The community continued under town government until 1868, when Reedsburg was incorporated as a village; it became a city in May 1887.

In the 1860s, a hop boom temporarily brought wealth into the area. The Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) arrived in 1872. In 1880, the Reedsburg Brewing Company was formed. Other industries followed. Among the most important was the Reedsburg Woolen Mill. Construction was completed in 1882, and by 1899, 32 broad looms produced mainly "fancy cassimeres" for Chicago markets. In 1902 the facility was purchased by Appleton Woolen Mills, and began producing clothing for east coast outlets. Sears and Montgomery Wards became two major clients. In 1954, when Appleton Woolen Mills shifted focus to felts, the business in Reedsburg reorganized to emphasize novelty fabrics. The Reedsburg Woolen Mill, long one of the area’s largest employers, endured until 1967; most of the mill complex burned in April 1968, leaving only the mill office. Also important has been the Hankscraft Company. Incorporated in Madison in 1920, Hankscraft—makers of baby bottle warmers, sterilizers and other products—thrived during the post-war baby boom, and in 1949 opened a plant in Reedsburg. In 1961, Hankscraft purchased Nursmatic Corporation, expanding their line include to bassinets, safety harnesses, baby toiletries and other products; a year later, the acquisition of Ruzicka Laboratories allowed the firm to expand once more, adding vaporizer fluids, baby oil, shampoo and lotions. In 1970, Hankscraft was purchased by Gerber Products Company, and began producing baby food. It was the town's second largest employer, exceeded only by the Reedsburg Woolen Mill. In 1996, Gerber Products Company sold Hankscraft Motors, which continues to operate in Reedsburg. Other important industries have included Grede Foundry, Seats, Inc., and the Columbia Par Car Corporation.