History of New Glarus, Wisconsin
Coming to America
A bird's eye drawing of New Glarus, Wisconsin (1860).
In the early 1840s, after several years of failed crops and as food became scarce, much of Glarus, Switzerland found itself plunged deep into poverty. Having more workers than available jobs, the government of Glarus saw emigration to America as a possible solution. Authorities established the Glarus Emigration Society in 1844, which offered loans to help residents purchase land in the New World. All other expenses associated with the voyage to America were to be paid by the emigrants themselves. Men were offered 20 acres (81,000 m2) free of rent for ten years, after which they could own the land for a mere ten shillings per acre. Given the desperate economic conditions in Switzerland, 193 volunteers decided to leave their homeland to start anew in America.
In 1845, magistrates in Glarus, Switzerland dispatched two men, Nicolas Duerst and Fridolin Streiff, to find a suitable location for a colony in the New World. They were given $2600 and instructions to purchase land, build new cabins, and prepare for the settlers to arrive the following spring.
Duerst and Streiff began their search in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois before reaching St. Louis, Missouri. From there they traveled north to Galena, Illinois. In the early days of July 1845 they arrived at the land office in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The men investigated several tracts of farm and timber land in the southern Wisconsin territory before deciding on two square miles along the Little Sugar River. On July 17, 1845 the men purchased 1,280 acres (5.2 km2) for $1.25 per acre. It was a fertile basin bounded with hills and a large stand of trees nearby. Some said later it wasn't the best property available, but the valley and hilltops reminded them of their native Switzerland.
The land that would become the Village of New Glarus was untamed wilderness, which was inhabited by Native Americans for centuries. An old Indian trail passed just south of present-day New Glarus, through what is now New Glarus Woods State Park. That trail later became the main thoroughfare through New Glarus. Even as late as 1845 the remnants of an old wigwam were still found there.
Anxious to begin a fresh life in the New World, families in Switzerland decided to depart much earlier than expected. On April 10, 1845 the group left Glarus, Switzerland on a barge bound for Rotterdam. From there they expected to sail into New York City where friends were scheduled to meet them.
Dishonest agents, however, routed them instead to Baltimore, Maryland where they first set foot in America after a 49-day voyage. Without any knowledge of the whereabouts of Duerst and Streiff, the former residents of Glarus left Baltimore searching for the two men who arrived before them and the land chosen for their new home.
During their journey across America, the Swiss pioneers heard rumors that Duerst and Streiff had died. Undaunted, the group continued their difficult journey west. When they arrived in St. Louis, it was said that their bodies were covered with mosquito bites and they were very nearly approaching starvation. Once in St. Louis they boarded a steamboat for Galena, Illinois.
Shortly after arriving in Galena they learned Duerst and Streiff were indeed alive and had already secured land for their new settlement. Overjoyed, eighteen men left that night on foot and walked 62 miles (100 km) to the location of the settlement. Wagons were then dispatched to Galena for the remainder of the immigrants. After a journey that took four months and five days, 108 settlers arrived at their new home on August 15, 1845. Three members of their party had died on the way to southern Wisconsin. The balance found work or friends along the way; many joined the colony later the following year.
The Early Years
A photo of the Swiss Reformed Church in New Glarus, which was destroyed in 1899.
In all, the New Glarus settlers purchased 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) for their new home. Many of the pioneers were carpenters, mechanics, and farmers, trades that proved useful as the settlers prepared for their first winter in the Wisconsin Territory. A sum of $1000 was used by the settlers that winter to purchase tools, cattle, seed, and other provisions, all of which had to be repaid with the price of the land within ten years after the formation of the colony. That first winter twelve families stayed in the community's only wooden hut, which was built on the same property where the Swiss United Church of Christ is presently located. Their diet consisted mainly of potatoes and grated cheese, a dish also known as Röschti. They also ate fish caught from the Little Sugar River. Bread, it was said, was a rarity, and meat even more so. To earn money to help survive their first winter, the settlers worked in the nearby lead mines in Exeter and Mineral Point. In 1851 the first store in New Glarus opened, in 1853 the first hotel opened, and in 1870 the first factory in New Glarus began making cheese.
Two years after New Glarus was founded, another group of immigrants arrived from "Old Glarus." Then, one-by-one, even more arrived, as the population of New Glarus was reinforced by settlers from their motherland. The 1870 census showed 1,247 natives of Switzerland living in Green County, Wisconsin. By 1878 the 22 original 20-acre (81,000 m2) parcels owned by the first settlers had grown to more than 30,000 acres (120 km2) around New Glarus.
In 1861, a terrible fire destroyed much of Glarus, Switzerland. The fire, which started in a shed and was fanned by high winds, destroyed 593 buildings; over 3000 people lost their roofs and everything they owned. To help their brothers and sisters in their native homeland, residents of New Glarus donated more money for the reconstruction of Glarus than they originally received as a loan when they had moved to the United States 16 years earlier.
And though they had only been residents in America a very short time, 98 Glarners fought for the Union during the American Civil War. The residents of tiny New Glarus contributed to other American wars, too. During World War II the Swiss Miss Textile Mart and Lace Factory in New Glarus made chevrons and insignia for U.S. military uniforms. Walter Gabriel Schindler, who was born in New Glarus, fought in World War II, becoming a Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy. He flew with the ace Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa in the Battle of Coral Sea in the back seat of a SBD Dauntless dive bomber filming the naval battle unfolding below him. Schindler's footage was later used to develop the strategy for aircraft carrier combat in World War II and following the war. Schindler and Kevin Patrick Lynch, also from New Glarus, received the U.S. Navy Cross, the second highest medal awarded for valor by the Department of the Navy.
Agriculture
A worker in a New Glarus cheese factory stamps wheels of cheese (1922).
After their first winter in the New World, the residents of New Glarus purchased cattle from Ohio at $12 a head. This stock was the birth of dairy farming and cheese making in New Glarus, a trade many had learned from their fathers and forefathers in Switzerland. Soon the herds of dairy cows in and around New Glarus swelled. The dairy products New Glarus farmers produced became world famous and proved very lucrative.
Nicklaus Gerber, who moved from New York, started the first cheese factories in New Glarus, beginning with the area's first limburger cheese factory on a farm four miles (6 km) southwest of New Glarus. Later he started the first Swiss cheese factory in Wisconsin between New Glarus and Monticello.
Following the end of the Civil War, and with the evolution of the cheese factory, the prosperity of New Glarus and neighboring communities grew. At its peak in 1905, New Glarus boasted 22 cheese factories, so many it was said the crossroads of the town were congested with daily deliveries of milk to the Limburger and Swiss cheese factories. New Glarus quickly became known as the "Cheese Capital of the World" and Green County was said to have more cheese factories than any other place on earth. Today only one Limburger cheese factory near New Glarus remains, the last of its kind in North America.
While many still consider New Glarus a farming community, the ranks of farmers and agriculture-related businesses have declined steadily since 1967 when Wisconsin as a whole lost nearly 2,000 farms. Of the 116,000 farmers still remaining in Wisconsin, a full 20% fall below the poverty line. Once integral to the New Glarus economy, gone are the cheese factories, feed mills, and those who made a living from agriculture.
Tourism
A group portrait of New Glarus yodelers in costume (1922).
In the years leading up to World War II, an economic crisis affected much of the agriculture and dairy industry in New Glarus. Many residents left the community to look for work elsewhere and leaders became concerned about the future of their small Swiss community. Representatives of the village consulted with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Swiss American Historical Society to find a solution. It was decided that tourism could help resurrect the local economy and preserve its identity. Local businesses began changing the way they did business, actively promoting the heritage of New Glarus. Swiss chalet-style architecture began appearing throughout the village and festivals, once intended for local consumption, became frequented by tourists from throughout the upper Midwest.
Arnold Wieser, owner of the Swiss Miss Textile Mart and Lace Factory, became an ambassador for New Glarus. As he traveled through much of the Midwest peddling his embroidery and Swiss lace at festivals and fairs, Wieser actively marketed the community and its Swiss heritage.
Roger Bright, whose polka band played in 33 states, Canada, and Europe, also became an ambassador for New Glarus. Bright's Cleveland-style polka included a Swiss influence and wherever he played he promoted New Glarus. Bright's music was recorded on 35 albums, including hit songs such as "Everywhere You Go" and "Come to the Mountain." When not on the road, The band was a fixture at the New Glarus Hotel on most weekends. In the early 1970s Bright played on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show with the Emmy Award-winning Frankie Yankovic. He also appeared on the Phil Donahue Show and performed with the St. Louis Pops Orchestra.
Swiss Center of North America
In 1999 New Glarus was chosen as the future home of the Swiss Center of North America, a cultural center dedicated to the preservation and celebration of Swiss culture in North American. Chicago, New York, and Toronto had also been considered, but New Glarus was ultimately chosen because of its central location and the large concentration of Swiss Americans in the vicinity.
Plans for the Swiss Center include a research library, historical archive, exhibits, conference rooms, and offices. $3 million has been pledged so far, with a majority of the funds coming from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, State of Wisconsin, Canton of Glarus, and corporations, including General Casualty Insurance, Nestle USA, Novartis, Phillip Morris Europe, and Victorinox.