Stoughton, Wisconsin Real Estate
Stoughton: One of America's Top Places to Live

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Stoughton, Wisconsin, is a charming and culturally unique community conveniently located in south central Wisconsin. The city provides an alluring blend of affordability and a high standard of living for roughly 13,000 residents. Settlement began in 1847 when Luke Stoughton, a Vermont Yankee living nearby in the Janesville area purchased 800 acres of land nestled in a large bend of the Catfish River (now the Yahara River). Stoughton platted the town, built a dam, lumber mill, and general store and began to publicize his community to relatives and friends. The village grew steadily, and in 1853, Luke Stoughton offered free land to the railroad if it would pass through Stoughton. The railroad's presence assured the city's future prosperity, and made the village a center for agriculture.

By 1868, when Stoughton became an incorporated village, the population had grown to 950. Most of the town lay between the river and the railroad tracks. The community's economic base was still agricultural. After the Civil War, however, a manufacturing economy began to develop, with T.G. Mandt's Wagon Works being the most important industry. A second wagon works was opened, and by World War I, over 800 men were employed. At the same time, leaf tobacco became the important local crop, with hundreds of people, many of them women, employed in the seventeen tobacco warehouses in town.

The principal source of labor for Stoughton's industries was the pool of Norwegian immigrants who arrived starting in the 1870's. Probably attracted to the area by the well-established Norwegian farming community east of town, they transformed Stoughton into one of the most Norwegian towns outside of Norway. The population swelled, and the years between 1885 and 1917 were boom years for Stoughton, with substantial growth in both commercial and residential districts. In 1882, Stoughton incorporated as a city.

By the end of World War I, the emergence of automobiles and tractors brought about the demise of the wagon factories. Tobacco growing depleted the soil, and that industry collapsed. Then, after lean years in the 1920's and 1930's, Stoughton experienced an economic upswing, as several major industries opened. Today, the city continues to thrive, and the population has grown to over 12,000 citizens.

This delightful community is appreciated for its historic downtown, quality schools, outstanding parks, and safe and aesthetically pleasing neighborhoods. It is minutes from Madison, the state’s capital, and from its largest university. The city has emphasized diversified growth as evidenced by the healthy mix of commercial, residential and industrial development. Stoughton is a rapidly growing business-friendly city, offering small city life nearby to a thriving metropolitan area, consistently ranked as one of the top places in America to live.