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Stoughton Historical Society since 1960 Stoughton, Wisconsin, USA n |
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The man who founded
the little village of Stoughton was born in Vermont in 1799 and
was a mechanic by trade. He and his wife, Eliza Page Stoughton,
moved to a farm seven miles north of Janesville in 1838.
Later he moved to the
village of Janesville where he was in the merchantile business
and bought and sold real estate. He began looking at some
land between Madison and Janesville along the Catfish River, now
the Yahara River. On July 3, 1847, Luke bought 800 acres
of land for $2,100.
He had a vision of a
perfectly situated little town named after him. It would
have a sawmill, a store, an inn, a blacksmith shop, a carpenter
shop, a doctor, a school and churches. In fact, in the
years after his dream became a reality, he donated land for
three of Stoughton's first churches: the Universalist
Church in 1858, the Congregational Church in 1863 and First
Lutheran Church in 1866.
He also donated land
to the railroad so that it would stop in his village rather than
in the nearby Dunkirk settlement as originally planned.
Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad passenger service began between
Stoughton and Milwaukee on December 15, 1853, just six years
after the village was founded. The first train reached
Madison five months later.
Stoughton was finally
on the map and Luke saw his vision completely fulfilled in 1868
when the Village of Stoughton was legally incorporated. By
then his health had begun to fail. He died in 1874.
In 1974, a group
called "Luke Stoughton Society" formed. Their mission was
to save the Luke Stoughton pioneer home from being razed.
The home was built around 1848 and was originally located at 130
East Main Street. The house was then moved to it's current
location at 315 North Division Street. The Luke Stoughton
Society rented the home for twenty years before the City of
Stoughton gave the house to the Stoughton Historical Society in
2000.
Luke and Eliza's
third daughter, Sarah Ellen, married a local boy, Orren Turner,
and they remained in Stoughton. The two had five children:
Mary, Luke, Gilles, Roy and Paul.
In early August 2007,
we received word from the children of Orren M. Turner II of his
passing and that he had named the Society in his will, as
beneficiaries of a matching gift. Orren, known by his
friends as Mac, was the great grandson of Luke and Eliza
Stoughton and a great friend of the Stoughton Historical
Society. During his life he supported our efforts to
renovate the pioneer home of his ancestor. Mac passed away
October 8, 2006 and his will stated that his estate would match
our fundraising efforts for one year after his passing, up to
$100,000.00.
We are pleased to
report that we surpassed this fundraising goal thanks to the
generous donations of the Stoughton community and the Stoughton
School District's decision to deed to the Society the land on
which the Luke Stoughton House currently sits. We are
immensely grateful to all of our donors! A plaque located
in the Museum vestibule recognizes the donors of this special
fund drive.
Renovations began
almost immediately and we have made great progress in structural
stabilization, basement repairs, plumbing and electrical
systems.
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Copyright 2008 Stoughton Historical Society |