The 175th Anniversary of the Village of Waucoma (1846-2021), Part of Cooksville

The year 2021 marks the 175^th anniversary of the founding of Cooksville’s larger “sister-village,” the Village of Waucoma, established in1846 by the Porter family of New England.

Waucoma was founded on Wisconsin Territorial land that was first placed on sale by the U.S. Government in 1837 and was quickly purchased by the famous Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster. Then in 1842, Webster sold 952.22 acres of his new land to his Massachusetts friend and physician, Dr. John Porter for $1,572.00.

Doctors John and Isaac Porter

In June 1846, Dr. John Porter and his nephew Joseph K.P. Porter, son of his brother Dr. Isaac Porter, travelled to the Wisconsin Territory to inspect his new land. They hired Alanson Vaughn of the nearby Village of Union to survey the land and to draw up the plat of a new, large, 14- block village adjoining the three blocks of the earlier Village of Cooksville adjacent to the west, which had been established in 1842 by John and Daniel Cook. Both villages would share a joint north-south Main Street.

1846 Village of Waucoma plat map

The Porters named their new village “Waucoma,” a name suggested to the Porters by Governor Doty, who said Waucoma was the Native American name for the creek that flowed just north of the two villages. Doty said the name meant “clear water.” The undeserved name “Bad Fish Creek” came later.

1858 Map of Waucoma with Cooksville on the left

Waucoma was much larger than next-door Cooksville, which contained about 15 lots or parcels for sale. The new Waucoma village contained 160 lots in 13 blocks, all for sale, with a 14th block reserved as a Public Square for community use, a nod to the New England tradition. The many street names of Waucoma included Washington, Wisconsin, Rock, Water, South and Fourth streets, as well as Webster and Dane. The two villages shared the soon-bustling commercial Main Street area.

1873 Map of Waucoma 

The name Waucoma appeared on maps for a time because it was much larger than the Cook brothers’ village. The name was also used for the Mason’s “Waucoma Lodge No. 90” of 1858 because it was first located in Waucoma, and for the village’s cemetery originally named Waucoma Cemetery because of its location. (The name was later changed to the “Cooksville Cemetery.”)

In 1847, the township name was officially changed from the Town of Oak to the Town of Porter, to honor the Porter family.

Dr. John Porter, like other purchasers of land in the new Western frontier, must have been pleased to buy the choice prairie land where woods, water and fertile wheat-growing soil was plentiful. It would soon become the new home for the Porters, especially the three sons of Dr. Isaac Porter: Isaac, William and Joseph, who would soon settle in Waucoma, or in Cooksville, or near Cooksville.

The villages, Cooksville and Waucoma, linked by their shared Main Street, attracted many newly-established businesses to accommodate the rush to settle Wisconsin. The villages included about 175 residents at its peak with many nearby farm-owners. However, the new railroads that came to southern Wisconsin by-passed the villages in1857, which, of course, slowed their growth.

By 1900, the single name of “Cooksville” became popular, and the quiet village was soon called  “the town that time forgot.”

The two village names, however, still legally exist on land records. The local U.S. Post Office had changed locations from one village to the other during the years, depending on which store-owner was appointed as the U.S. Post Master, Then in 1917, the last village Post Office formally closed, and since it had been located on the Cooksville side of Main Street (now State Highway 138), the name of “Cooksville” was commonly accepted for both villages.

1904 Map of Cooksville, with Waucoma in fine print

And 175 years later, the Village of Waucoma and the 179-year-old Village of Cooksville, remain as a combined historic village with many original buildings still standing , including historic homes, barns, churches, a schoolhouse, a store, a blacksmith shop, a cemetery, and the historic Public Square  Nearby are other important historic buildings.

The Joseph K.P. Porter Farmhouse near Cooksville, 1895

In 1973, the Cooksville Historic District was listed in the National Register and the State Register of Historic Places, and in 1980 the listings were expanded to include more historic village buildings as well as important places near Cooksville that contribute to what some refer to as “a wee bit of New England in Wisconsin.”

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Cooksville Community Celebrates the Fourth of July with El Grito Taqueria

The Village of Cooksville in Rock County celebrated its traditional Fourth of July this year with friends and neighbors---some near and some far---on the village's historic (1846) Public Square, sponsored by the Cooksville Community Center, with help from the El Grito Taqueria. 

About 50 people attended the event under the shade of the old burr oak trees on a  sunny July Fourth Sunday. A few new oak trees have been planted to replace the old oaks and to help conserve the original "oak opening" in what was once a vast "prairie savannah" before the land was opened for sale by the U.S. government in 1837. The historic Cooksville Schoolhouse (1886), home of the Community Center, stands next to the Square. 

The Porter family of Massachusetts, who had purchased this land in 1842 from their neighbor Senator Daniel Webster, established  this public "green" square as part of their new "Village of Waucoma" in 1846. The Porters platted their village next-door to the earlier village that the brothers Cook (John and Daniel) had platted in 1842 on land the brothers had purchased from the U.S. Government in 1837. The two historic villages now stand side-by-side. And the Square remains a public park maintained by the Town of Porter.

Picnic tables and folding  chairs were set up on the grassy Square, or "commons," that occupies the center of  the Porters' village layout. 

The special food event at this year's Fourth was provided by the generous El Grito Taqueria Food Truck, which served free tacos to the gathered folks. El Grito is inspired by the history and culture of street food from around the world and caters its food in Madison and the surrounding area, now including Cooksville. 

El Grito at a wedding

El Grito Taqueria brings the flavors of Mexico to the streets of Madison---and  to a Cooksville picnic---to pay homage to the Mexican tacos that have been served for generations in the different regions of Mexico. El Grito is passionate about the food  it serves and about the Madison area's eclectic community --- which  El Grito is proud to call home.

El Grito in Madison

The proprietor  of  El Grito is Matthew Danky, who grew up near Cooksville with his parents, Jim Danky and Christine Schelshorn. And Matthew has now established El Grito's working kitchen in Cooksville's historic General Store (1847).

(Thanks to Chris Beebe for providing the photographs of this year's July Fourth picnic.)