One thing I love about history is that true existence existed down to the level of the smallest detail. Viewed from a distant perspective our history is the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, a devastating Civil War, World War I, II, Korea, Vietnam, and then Iraq. In tighter focus our ancestry it is millions of stories like the following.
“As the United States developed westward, towns and villages built alongside roads and railway lines. The town of Cross Plains was settled along two major military roads that crossed each other on a beautiful, fertile prairie. Within 20 years of the first town meeting in 1847, two more villages were established nearby, Christina and Foxville.The Fifth Amendment was ratified in 1791 and by 1847 Europeans were moving to live first along the military roads and then beside the railroads which followed shortly thereafter. The settlers were attracted to the location by good land with wildlife and the opportunity to make an honest living. By 2005 the town was less than 3,000 residents, mostly all United States citizens, and committed to their community through events such as the Cross Plains Worlds Fair from Friday, June 24, 2005 through Sunday, June 26. Perhaps because they live in a Democratic county within a corporate culture country they felt the need to write a mission statement which reads:
People were attracted to the area by the good farm land, abundant wildlife and business potential. The Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul railroad line went through the northern part of town and the Madison-Mineral Point stage road crossed through the southern part. These available shipping routes were important to the growth of all three villages.
The first store in the area was opened around 1850 in Cross Plains by the Baer brothers. By 1880 there were hotels, a lumberyard, blacksmiths, a shoe store, churches, schools, harness shops, a post office, saloons and other businesses throughout the three communities. A grist mill was built in 1857 and the area's first bushel of wheat was shipped out from the railway depot in Foxville. Saeman Lumber and Henry M. Zander's Creamery and General Store provided local farmers with the means to trade for items they could not produce on the farm. Butter was traded at the general store and grain and livestock were traded for building materials. The farm products were then shipped off to Milwaukee and other cities on railroad cars.”
“The mission of the Cross Plains "World's Fair" is to organize and conduct a community event each year that will promote good will for the Cross Plains area and unite the citizens of the Village of Cross Plains and local service organizations in a cooperative non-profit venture, the net proceeds of which shall be used solely to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the Cross Plains, Wisconsin, community, by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements.”On June 23, 2005 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that municipal government has the right to seize private homes owned by U.S. citizens if the majority elected government wants the property for economic development. Private owners in the minority have no choice but to either take the money offered or not. From 1847 to 2005 Cross Plains, Wisconsin grew from zero to 3,000 residents while Chicago, Illinois grew to over 3 million people, so Cross Plains has room for economic development.
