Our Town

Sign for Historical Society display at library.

Wisconsin became a state in 1848.  Verona became a town one year earlier, which give us a one-year head start on celebrating 175 years.  That's called a demisemiseptcentennial.  

I didn't grow up here, but have clear memories of the community as our family drove through it when we drove from Janesville to Blue Mounds State Park near Mt. Horeb.

The biggest change I noticed when we returned to the area 10 years ago was the gigantic campus of health software designer EPIC.  It's an eclectic campus with more than a dozen whimsical buildings.

The Zingg farm in the '70s. We live a block away.

 Recognizing the community's birthday, the local Historical Society put together a series of photographs comparing the 'olden days' to modern times.

 The picture which hit closest to home was the home and three-generation farm which Fred and Ella Zingg bought in 1906.

 Since the photo was taken around 1970, the farm exchanged crops and livestock for an elementary school, streets, and hundreds of family homes.

 The house (closest to Cross Country Road in the photo) still stands.

The Zingg's land today. (VAHS)

The farm house is left of the cul-de-sac in front of a detached garage and a large concrete pad.  It's size and style is the only thing which sets it apart from the others.

In 1990, Verona was home to 5,430.  In 2000, its population was 7,413.  The latest census in 2020 gave us 14,138 neighbors, and still growing.  

Which explains the new high school, middle school, and many homes and buildings under construction.

Verona still has a small-town feel (to us, anyway) with all the amenities and services available a short drive away.

The oldest surviving house in Verona. (VAHS)

 European settlers arrived in what became Verona in 1840 according to the Verona Area Historical Society.  In 1844, Josiah and Lydia Matts arrived after driving their horse-powered wagon from Pennsylvania with a four-year old and Lydia pregnant with their second son.

  The Matts purchased most of what became the east side of Verona in 1845, while Lydia's brother bought the west half of the future city.

  In 1848, the Matts built a two-story brick house on what became the main intersection downtown.  Their house is now home to Kismet Books.

Built in 1917, it served students 103 years (VAHS)

A good number of early homes survive today.  Some are divided into shops or offices on the first floor with an apartment or two on the second floor.  One original town home was recently moved to a new location so several buildings can fill the area near downtown with apartments, retail, and a central park for people around the city to gather.

The original "Graded school" will survive the construction anchoring the area as a touchstone to the earliest days of Verona.

In a rapidly-growing community, I'm glad to see early buildings survive and provide a link to the town's early days.  There's a Costco and three new mixed use housing developments under construction, so history and Verona's population is on fast forward.