What is the history of Watertown, Wisconsin?
Watertown was first settled by Timothy Johnson The waterpower was first used for sawmills, and later prompted the construction of two dams, one downtown (where the river flows south) and one on the eastern edge of the city (where the river flows north). The Watertown economy remains heavily reliant on light industry. In 1853, a plank road was completed from Milwaukee to Watertown. After planks roads were no longer used, it was replaced by highway and railroad, a street named “Watertown Plank Road” survives in Milwaukee. The road is referenced by the “Plank Road Brewery” family of beers, including Icehouse beer, produced by Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee. Similarly, a plan for a canal from Milwaukee to the Watertown area was once planned, but was replaced by railroad before any work had been completed other than a dam in Milwaukee. The territorial legislature incorporated the Milwaukee and Rock River Canal company in 1836, but the plan was abandoned in 1848. The canal would have pr
