1153 



WISCONSIN. 



WOBURN. 



1154 



Milwaukee stands on both aides of the Milwaukee River, at ite entrance 

 into Lake Michigan ; 85 miles E. from Madison, in 43 3' N. lat, 87 57' 

 W. long. The rise of this city has been very rapid. It was laid out 

 in 1835 as a village. In 1840 it contained 1712 inhabitants; 20,061 

 in 1850, and about 25,000 in 1853. It is the chief commercial and 

 manufacturing town in the state, and the largest on Lake Michigan 

 after Chicago, which is about 100 miles S. from it. Milwaukee contains 

 some good county and municipal buildings, churches, schools, stores, 

 hotels, &c. A large portion of the trade is in the export of lumber, 

 but there is an important and rapidly-extending export of wheat, 

 flour, pork, beef, hides, lead, 4c. The imports in 1850-51 amounted 

 to 3,828,650 dollars, the exports to 2,093,469 dollars, but they have 

 since greatly increased. In the city and its suburbs are extensive 

 saw-mills, flour-mills, woollen factories, machine shops, iron foundries, 

 cooperages, paper-mill", and tanneries ; also manufactories of carriages, 

 cabinet-ware, harness, soap and candles, sails and rigging, Ac. Bricks 

 of peculiar colour and quality are made here very largely for exporta- 

 tion. The city possesses several ships, and screw- and paddle-steamers. 

 Milwaukee Bay, which is 6 miles across and 3 miles deep, is well 

 sheltered, except from the east, and affords good anchorage. Six 

 daily newspapers, 5 of them having also tri-weekly and weekly issues, 

 are published here. 



Beloit, on both sides of Rock River, at the junction of Turtle Creek, 

 46 mile* S. by E. from Madison; population 2732 in 1850, and 

 3300 in 1853. The town possesses considerable water-power, which 

 is applied to working several large mills ; it also contains machine- 

 shops, and other manufacturing establishments. Beloit College had 

 6 professors in 1854, and 30 students. A branch of the Galena and 

 Chicago railway is carried to the town. Several of the ancient tumuli 

 before noticed are in the vicinity. Fond du Lac, a village on the 

 Fond du Lac River, at its entrance into the lake, SO miles N.E. by N. 

 from Madison ; population 2014 in 1850, and about 4000 in 1840, is a 

 place of considerable and growing trade. Regular steam-boat commu- 

 nication is maintained with the chief ports on Lake Michigan. Green 

 Bay, on the right bank of Fox River, at its entrance into Green Bay, 

 140 miles N.N.E. from Madison : population 1923 in 1850, and 2500 

 in 1853. It is well situated for trade, the harbour permitting vessels 

 of 200 tons to come up to the town, and the Fox River promising to 

 afford, when the improvements in progress are completed, great facili- 

 ties for communication with the interior. Some of the buildings are 

 large and showy. Janetrillt, on both (ides of Rock River, 35 miles 

 S.S.E. from Madi-ou ; population 3419 in 1850, about 5000 in 1853. 

 This is one of the rising business towns of the state. It contains a 

 few good public buildings ; has several large mills and stores ; and is 

 connected with Chicago and Milwaukee by railway. Kenot/ia City, 

 formerly called Southport, is situated on Lake Michigan, about 100 

 miles S.E. from Madison : population 3455 in 1850, about 5000 in 

 The harbour is a good one, and the town is the market and 

 port of one of the finest farming districts in this part of the Union. 

 MaMtouvac, at the entrance of the Manitouwac River into Lake 

 Michigan, 120 miles N.E. from Madison ; is conveniently situated for 

 trade, has good water-power for mechanical purposes, and is the 

 natural outlet of a fertile district. It appears to be one of the most 

 rising towns in the state ; the population, which in 1850 was only 

 '1 increased in 1853 to 2300. Mineral Point, on one of the 

 head streams of the Pecatouica, an affluent of Rock River, 50 miles 

 \V.s.\V. from Madison ; population about 3000 in 18fi3 ; is a mining 

 town of considerable local importance. It contains some good public 

 buildings, and large works for smelting lead- and copper-ore. 1'rairie 

 du Chten, on the Mississippi, 3 miles above the confluence of the 

 Wisconsin, about 105 miles W. from Madison : population 2498 in 

 1860. The town contains several churches and other buildings. It 

 is a place of considerable trade ; in its vicinity are very productive 

 lead-mines ; and the prairie from which the town derives its name is 

 one of the most fertile regions of the west. The military post, Fort 

 Crawford, is a short distance south from the town. In the neighbour- 

 hood are numerous ancient sepulchral mounds. Racine City, at the 

 mouth of Root River, on Lake Michigan, 90 miles E. by S. from 

 Madison ; population 5107 in 1850, and about 7500 in 1853, is, after 

 Milwaukee, the most important commercial place in the state. It 

 contains several good public buildings, and is the site of Rowsell 

 Episcopal College. The exports, chiefly of wheat, amounted in 1851 

 to 650,950 dollars; the imports to 1,452,750 dollars. Five newspapers 

 an published here. The Chicago and Milwaukee railway passes through 

 the city. Khtboyyan, on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Sheboygan 

 River, 1 15 miles N.E. from Madison, is a place of some trade, and con- 

 tained 2600 inhabitants in 1850. fihulltbury, on a branch of Fever 

 River, 60 mils* S. W. from Madison, is the centre of a busy lead-mining 

 district, and contained 1678 inhabitants in 1850, and 2500 in 1853. 

 WauJcetha, on the Pishtaka River, 65 miles S.E. from Madison, stands 

 on the edge of a rich prairie, and is a place of considerable trade. It 

 had 28J3 inhabitants in 1850, and 4000 in 1853. 



Ilittory, Government, <C-c. Wisconsin was first vifited by the French 

 bout 1660; and it remained nominally a French possession till 

 1763, when it was ceded to Great Britain. After the declaration of 

 American independence, Wisconsin formed a part of the United 

 States North- West Territory. Wisconsin was erected into a distinct 

 territorial government in 1836; but the territory included a much 



OKX. onr. YOU nr. 



larger area than the present state. In 1848 Wisconsin, with its 

 present boundaries, was admitted into the Union as an independent 

 state. 



The constitution of the state of Wisconsin was confirmed by a 

 popular convention in April 1848. By it the suffrage is vested in all 

 free white males 21 years of age, who have resided in the state for 

 one year, and in all civilised persons of Indian descent not being mem- 

 bers of a tribe. The legislature, elected biennially, consists of an 

 Assembly of not less than 54 nor more than 100 (at present 54) 

 members ; and a Senate of not less than one-fourth nor more than 

 one-third of the number of members of the Assembly : at present 

 there are 18 senators. The governor is also elected for two years. 

 The judges are elected by popular vote. By the constitution, the 

 legislature cannot pass a bill for a lottery or a divorce. The total 

 revenue of the state for the year ending December 31, 1853, was 

 311,633 dollars-; the total expenditure was 254,197 dollar?. The state 

 militia consisted in 1854 of 39,565 men, of whom 414 were com- 

 missioned officers. In 1853, in the counties which furnished returns 

 (39 out of the 45 in the state), there were in all 138,279 ' children 

 between the ages of 4 and 20," of whom 95,293 attended school. 

 The capital of the State School Fund amounted on December 31, 

 1853, to 1,141,804 dollars, of which 1,107,709 dollars were at interest 

 at 7 per cent. There are a state university at Madison, and colleges at 

 Beloit and Racine. 



(Hunt, Gazetteer of Witcoruin; Statistical Gazetteer of the United 

 States; Owen, Report of a Geological Survey of Wisconsin; Marcou, 

 Geological Map of the United States ; Seventh Census of the United 

 State* ; De Bow, Slatitical View of the United States; American 

 Almanac.) 



WISHAWTON. [LANARKSHIRE.] 



WISMAR. [MECKLENBURG.] 



WITCHAMPTON. [DORSETSHIRE.] 



WITH AM, Essex, a market-town And the seat of a Poor-Law Union, 

 in the parish of Witham, is situated on the left hank of the river Brain 

 or Podsbrook, just above its junction with the Blackwater, in 51 48' 

 N. lat., 39' E. long., distant 9 miles N.E. from Chelmsford,37 miles 

 N.E. from London by road, and 38J miles by the Eastern Counties 

 railway. The population of the parish of Witham in 1851 was 3303. 

 The living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Colchester and diocese 

 of Rochester. Witham Poor- Law Union contains 17 parishes and 

 townships, with an area of 36,938 acres, and a population in 1851 of 

 16,099. 



Witham is generally reputed to have been built by Edward the 

 Elder, but probably that prince only restored the place, as there 

 appears to have been a Roman station here. The town of Witham 

 consists of two portions : the larger comprisps one main street along 

 the high road, and four small streets branching from it ; while the 

 smaller, about half a mile distant, is on Chipping Hill, and includes 

 the parish church. The town is lighted with gas. The church is a 

 commodious structure. A second church, All Saints, was erected in 

 1842, at a cost of 5000!. The Independents, Baptists, Quakers, and 

 Roman Catholics have places of worship. There are National, British, 

 and Infant schools, a literary institution, and a savings bank. The 

 market is held on Saturday ; three fairs are held in the course of the 

 year. 



WITNEY, Oxfordshire, a market-town and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union, in the parish of Witney, is pleasantly situated on the banks of 

 the river Windrush, in 51 48' N. lat, 1 29' W. long., distant 11 miles 

 W.N.W. from Oxford, and 65 miles W.N.W. from London. The 

 population of tho town of Witney in 1851 was 3099. The living is a 

 vicarage and rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Oxford. 

 Witney Poor-Law Union contains 42 parishes and townships, with an 

 area of 70,169 acres, and a population in 1851 of 23,530. 



The town of Witney is chiefly known by its blanket manufacture, 

 which has been carried on from an early period. Although a manu- 

 facturing town, Witney retains a quiet and rural appearance. Situated 

 in the High-street are a staple or blanket hall, a handsome structure, 

 erected in 1721 ; a town-hall, built of stone, with a piazza underneath 

 for a market-house ; and a market-cross, erected in 1683, and repaired 

 in 1811. The church is a commodious and handsome cruciform 

 building, with a tower and a lofty spire at the Intersection. The 

 Independents, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, and Quakers have 

 places of worship. There are a Grammar school, National, British, 

 and Infant schools, and an Athenaeum reading-room. The manufac- 

 ture of rough coatings, of tilt for barges, of felt for paper-makers, and 

 of gloves, employs some of the inhabitants. The Witney blankets are 

 of superior texture and good colour. Thursday is the market-day ; 

 six fairs are held in the course of the year. 



WITTENBERG. [MERSEBDHO.] 



WITTERSHAM. [KENT.] 



WITTON-LE-WEAU. [DURHAM.] 



WITTSTOCK. [BRANDENBURG.] 



WIVELISCOMBE. [SOMERSETSHIRE.] 



WIVENHOE. [ESSEX.] 



WIX. [ESSEX.] 



WLODUVVA. [POLAND.] 



WOAHOO. [SANDWICH ISLANDS.] 



WOBURN, Bedfordshire, a market-town and the seat of a Poor- 



