JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN

'Janesville' is a city in southern Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Rock County and the principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 59,498.^[1] As of December, 2006 the Janesville metropolitan population was 159,153.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Architecture

Transportation

Media

Parks

Education

Business and Industry

Religion

People from Janesville

Trivia

See also

External links

Geography

Janesville is located at (42.68411, -89.016654).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 72.8 km² (28.1 mi²). 71.3 km² (27.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (2.10%) is water. Janesville is divided by the Rock River.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 59,498 residents, 23,894 occupied housing units, and 15,746 families in the city. The population density was 834.1/km² (2,160.6/mi²). There were 25,083 housing units at an average density of 351.7/km² (910.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.27% White, 1.26% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. 2.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 23,894 households, 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals, with 9.7% comprised of individuals aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city, the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 31.2% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,961, and the median income for a family was $55,133. Males had a median income of $40,910 versus $26,423 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,224. About 4.3% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Architecture

The 1857 Lincoln-Tallman House, which models the Italian Villa-style architecture, is one of twenty sites on the Register. Abe Lincoln slept there for two nights. The Columbus Circle neighborhood became Janesville's tenth historic district in 2005. The former Janesville Public Library [1], a Carnegie library built in 1902, was designed by J.T.W. Jennings.

Transportation

Janesville operates a bus system, the Janesville Transit System (JTS), which also connects with neighboring Beloit. Van Galder Bus (a Coach USA company) operates a regional bus between Madison and downtown Chicago, Chicago O'Hare Airport, and Midway Airport.
Interstate 90/39 goes through Janesville, as do U.S. Hwy 14 and 51 and state Hwy 26 and 11. Just south of Janesville is Southern Wisconsin regional airport.

Media

The Janesville Gazette, owned by Bliss Communications, is one of two daily newspapers in Rock County, Wisconsin (the Beloit Daily News being the other), and serves a regional market stretching into Walworth County. Delavan-based Community Shoppers, Inc. publishes the bi-weekly Janesville Messenger.

Parks

Janesville is known as "Wisconsin's Park Place." Its 2,015 acre park system includes 53 improved parks, as well as boat launches, golf courses, and nature trails.[2]
Janesville has a public, internationally-themed botanical garden, Rotary Gardens, with free admission (donations accepted), that is open during the summer months. It is home to numerous weddings and group gatherings.[3]
Traxler Park is home to the Rock Aqua Jays, a water ski team which has been U.S. national champion 15 times. The team originated and regularly hosts the National Show Ski championships. Traxler Park is also home to the Fourth of July festivities.
Riverside Park, located along the Rock River, includes a number of features:

• two playgrounds


• spring water fountain


• boat launch


• baseball field home to the Janesville Aces


• basketball courts


• Devil's staircase


• an 18 hole golf course


• the end of the Kiwanis bike trail

Other parks can be found as well:

• Rockport Park is the largest park in the city, with three swimming pools, Peace Park, and numerous trails.


• Monterey Park, along the Rock River, features an Indian cave, fast pitch softball diamonds, tennis courts, and a bike trail. Monterey Stadium is where the local schools have their track meets and the high school football teams play their home games.


• Palmer Park, located along Palmer Drive and Mohawk Road, is another popular park. It includes Camden park, a huge playground, a wading pool, pavilion, softball fields, tennis courts, a dog park, a 9 hole golf course, and the city-wide bike trail.[4]

Education

The Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped has been located in Janesville since 1850. A two-year technical college, Blackhawk Technical College, is located halfway between Janesville and Beloit; Blackhawk also offers degree programs through Upper Iowa University. A two-year community college, the University of Wisconsin-Rock County, located on the southwest side of Janesville, is part of the University of Wisconsin System. The Janesville Academy for International Studies, a charter school that teaches high school students global perspectives, and the Guide Language Center, which offers over 10 foreign languages, are both located downtown.

Business and Industry

Janesville's largest employer is the Janesville Assembly plant of General Motors, followed by the Mercy Health System, and the Janesville School District [5]. Other major employers include automotive-related manufacturers Lear, SSI Technologies, and Bourns Automotive, and the successful hazardous materials equipment distributor Lab Safety Supply. The global movable partition manufacturer Hufcor has been based in Janesville for more than a century. A Simmons Beautyrest factory and other industrial businesses are also major employers. The non-profit Mercy Health System has a multi-county market extending into Illinois. Blain's Farm and Fleet, a three-state retail chain, has headquarters and a distribution center in Janesville.
Janesville-based Swing'n'Slide, a maker of wood-and-plastic playground equipment, is now a subsidiary of Playcore, Inc. KidSafe Playhouses, the only builder in the country designing handicapped accessible playhouses for children was founded by Edward Roberts, based on his experiences with the Janesville Gingerbread House Learning Center. Janesville is also the home of Hufcor, a top global manufacturer of room dividers, and Gray's Brewing, maker of award-winning boutique beers and soda pop.
The Parker Pen Company was founded in Janesville; at one time its Main Street factory was the largest writing instrument plant in the world. The company later purchased Manpower, Inc., but eventually sold the pen business to Gillette, and no longer operates in Janesville. It is now owned by the British company, Sanford. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company was also founded in Janesville in 1857, but moved to Milwaukee two years later.
Woodman's Food Market, a regional supermarket chain, built its first warehouse store in Janesville. The Janesville Mall redeveloped in the late 1990s, and in 1998, the Pine Tree Plaza opened. In 2006, construction of a Super Wal-Mart and a Sam's Club began construction after a period of controversy. Both stores opened in November 2006. This was followed by the announcement of a major big box development slated for 2007 near I-90 and Highway 26 on the site of the former Janesville Oasis, known for a fiberglass cow at its entrance. The anchor for the development will be a Super Menard's, with additional retail and restaurant space to be announced later. The cow will be spared and moved, by popular demand. The plans for the old Wal-Mart and old Menard's sites were not yet announced as of January 2007. Janesville is also home to Freedom Plastics, Inc. Since 1976, Freedom Plastics has specialized in P.V.C. pipe. They have a pipe extrusion plant as well as a fabrication plant.

Religion

People from Janesville

★ Dr. David Adamany, president of Temple University 2000-2006

★ Dr. Sanford Atwood, president of Emory University 1963-1977, desegregated campus

★ Carrie Jacobs-Bond, songwriter, born in Janesville in 1862

★ James H. Budd, California governor, 1895-1899

★ Bob Carr, congressman from Michigan 1975-1981, 1983-1995

★ John Henry Comstock, entomologist

★ Russ Feingold, U.S. senator 1993-present

★ Jim Fitzgerald, former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors

★ Stan Fox, race car driver, eight time starter of the Indianapolis 500

★ Tucker Fredricks, speedskater

★ Don and Gerry Hedberg, founders of Lab Safety Supply

★ Ken Hendricks, Forbes 400 businessman (roofing supplies)

★ Lawrence Hough, president of Sallie Mae ~1990-1997

★ Tad Kubler, guitarist for The Hold Steady^[2]

★ Travis Kvapil, NASCAR driver

★ Walter Lees, early aviator

★ David W. Márquez, Alaska attorney general

★ Max Maxfield, Wyoming Secretary of State (2007-)

★ Kerwin Mathews, actor

★ George S. Parker, founder of the Parker Pen Company

★ Manilla Powers, singer, Vaudeville performer, musical theater comedian

★ Steve Preston, administrator of the Small Business Administration 2006-

★ Thomas H. Ruger, Civil War general and military governor of Georgia

★ Paul Ryan, congressman 1993-present

★ Terry Ryan, Minnesota Twins general manager

★ Mike Sheridan, state assemblyman 2004-present

★ Ithamar C. Sloan, congressman from Wisconsin

★ Tom Welling, actor, Smallville (lived in Janesville briefly during childhood)

★ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet

★ Frances Willard, educator and activist (raised and first taught here)

★ Daniel Hale Williams, African-American surgeon and heart surgery pioneer, raised and first employed here

★ Mistie Williams, basketball player for the Houston Comets of the WNBA

Trivia

★ In 1994, a white buffalo dubbed ''Miracle'' was born at the Heider family farm just outside Janesville. Miracle lived until 2004. Another white buffalo, named Miracle's Second Chance but unrelated, was born at the same farm in 2006, but died in a lightning strike later that year.

★ In 1992, confrontation-journalist Geraldo Rivera was arrested for battery in Janesville. He was attending a Ku Klux Klan rally with his entourage, made rude comments ("Neat outfits you have on") until he got prodded by Neo-Nazi John R. McLaughlin. He then punched McLaughlin in the nose. Geraldo proclaimed to the camera, "A professional nightmare had come true. I had become part of the story." The show ended with a cross-burning in the background. [6]

★ The location of a related cross burning in 1992 is now "Peace Park" with a playground and a peace pole, said to be the world's tallest at 52 feet[7].

★ Janesville was the site of the first Wisconsin State Fair in 1851.

★ A tree in downtown Courthouse Park was the site of a lynch mob who hanged a convicted murderer in 1859, an incident which prompted Wisconsin to ban capital punishment. [8] (PDF)

★ The Gideon Bible organization was founded at the Janesville YMCA in 1899 by Janesville resident John H. Nicholson and a Beloit man after they shared a Boscobel hotel room. [9]

★ In 2001, the website ePodunk.com rated Janesville as one of the top ten cities on the ePodunk Home Towns Index.

★ In 2006, Wisconsin Public Television and the Wisconsin Historical Society produced a television history of Janesville as the first of a series called ''Wisconsin Hometown Stories'' [10].

See also

★ Joseph A. Craig High School

★ George S. Parker High School

★ Oakhill Christian School[11]

External links

★ City of Janesville

★ Janesville's Past: A digital resource of Hedberg (Janesville) Public Library resources, presented by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center.

★ Rotary Gardens