Milton, Wisconsin

For other uses, see Milton, Wisconsin (disambiguation).

Milton, Wisconsin
—  City  —
Looking north in downtown Milton
Nickname(s): History in Progress
Location of Milton, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 42°46′40″N 88°57′18″W / 42.77778°N 88.955°W / 42.77778; -88.955Coordinates: 42°46′40″N 88°57′18″W / 42.77778°N 88.955°W / 42.77778; -88.955
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Rock County
Area
– Total	3.9 sq mi (8.4 km2)
– Land	3.9 sq mi (8.4 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation[1]	889 ft (271 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	5,090
– Density	1,587.8/sq mi (613.1/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
– Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
FIPS code	55-52200[2]
GNIS feature ID	1569532[1]
Website	www.ci.milton.wi.us

Milton is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,090 at the 2000 census (2008 estimate, 5,090).^[3]

History

Milton House.

The city was formed as a result of the 1967 merger of the villages of Milton and Milton Junction. In November of that year, ballots were cast by 1,093 voters from both villages (Milton: 515 to 47 in favor of the merge; Milton Junction: 322 to 201 in favor of the merge), and the referendum to merge the two was approved by 77%.^[4]

Originally named Prairie du Lac, Milton was settled in 1838 by Joseph Goodrich, who built an inn, the Milton House, at the intersection of two trade routes. The Milton House is today one of the oldest poured grout structures in the United States.^[5] A noted abolitionist, Goodrich is known to have aided fugitive slaves escape to freedom via the underground railroad.

It is believed that Milton is named after poet John Milton, author of "Paradise Lost", after a settler remarked that the town was his "Paradise Regained" after leaving his previous home, which he thought of as a paradise lost.^[6]

Geography

Milton is located at 42°46′40″N 88°57′18″W / 42.77778°N 88.955°W / 42.77778; -88.955 (42.777795, -88.955133).^[7]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.4 km²), all land.

Demographics

Sign on WIS 26

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 5,132 people, 2,034 households, and 1,383 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,587.8 people per square mile (613.5/km²). There were 2,129 housing units at an average density of 658.7 per square mile (254.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.07% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 0.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,034 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $43,201, and the median income for a family was $52,384. Males had a median income of $39,392 versus $22,866 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,058. About 3.3% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Milton is the site of a $70 million ethanol plant built by United Cooperative.^[8] A Cargill animal nutrition plant is located in Milton, with a 170-foot (52 m) grain elevator.^[9]

Education

Milton Schools include Milton High School, Milton Middle School, Northside Intermediate School, Milton East Elementary, Milton West Elementary, Consolidated Elementary, Harmony School, and MECAS (Milton Edgerton Clinton Alternative School).

The former Milton College operated from 1844 to 1982. Milton native, Albert Whitford, a graduate of the college, became a leading astronomer.

The city is increasingly tied to Janesville, its larger neighbor to the south, and parts of Janesville are now within the Milton School District as that city expands to the north and east. Students that go to Milton may live in several other districts surrounding Milton such as Janesville and Harmony district.

Notable people

• Willis Cole, baseball player
• Leo Crowley, head of the Foreign Economic Administration
• Mark Neumann, U.S. Representative
• Mike Saunders, professional football player
• David Rubitsky, World War II veteran
• Albert Whitford, noted astronomer, for whom the asteroid 2301 Whitford is named.
• William Clarke Whitford, educator

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ Milton city, Wisconsin - Population Finder - American FactFinder
4. ^ Historic Headlines: From the Files of Milton Newspapers Since 1878. Milton, WI: The Milton Courier, 1989. Print.
5. ^ http://www.miltonhouse.org/architecture.htm
6. ^ http://www.ci.milton.wi.us/page.aspx?page_id=27
7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
8. ^ [http://www.gazetteextra.com/ethanolplant033007.asp Janesville Gazette - "Milton plant starts making ethanol "]
9. ^ "Small Town 'Skyscraper'"

External links

• City of Milton website
• Milton House
• Milton - Wisconsin - a special section on cultural geography - The Whole Earth Review (1988)
• Milton Public Library