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Juneau County Sightseeing Tour Whether your trip through Juneau County
is a day, weekend or longer don't forget your camera to capture those snap shot
moments you can carry with you for the rest of your life. No doubt you will
experience just as many things that don't show up on any map or advertisement
and may take you in another direction altogether We invite you to enjoy and
hopefully translate this time as one of your best. Our Tour Begins We'll begin our tour in Mauston, located
off 1-90-94 and on Highways 82, 58, 12, and 16. Mauston is the largest community
in Juneau County and is the seat of government. Mauston has several parks which
you are invited to visit Riverside Park is directly behind our business
district. Lions Memorial Park is on Hwy 58. Mile Bluff Lookout Park is further
out of town on Hwy 58 across from the Veterans Memorial Park, which also serves
as the County Fairgrounds. Before the white man arrived, the Menominee Indians had a village, at Mauston which they called To-Kau-Nee, The Ho Chunk also were in the area and had a village 4 or 5 miles south of Mauston. Mauston was established by lumbermen as a
sawmill locale attracted by the large stands of pine along the Lemonweir River.
During the summer of 1842, McNeil, Elmore and McAllister built a log dam and
sawmill where the present dam is located. Joseph Hewlett bought the holdings in
1846 and called the settlement Hewlett's Mill. General M.M. Maughs, partner of
Hewlett, obtained possession in 1848 and changed the name to Maugh's Mills. When
he platted the village in 1854 he changed the name to Mauston, attaching his
name to one of the streets as well. Gen. Maughs died in 1863. Ben Boorman bought the property,
millpond, saw mill and gristmill in 1864, and added a flour and carding mill.
His old home stands on the west side of North Union St. and is the Juneau County
Historical Society Museum. TRAVELING SOUTH Leave
Mauston by traveling south on Hwy 58 over the old Ironton Road. Mile Bluff on the left was the site of a copper and lead mine
in the 1860’s during the period of the Civil War. The top of the bluff
was a popular picnic spot in the horse buggy days. Hwy. 58
received its name of “Ironton Rd.” from the wagon loads of iron ore
that were hauled over it by horses and wagons from the iron mines near
Ironton in Sauk County to the railroad in Mauston before and during the
Civil War. At the Junction of Hwy. 58 and O was the first settlement in
Juneau Co. made in 1850 known as Stewart’s Settlement. Hwy 58
continues in the valley with the view of the bluffs that form it on
three sides. Before 58
climbs Ironton Hill turn right on Co. I. The road climbs the ridge as
all roads must at this point, and takes you along on top of the bluffs
with breathtaking views of the countryside all around you.
Fall, winter, spring, summer, but especially in the fall, you
will be awed by the grandeur of the beauty around you.
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WONEWOC – UNION CENTER – ELROY …Then it’s left on Co. G into WONEWOC by descending the bluffs to the valley once more. This village was started in 1848 by a sawmill owner for purposes of taking lumber from the area. Turn right at the foot of the hill on Hwy 33 to. Union Center. The valley is flat now passing between sandstone bluffs on the way to Union Center. Turn right here at the Junction of 80 and 82 which is about 4 miles distance. ELROY was originally known as Fowler’s Prairie and located about 3 miles out in the country. In 1871 the railroads were being built in the area and the site of Elroy was the junction of the Omaha and Northwestern Railroads. The city of Elroy was originally Leroy - Then letters were flopped around to create Elroy. Today it is best known as one end of the National Elroy-Sparta Bike Trail which starts about 1 mile out of town next to Hwy 71. This is the home town of Governor Tommy Thompson. Hwy. 80 goes through the heart of town. Follow it into the country to Co. H on the left to Hustler. Here you pass along sandstone bluffs and stands of pine trees, and cross under a railroad trestle. (Catch Co. S. to the right for a short trip to view Juneau County’s only tunnel made for the trains.) Follow H to Co. A and turn right into Hustler. HUSTLER
– TWIN BLUFFS… Hustler is a small farming community settled in the
1880’s.
About halfway to New Lisbon the road passes between two bluffs,
known as Twin Bluffs.
These rocks are on private land currently and contain some of the
best and oldest Indian writings (petroglyphs) in the State. NEW
LISBON…You enter New Lisbon on Bridge Street.
New Lisbon is a small community which was once called Mill Haven,
and was the first seat of County government from 1857 until 1862 when
the county seat was awarded to Mauston by a decision of the Wis. Supreme
Court. CAMP
DOUGLAS…
Beyond the park watch for Co. C and follow it left to Camp
Douglas.
You will see bluffs in the distance.
The first one to come to view is Long Bluff which surrounds the
entrance to Volk Field. As
you pull alongside Long Bluff on your right, look left at Castle Rock
and note the pleasant wayside at its base.
Turn left at the stop sign. Pass under the Interstate and turn
right at the next stop sign.
Straight ahead is Target Bluff which was used by the railroad
surveying crews as a target for placing the railroad from New Lisbon.
Follow Co. C around the edge of Camp Douglas and watch for the
next right, Co. H.
Follow it. (A side trip can be taken from here to Mill Bluff
National Park by following Hwy 12-16 west for 3 miles.
At Mill Bluff you will see towering rocky buttes rise abruptly
from the nearly level plain of extinct Glacial Lake Wisconsin, which
once covered more than a million acres of the State.
The buttes are stubborn residual remnants of the Cambrian
sandstone which is the bedrock for much of this part of Wisconsin.
They owe their nearly vertical sides to continuous wave action
when they were rocky islands in the lake and give us many clues to the
character of Glacial Lake Wisconsin.
From the tops of these sandstone spires are matchless views of
the extinct lake bed and neighboring bluffs.) Camp
Douglas’s name originated as the result of James Douglas establishing
a camp west of the present village to cut cordwood which was used to
supply fuel for the railroad locomotives. On
your left you will see a striking bluff with two chimneys, known as
Chinaman’s Bluff.
There is a cave in the bluff and many years ago a Chinese man
lived in the cave, hence its name. Cutler
is the site of the first cultivated cranberry marshes in the county.
Around 1870, Gen. Lucius Fairchild developed the first canals and
flooded the land for his cranberries. NECEDAH…Hwy
21 travels east into Necedah alongside the Meadow Valley Wisconsin
Conservation Area and the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Beyond
the stop light in town you will cross the Yellow River.
The name for this river comes from the Indian name for the color
of the pine needles in the area.
To the Indians our white pines were yellow pine.
In Ho Chunk, Necedah means “golden sands” and in Chippewa,
“Buckhorn” means the same thing.
The Indians originally divided the county along the Lemonweir
with the Ho-Chunk being on the south and the Menominee to the north.
The northwest quarter of the County was Chippewa land. CASTLE
ROCK LAKE SHORELINE…Follow
Hwy 21 to the Petenwell Rock and the Wisconsin River.
Along the way you will pass the entrance to a Shrine to the Queen
of the Holy Rosary, Mediatrix of Peace on the right, and further along
on the left will be the entrance to the Petenwell Dam. Turn
right onto 19th Ave. alongside Petenwell Rock and before
crossing the Wisconsin River.
The largest scenic rock formation in northern Juneau County was
named for Peter Wells who leaped to his death with his Indian sweetheart
from this rock. Today
the rock is appreciated more for its nesting sites for the bald eagles
in the area.
The eagles are particularly evident in the winter when they stay
near the open water at the foot of the dam to get their supply of fish
each day. Follow
19th Ave. to its end and turn left on Co. G.
Here you pass through rows of pine trees and wind your way to
upper prairie land that has not been touched by a plow for 50 years.
This land was purchased by the power companies in 1928 in
preparation for the dam eventually installed in 1948 at Castle Rock.
The prairies end as the road bends right.
You are now skirting the edge of The Buckhorn State Park. Co.
G leaves the Peninsula by the way of the famous Buckhorn Bridge.
Follow G to Hwy. 58.
Turn left at the stop sign onto this main thoroughfare to the
north for people leaving the Interstate at Mauston.
Follow 58 until G goes left again at Germantown Junction to
follow the shore of Castle Rock Lake.
Down this stretch of highway you will find the entrances to
private campgrounds, resorts with campgrounds and resorts with cabins,
plus the Juneau County Castle Rock Park.
Just north of the park was the village of Germantown.
This village was at the mouth of the Yellow River which was
started in 1848 as a lumbering town that eventually boasted two
breweries.
Before being flooded most of the buildings were moved. Another
village was also drowned after the dam was built, Werner, which was
about 2 miles upstream on the Yellow from Germantown.
This was a lumber town also, but had become a ghost town before
its final demise.
Follow
HH left at the junction.
Just beyond the junction on the left is an unmarked town road to
the Castle Rock Dam.
Follow HH to its first junction (49th St.) and turn
left to continue along the river. WISCONSIN
RIVER TO LYNDON STATION…Only
glimpses of the river can be obtained along here as the trees
effectively shield it from view.
When 49th St. becomes 26th Ave. at a sharp
left bend, you are at Castle Rock and Castle Rock Resort.
This rock is far more majestic from the river and provides a good
challenge for anyone wanting to climb it.
Follow 26th Ave. to Hwy 82.
Turn left for ½ mile to Co. HH. Follow
HH across the Lemonweir River Bridge a few miles before the Lemonweir
completes its winding journey to the Wisconsin. HH
winds its way through forest and open land to Lyndon Station, an Irish
settlement once known as Kildare and settled about 1871.
Follow HH across I-90-94 into Lyndon Station to its junction with
Hwy 12-16.
Turn right here to head back to Mauston. RETURN
HOME… At the point where Co. N meets Hwy 12-16 you will find
Pollard’s Rock on the left on which it is alleged Chief Blackhawk hid
on top of the rock in a tree when he was being pursued by soldiers. On
the right side of the road beyond the Rock is Finnegan’s round barn,
one of only 3 remaining in the county.
Behind the barn are Round Barn Bluff and Sheep Pasture Bluff. The
Finnegan Flats became the first concrete paved road in Juneau County
after Gov. John J. Blaine spent the night in his auto which was stuck in
the mud on the road.
As you cross Seven mile Creek you are where Strongs Tavern once
stood, the site of the first post office in Juneau County known as Seven mile
Creek, and a point on the Troy Stage Route to LaCrosse.
Continue to Mauston where our little journey began.
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