Town of Westport Kennedy Administration Building 5387 Mary Lake Road Waunakee, WI 53597 |
Phone No. 608/849-4372 Fax No. 608/849-9657 |
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Office Hours: |
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Thomas G. Wilson, Town Attorney/Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Robert C. Anderson, Utility, Finance & Information Systems Manager Debra J. Flynn, Executive Assistant
Lisa Endres,
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608/849-4372 |
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HISTORY OF TOWN OF WESTPORT
From History of Dane County, Author Unknown, Circa 1885.
"The Town of Westport derives its name from
Westport, Ireland, from which place many of its early settlers came. The
Town is watered by the Yahara River, which enters the northeast part of the Town
on Section 13, and flows southwesterly into Lake Mendota, and also by Six Mile
Creek which enters the Town on the northwestern part, on Section 6, flows
southeasterly and empties into the Catfish on Section 27. The northeastern part
of Westport is prairie land, the central and southeasterly portions marsh, and
the remaining parts oak openings and prairie. Lake Mendota covers a part of five
sections on the southern part. Louis Montandon, a Frenchman, and Edward
Boyles, an Irishman, were the first settlers in the Town, coming here in the
fall of 1845. They built their cabin on Section 20. In 1848, a number of others
came in, among whom were Messrs. Burdick, Tower, Bradbury, Rodgers, O'Malley,
Collins, Fitzgibbon and Ruddy. Still later came Matthew Roach, P.R. Tierney, J.
Welsh, William O'Keefe, Lawrence O'Keefe and Martin Reade. Although the first
settlers were mostly Irish, and that nationality predominates at this time, a
large number of Americans, Germans, Norwegians and representatives of other
nations, have made here their homes. In the central part of the Town is a
Catholic Church building, built in 1860, by the Rev. P. J. Lavans. One of
the State's hospitals for the insane is located within the Town, on the north
bank of Lake Mendota, and in plain view of Madison. Westport is the home
of Miss Ella Wheeler, whose poems are read by thousands in all parts of the
land. On Six Mile Creek is a grist-mill, built by E. D. Churchill, in
1860, who sold to William Packbrom, who ran it until 1876, when it was sold to
John Bowerman. The Town is well supplied with quarries, and the cream stone,
used in the building of the Government Court House and Post Office in Madison,
was obtained from the quarry on Section 11, and which the United States
government purchased for that purpose. The stone was exhibited and much admired
at the Centennial, as were also some of the other products of the Town. A branch
of the Chicago & North-Western Railway passes through the town, from northwest
to southeast, with Mendota station on the hospital farm, and Waunakee on Section
5 and 8, on the northwest. The Town was, on March 31, 1849, set off from Vienna,
and organized on the third Monday of April of that year, by the election of the
following among other officers: Thomas R. Hill, Chairman; W. W. Wells, Martin
Reade, Supervisors; William Keefe, Clerk; Lawrence Rodgers, Treasurer; Amos
Rodders, Assessor. The first election was held at the house of Michael Malege.
It has for its territory Township 8 north, of Range 9 east, except so much as is
covered by the waters of Lake Mendota, which is a part of the City of Madison."
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