Streaming media
Intro (length 10:56)
It was after the Black Hawk War of 1832, when Native Americans were forced to
move westward, that settlers from the East began to stake their claims on the
fertile prairie land of the Rock River Valley.
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A Perfect Society (length 3:38)
Many of Janesville's first settlers were idealists from New England's "burned
over area," a region heavily evangelized during the religious revival movement
of the early 1800s. Dictated by social conscience, they opposed slavery, and
supported temperance and women's rights.
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Lincoln Slept Here (length 5:51)
Opposition against the expansion of slavery lead Janesville citizens
to welcome both abolition activist Frederick
Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, who visited the city while campaigning
for the presidency.
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Growth (length 5:27)
Janesville population grew following the end of the Civil War. The railroad opened
new markets for Wisconsin wheat. When wheat crops failed, farmers expanded into
tobacco, dairy farming and cotton. At the same time, Janesville's industrial
base supported agriculture by manufacturing farm
implements
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Strong-minded Women (length 5:45)
When the issues of temperance and suffrage came to the political forefront
in the late 1800s, Janesville's Frances Willard, a schoolteacher, and Lavinia
Goodell, a lawyer, led the movement pushing for local and national reform.
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GM (length 6:15)
One of the largest companies to provide diverse employment came to Janesville
in 1918-'19 when General Motors Corp. (GM) purchased the Janesville Machine
Co. and also moved the Samson Tractor factory to the city. Eventually GM began
to build Chevrolet automobiles and bodies for other vehicles. While GM provided
more jobs, wages were low.
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I Love You Truly (length 5:28)
Entrepreneurship continued to make its mark in the 1900s with Carrie Jacobs
Bond, who turned her talent into a career after being widowed. Her parlor songs
became so popular that by 1910 Jacobs Bond was the first woman composer to
earn $1 million. She also was the first woman to establish a music-publishing
business in America. Her most recognized composition is "I Love You Truly."
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Two Names (length 8:07)
While farm services supplied work for most of the community, Janesville also
had its share of independent thinkers who found new ways to prosper. In 1890,
George Stafford Parker patented his first fountain pen. The "Lucky
Curve" feed pen, drew excess ink back into the body when the pen was not
in use. The Parker Pen Co. was one of Wisconsin's first nationally known companies
and by 1908 was the largest pen-manufacturing company in the world.
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Milestones (length 6:30)
Janesville has been shaped by a long history of innovation.
Far-thinking city planners unleashed and tapped the Rock River both as a source
of power and as a cultural focal point. Janesville businesses evolved from
agriculture to manufacturing and culture. Social reforms fought for voting
rights and political influence.
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