Watertown, Wisconsin
| Watertown, Wisconsin | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Main Street in downtown Watertown
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 Location of Watertown, Wisconsin |
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| Coordinates: 43°12′N 88°43′W / 43.200°N 88.717°WCoordinates: 43°12′N 88°43′W / 43.200°N 88.717°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wisconsin |
| Counties | Jefferson, Dodge |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor – Common Council |
| • Mayor | John David |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12.51 sq mi (32.40 km2) |
| • Land | 12.11 sq mi (31.36 km2) |
| • Water | 0.40 sq mi (1.04 km2) |
| Elevation | 853 ft (260 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 23,861 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 23,957 |
| • Density | 1,970.4/sq mi (760.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | 920 |
| FIPS code | 55-83975 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1576295 |
| Website | www.ci.watertown.wi.us |
Watertown is a city in Dodge and Jefferson counties in the US state of Wisconsin. Most of the city's population is in Jefferson County. Division Street, several blocks north of downtown, marks the county line. The population of Watertown was 23,861 at the 2010 census. Of this, 15,402 were in Jefferson County, and 8,459 were in Dodge County.
Watertown is the largest city in the Watertown-Fort Atkinson micropolitan area, which also includes Johnson Creek and Jefferson.
Watertown was first settled by Timothy Johnson, who built a cabin on the west side of the Rock River in 1836. He was born in Middleton, Middlesex County, Connecticut, on the 28th of June, 1792. A park on the west side of the city is named in his honor. The area was settled to utilize the power of the Rock River, which falls 20 feet (6.1 m) in two miles (two 10-foot (3.0 m) dams). In contrast, the Rock River falls only 34 feet (10 m) in 58 miles (93 km) upstream from Watertown. The water power was first used for sawmills, and later prompted the construction of two hydroelectric dams, one downtown (where the river flows south) and one on the eastern edge of the city (where the river flows north).
In the 1850s, German immigrants arrived in Watertown from Germany. These people were fleeing revolutions and turmoil in Germany, which often saw pogroms against the wealthy. It was deemed better to be poor or middle class in America than it was to be wealthy in Germany, as a result most of the German immigrants who arrived in Watertown brought with them the trappings of the German middle class, including a proclivity for classical music, the Latin language and ornate furniture. Unlike other instances in other parts of the country in which they faced discrimination and xenophobia, they were welcomed with open arms by the English-Puritan descended "Yankee" population of Watertown and Jefferson County as a whole. This warm reception led to chain migration, which in turn greatly increased the German population of the region. Culturally they had much in common with the New England derived population, for instance both groups unanimously opposed slavery and both had a pronounced love for commerce and industry. Economically both communities would thrive in Watertown for the entirety of the 19th century, not facing any measurable economic hardships until the Great Depression in the following century.
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