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Purpose of the Janesville History Walk

This History Walk has been assembled for the purpose of informing some and reminding others of Janesville’s history. In addition to providing education about our city’s history, we hope it provides some exercise for participants. The entire trail is 2.4 miles long, however, other paths may be chosen. There are ten utility boxes and numerous pictures. It is hoped that the photos will encourage our citizenry to appreciate our past and to help provide a general sense of community pride.

Janesville History Walk Website

History of Janesville, Minnesota

In 1854, Father La Valdo called it Peopollis; others later called it Ike Terrill Trading Post. Then in 1856, Caesar De Regan, a Frenchman, laid out a town site on the southwest shore of Lake Elysian which at firrst, he called St. Caesar’s but later changed to New Albany. Later that same year J. W. Hosmer came from Wisconsin and located at the foot of Lake Elysian. He bought a half-interest in the town site from De Regan, renaming the town Janesville after his hometown in Wisconsin. The original site of Janesville is marked by an 1856 monument located approximately ½ mile west of current Janesville on West Elysian Lake Road.

In 1858, Janesville officially separated from Okaman, which was a village on the northeast shore of Lake Elysian. In those days, the “Silver Spray ” barge ferried people and products from Okaman across the lake to Janesville, running back and forth from Okaman by horsepower. When the Winona and St. Peter Railroad went south of Janesville site in 1869, many of the inhabitants of both Oakman and Old Janesville picked up, buildings and all, and moved to the current site ½ mile to the east. Janesville became Old Janesville, while the new site became East Janesville and later, Janesville. The new village was incorporated in 1870.

Janesville in its infancy was one of the fastest-growing villages in the State of Minnesota, with a population of 500. By 1885, the village was booming with a population of 1,000. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, April 12, 1887, a fire, aided by strong winds, destroyed most of the wooden village in just two hours, leaving 100 people homeless and causing $46,000 in damages. Rebounding in the 1890s, Janesville began drawing crowds of 10,000 to 12,000 in September for what was called the “Janesville Street Fair.” Street fair visitors were welcomed to Janesville by an arch that extended across Main Street and was made of cereals and produce from local farms. The annual celebration continues today with “Hay Daze,” renamed in 1960 and celebrated each June.

A special thank you to the following organizations for providing funds to make our history walk possible:

• Janesville Matters (Facebook)
• Consolidated Communications (Website)
• Simply Saved (Facebook)

Instructions on how use this application/web site:

Navigation:

• Swipe the screen to move throughout the tour stops or press the "Next Stop" button. For a list of all tour stops, press the list icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Map

• Each tour map shows a quick look at the location of all stops. Pressing an individual stop marker will take you to the content for that stop.

Images & Galleries

• Swipe across images to reveal others. Tapping an image or video will enlarge the view and display image captions.

Image Credits

• To view information regarding the source of an image, click on the information button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

Updated Content

• We are continuously expanding and refining our app! We recommend you start each visit by updating the new content. Select “Profile” at the bottom of this page, then select “Settings,” and click on “Check for updated content.” Return to explore the app, and you will be prompted to download the new content. This quick step will provide you with the up-to-date Explore Waseca County Tours!