Janesville is a city in southern Wisconsin, United States. Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States The United States of America —commonly referred to as the [1] It is the county seat of Rock County[1] and the principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. A county seat is a term for an Administrative center for a County, primarily used in the United States. Rock County is a county in the US state of Wisconsin. It is included in the Janesville Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas|Table of United States Core Based Statistical AreasIn the United States, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB has produced As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 59,498. [2]
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History
Janesville was founded in 1835 [3]on the east bank of the Rock River. Named for an early settler, Henry Janes'[4], early development depended on water power from the river and an early territorial road that included the first bridge of the river in the area [5].
Janesville was the site of the first Wisconsin State Fair in 1851, attended by approximately 10,000 people. The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. [6]
A tree that once stood in downtown Courthouse Park was the site of a lynch mob that hanged a convicted murderer in 1859. Lynching is an Extrajudicial punishment meted out by a mob Lynching an enumerated Felony in some states in the United States, is defined by some [7] In 1992, television journalist Geraldo Rivera was arrested for battery after an altercation during his coverage of a Ku Klux Klan rally in Janesville. Ku Klux Klan ( KKK) is the name of several past and present secret domestic terrorist organizations in the United States, generally in the southern states that are [8] The location of a related cross burning in 1992 is now "Peace Park" with a playground and a peace pole, said to be the world's tallest at 52 feet. A Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth” usually in a different language on each side [9]
Geography
Janesville is located at (42. 68411, -89. 016654). [10]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census 1 square miles (72. 8 km²), of which, 27. 5 square miles (71. 3 km²) of it is land and 0. 6 square miles (1. 5 km²) of it (2. 10%) is water. Janesville is divided by the Rock River.
Demography
As of the census[11] of 2005, there were 60,483 residents, 23,894 occupied housing units, and 15,746 families in the city. A census is the procedure of acquiring information about every member of a given population The population density was 2,160. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 6 people per square mile (834. 1/km²). There were 25,083 housing units at an average density of 910. 9/sq mi (351. 7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95. 27% White, 1. 26% Black or African American, 0. 25% Native American, 0. 96% Asian, 0. 03% Pacific Islander, 1. 02% from other races, and 1. 22% from two or more races. 2. 64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Hispanic (hispano hispánico hispânico Hispānus adjective from ''Hispānia'', the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula) is a term that historically
Of the 23,894 households, 32. 7% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 51. 1% were married couples living together, 10. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** 5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34. 1% were non-families. 27. 4% of all households were made up of individuals, with 9. 7% comprised of individuals aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2. 45 and the average family size was 2. 99.
In the city, the population was spread out with 26. 2% under the age of 18, 8. 3% from 18 to 24, 31. 2% from 25 to 44, 21. 4% from 45 to 64, and 12. 9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95. 6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92. 5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,961, and the median income for a family was $55,133. Males had a median income of $40,910 versus $26,423 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,224. Per capita income means how much each individual receives in monetary terms of the yearly income generated in the country About 4. 3% of families and 6. 5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7. The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of Income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate Standard of living in a given country 1% of those under age 18 and 5. 8% of those age 65 and over.
Architecture
Twenty percent of Wisconsin's buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places can be found in Janesville. The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP is the United States government's official list of districts sites buildings structures and objects deemed worthy of [12] The 1857 Lincoln-Tallman House, which models the Italian Villa-style architecture, is one of 34 sites on the Register. [13] Abe Lincoln slept there for two nights. The Columbus Circle neighborhood became Janesville's tenth historic district in 2005. The former Janesville Public Library,[14] a Carnegie library built in 1902, was designed by J.T.W. Jennings. For other uses see Carnegie Library (disambiguation, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Free Library and Carnegie Public Library JTW Jennings ( Brooklyn, New York City, 1856 to ? was the Milwaukee Road 's architect from 1885 to 1893 and was part-time supervising architect for the
Transportation
Janesville operates a bus system, the Janesville Transit System (JTS), which also connects with neighboring Beloit. Van Galder Bus (a Coach USA company) operates a regional bus between Madison and downtown Chicago, Chicago O'Hare Airport, and Midway Airport. Madison is the capital of the US state of Wisconsin and the County seat of Dane County. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States.
Interstate 90/39 goes through Janesville, as do U. S. Hwy 14 and 51 and state Hwy 26 and 11. Just south of Janesville is Southern Wisconsin regional airport.
Media
The Janesville Gazette,[15] owned by Bliss Communications, is one of two daily newspapers in Rock County, Wisconsin (the Beloit Daily News[16] being the other), and serves a regional market stretching into Walworth County. Rock County is a county in the US state of Wisconsin. It is included in the Janesville Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area Walworth County is a County located in the US state of Wisconsin. Delavan-based Community Shoppers, Inc. Delavan is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. publishes the bi-weekly Janesville Messenger. [17]
Janesville has two television stations licensed to the city; CW affiliate WBUW (Channel 57), which has their offices and transmitter north in Madison and serves all of South Central Wisconsin, and W65EE (Channel 65), a low-power translator station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. The CW Television Network ( The CW) is a Television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006-2007 television season. WBUW (Channel 57 is a television station affiliated with the The CW. W65EE (channel 65 is a low-power television station licensed to Janesville Wisconsin, and is a translator station via satellite of the The Trinity Broadcasting Network ( TBN) is a Christian television network headquartered in Costa Mesa California with studios in Irving Texas Many radio stations also serve Janesville.
Parks
Janesville is known as "Wisconsin's Park Place" or "City of Parks". Its 2,015-acre (8. 15 km²) park system includes 53 improved parks, as well as boat launches, golf courses, and nature trails. [18] This is one of the highest acreages per capita in Wisconsin.
Janesville has a public, internationally-themed botanical garden, Rotary Gardens, with free admission (donations accepted), that is open during the summer months. Rotary Botanical Gardens is a 15 acre Botanical garden located in Janesville Wisconsin that is open to the public It is home to numerous weddings and group gatherings.
Traxler Park is home to the Rock Aqua Jays, a water ski team which has been U. The Rock Aqua Jays Water Ski Team of Janesville Wisconsin is a successful amateur Water ski club Water skiing is a Sport where an individual (or more than one individual is pulled behind a Motor boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water wearing S. national champion 15 times. The team originated and regularly hosts the National Show Ski championships. Traxler Park is also home to the Fourth of July festivities.
Other major parks include Riverside Park, a recreational park along the Rock River including a golf course and a segment of the Ice Age Trail; Rockport Park, largely undeveloped, including the municipal swimming pool and Peace Park; Monterey Park, including the Big Rock, an early natural landmark signalling a good ford of the Rock River (and the namesake of the county, but not the river), as well as a sports stadium used by the school system; Lustig Park, used for a disc golf course; and Palmer Park, which includes a 9-hole golf course and Camden Park (an accessible play area). The Ice Age Trail is a designated National Scenic Trail in the United States that will run some 1200 Miles through the state of Wisconsin once A ford is a place in a Watercourse (most commonly a stream or River) that is shallow enough to be crossed by wading on Horseback or in a wheeled Disc golf (also called Frisbee Golf is a disc game in which individual players throw a Flying disc into a basket or at a target Most of the parks in the city are linked by a paved bike trail, which will eventually connect to Beloit. [19]
Education
The Janesville School District[20] has twelve elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools and two charter schools. The Janesville Academy for International Studies, a charter high school that focuses on teaching global perspectives, and the Guide Language Center, which offers over 10 foreign languages, are both located downtown. In addition, there are a number of parochial schools throughout the city.
The Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped[21] has been located in Janesville since 1850. A two-year community college, the University of Wisconsin-Rock County, located on the southwest side of Janesville, is part of the University of Wisconsin System. The University of Wisconsin–Rock County, part of the University of Wisconsin Colleges, is a two-year campus of the University of Wisconsin System located in A two-year technical college, Blackhawk Technical College, is located midway between Janesville and Beloit; Blackhawk also offers degree programs through Upper Iowa University. Blackhawk Technical College (commonly Blackhawk Tech) is a Vocational college in Rock County, Wisconsin and a component of the Wisconsin Upper Iowa University is a private four-year Liberal arts institution of higher learning offering degree programs to over 820 on-campus students and to over 6000 center graduate
Business and industry
Janesville's largest employer is the Janesville Assembly plant of General Motors, followed by the Mercy Health System, and the Janesville School District. Janesville Assembly Plant is an Automobile factory owned by General Motors located in Janesville Wisconsin. General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. [22] Other major employers include automotive-related manufacturers Lear, SSI Technologies, and Bourns Automotive, and the hazardous materials equipment distributor Lab Safety Supply. Lear Corporation ( headquartered in Southfield, Michigan, USA is a Fortune 500 company engaged in the business of manufacturing and distribution A dangerous good is any Solid, Liquid, or Gas that can harm people other living Organisms property or the environment A Simmons Bedding Company factory, makers of the Beautyrest line, and other industrial businesses are also major employers. The non-profit Mercy Health System has a multi-county market extending into Illinois. Mercy Health System is a Non-profit Health care provider and hospital based in Janesville, Wisconsin, with over 50 facilities in over 20 communities Blain's Farm and Fleet, a three-state retail chain, has headquarters and a distribution center in Janesville. Blain's Farm & Fleet is a regional retail chain of 34 large stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.
On June 3, 2008, General Motors announced plans to close the assembly plant as part of a significant restructuring effort. [23] The Janesville plant assembled large trucks and sport utility vehicles,[24] which have declined in popularity as gasline prices increased.
The Parker Pen Company was founded in Janesville; at one time its Main Street factory was the largest writing instrument plant in the world. The Parker Pen Company is a manufacturer of pens founded in 1891 by George Safford Parker in Janesville Wisconsin, United The company later purchased Manpower, Inc., but eventually sold the pen business to Gillette and no longer operates in Janesville. Manpower Inc is a leading worldwide Employment agency established by Attorneys Elmer Winter and Aaron Scheinfeld in 1948 and headquartered It is now owned by the British company, Sanford. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company was founded in Janesville in 1857 but moved to Milwaukee two years later. Northwestern Mutual is a large Mutual company based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Janesville-based Swing'n'Slide, a maker of wood-and-plastic playground equipment, is a subsidiary of Playcore, Inc. Janesville is also the home of Hufcor (formerly Hough Shade Company), a manufacturer of room dividers that markets internationally, and Gray's Brewing, maker of boutique beers and soft drinks. Janesville is also home to Freedom Plastics, a PVC pipe manufacturer.
Woodman's Food Market, a regional supermarket chain, built its first warehouse store in Janesville. Woodman's Food Market is an Employee-owned Supermarket chain in Wisconsin and northern Illinois, operating twelve warehouse stores The Janesville Mall redeveloped in the late 1990s, and in 1998 Pine Tree Plaza opened. Janesville Mall is an enclosed Shopping mall located in Janesville Wisconsin, United States. In November 2006, a Super Wal-Mart and a Sam's Club opened after a period of controversy. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Sam's Club is an American chain of membership-only retail Warehouse clubs Founded in 1983 it is owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores Inc The site of the former Janesville Oasis, known for a large fiberglass cow at its entrance, began redevelopment in 2007; the anchor tenant will be a Super Menards and the cow, representing the local dairy industry, will be spared by popular demand. Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated Ungulates a member of the Subfamily Bovinae of the family Menards is a chain of Home improvement stores in the Midwestern United States.
Religion
There are four Catholic parishes in Janesville. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The most prominent is Nativity of Mary Parish, founded in 1876. The church is located on a high hill near the center of town. The Seventh Day Baptist General Conference has its offices in Janesville; the denomination's nearest church is in Milton. Seventh Day Baptists are Christian Baptists who continue to observe the Sabbath on Saturday which is the original seventh day of the week for the founding There is also the Town of Milton in Buffalo County. Milton is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United
The Gideon Bible organization was founded at the Janesville YMCA in 1899 by Janesville resident John H. Gideons International (also known as Gideon's Bible) is an evangelical Christian organization dedicated to distributing copies of the Bible in The Young Men's Christian Association (" YMCA " or " the Y " was founded on June 6, 1844 in London England by a young man Nicholson and a Beloit man after they had shared a Boscobel hotel room. Beloit is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2007 census estimate Beloit has a population of 37710 people Boscobel is a city in the Driftless Zone of Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. [25]
In 1994, a white buffalo dubbed Miracle was born at the Heider family farm just outside Janesville. Alternate meanings White Buffalo (disambiguation American buffalo (technically Bison) are normally brown in color Miracle lived until 2004. She was frequently visited by Native American ceremonial groups because of sacred symbolism of white buffaloes in many Native American religions. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Another unrelated white buffalo, named Miracle's Second Chance, was born at the same farm in 2006, but died in a lightning strike later that year.
In 2007, a local high school student received media attention and mild disciplinary action for a class speech on the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson, during which the student tore pages from a Bible. Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25 1803 &ndash April 27 1882 was an American essayist philosopher poet and leader of the Transcendentalist movement in the early 19th century [26]
People from Janesville
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See also
References
- ^ a b Find a County. Joseph A Craig High School is a public Secondary school located in the city of Janesville Wisconsin. George S Parker High School is a comprehensive public Secondary school located in city of Janesville, Wisconsin. Oakhill Christian School is a private non-denominational Christian school located in Janesville Wisconsin. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
- ^ US Census: Places in Wisconsin listed alphabetically
- ^ About Janesville's Past
- ^ http://www.forwardjanesville.com/JanesvilleFAQs/JanesvilleHistory/tabid/818/Default.aspx
- ^ ALHN-Rock Co., WI-History of Janesville Township
- ^ FIRST - State Fair in Wisconsin - Janesville, WI - First of its kind on Waymarking.com
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title) is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes
- ^ [4]
- ^ NRIS Search by location
- ^ [5]
- ^ http://www.gazetteextra.com/
- ^ http://www.beloitdailynews.com/
- ^ http://www.janesvillemessenger.com/
- ^ http://www.janesvillecvb.com/parks.asp
- ^ Janesville Convention and Visitors Bureau | Parks & Recreation
- ^ http://www.janesville.k12.wi.us/sdj
- ^ http://www.wcbvi.k12.wi.us/wsvh/index.html
- ^ [6]
- ^ http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jr1xpHkrhMavw9nyii_2_5Ga0GAgD912TM300
- ^ http://www.janesvillecvb.com/tourgm.asp
- ^ http://www.gideons.org/Tgi.web/TGI.Web.PublicWebSite/pages/history.aspx
- ^ http://thehumanist.org/humanist/Ardiente.html
- ^ Medal of Honor Recipients - World War II (A-F)
- ^ Stylus Interview
- ^ Medal of Honor Recipients - Indian Wars Period
External links
- City of Janesville
- Janesville's Past: A digital resource of Hedberg (Janesville) Public Library resources, presented by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.
- Rotary Gardens
- Rock County Genealogical Society
- Janesville, Wisconsin is at coordinates Coordinates:
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