History of Baraboo, Wisconsin
The first settlers came to this area in 1838. Being near the river was a huge plus for the development of this area. By 1846 Baraboo became the County Seat (still is); by 1866 it became an official Village; & by 1882 it was sporting the title of City. In October of 2004, Baraboo became a 3rd class city having hit the 11,000 mark in population.
Baraboo is most often known as “Circus City” for several reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the Ringling Brothers called Baraboo home & had their winter quarters here through 1918. In 1884 the young Ringling Brothers gave their first official circus performance. They rapidly grew successful & eventually joined forces with the Barnum & Bailey show which gave rise to the name we are all so familiar with: The Ringling Brothers & Barnum & Bailey Circus. Not only the Ringlings called Baraboo home; other circuses started in Baraboo as well: Gollmar Brothers (1891 to 1916), John Robinson (1898), Forepaugh Sells Brothers (1910-1911, Fun on the Farm (1924), & Wilbur W. Deppe’s Classic Country Circus (1961-1966).
The circus wasn’t the only thing that put Baraboo on the map. Newspaper history was also made here. As the story goes: “When his partner quit to fight the Civil War, Editor Ansel H. Kellogg kept the Baraboo Republic in publication by ordering two pages of printed war news each week from a Madison newspaper & printing Baraboo news on the blank sides in his shop. Other newspapers joined in buying the ready prints & Kellogg developed his idea into the first syndicated newspaper. Today, every newspaper in the nation subscribes to articles from national & international news sources – they’re called boilerplates. Few small town newspapers could exist without this important source for reportable news & it all began here in Baraboo.” Incidentally, the News Republic still exists today as Baraboo’s daily newspaper & the official paper of the City!
The Courthouse Square is home to many structures from Baraboo’s past. This area of the City has always been the location of many different commercial establishments. A unique barbershop on Oak, the Kut Hut, is recognized as a true historic restoration site sporting old shaving mugs on shelves that line the room. At the time of the Ringlings, there were livery stables, hotels, feed stores, bookstores, harness shops, wagon shops, a dry goods store, & the Excelsior Drug Store (a “dispenser of medicinals, cathartics, & physician supplies” for more than 150 years). The Sauk County Historical Society at 531 4th Avenue is home to many artifacts of these days when Baraboo was establishing its identity & going through its growing pains. A visit there will bring many moments of history to life as will a walk around the old Courthouse where friezes (action sequences depicted in the stone of the structure) & tableaus chronicle the development of the area & bring to life more of Baraboo’s history.
Historic Ringlingville — Where It All Got Started
This area on the north bank of the Baraboo River is home to the remaining structures of the original Ringling Bros. Circus Winter Quarters. Three of the buildings are open to the public, and no trip to the museum is complete without a visit to them. For the first time, Circus World will open up the Ringling Animal House, the baggage horse barn and Circus World Museum's wardrobe department, which houses the thousands of costumes created for the Great Circus Parade. Your host will point out where the hippopotamus resided and how costumes were created for the Ringling show many years ago. You will see what hasn't been seen since the Ringling Bros. Circus left Baraboo in 1918.
The Ringling Bros. Circus Winter Quarters is a National Historic Landmark. National Historic Landmarks are "nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States."