Don Atkinson

Baraboo: a Selected History Don Atkinson

Baraboo provides a selected history of the city of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and the surrounding region. The book focuses on six features of the Baraboo area that make it distinctive from other towns, and that help explain how a Midwestern city of modest size has had such a major impact on the rest of the state, nation, and world. The six features of the region that the book highlights are: 1) the Baraboo Bluffs; 2) the Ho-Chunk Nation; 3) the Ringling brothers; 4) the Badger Army Ammunition Plant, 5) the Great Wisconsin Manhunt of 1961; and 6) the International Crane Foundation. The Baraboo Bluffs have been designated a National Natural Landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior and a "Last Great Place" by the Nature Conservancy. Part 1 reviews the geological history of the Bluffs and describes the biological attributes that make them unique. The author speculates that the Bluffs may have helped inspire Aldo Leopold to write his environmental manifesto, A Sand County Almanac, in a converted chicken coup near Baraboo. The impact of farming, logging, and development on the Bluffs is examined, and concerns about this "Last Great Place" are raised. The history of human habitation in the Baraboo area is provided in the section on the Ho-Chunk Nation. The author presents evidence that the Ho-Chunk are descendants of the mysterious effigy mound builders, the ancient people responsible for the effigy mounds found only in Wisconsin and along the adjacent edges of boarding states. A biography of Joann Jones, first president (and to date the only female president) of the Ho-Chunk nation is presented. The impact of gaming and other social conditions on the future of the tribe is examined. Baraboo is the home of the Ringling Brothers' Circus, "The Greatest Show on Earth." In Part 2, the Ringling brothers' ancestry and childhood experiences are examined for factors that may have contributed to their rise from humble beginnings to uncontested kings of the entertainment world. The