Janesville's Past

Art Work of Rock County
Janesville Room 917.75 ROCK, unpaginated
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleArt1893

Art Work of Rock County, published in 1893, consists primarily of photographs of Janesville, Beloit and Evansville, Wisconsin, including public and commercial buildings, Rock River scenic views, residences, dirt road street scenes, churches, schools and other images. Many of the structures depicted here no longer exist.

Approximately 21 percent of the book's pages present the unique early history of Rock County, Wisconsin, and the Rock River area. Indian mound and village locations and descriptions, Indian treaties affecting the area, and information about Chief Black Hawk's local movements during the 1832 war are included in the text. The history of the earliest white settlement of the Rock River area includes the system of unwritten border law pertaining to squatters' claims, steamboat and railroad development, pioneers, and town development. The text concludes in 1861 at the beginning of the Civil War.

The Headlight Souvenir Edition: Janesville, Wis.
Janesville Room 977.587 H344, 34 pages
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleHead1896

The Headlight Souvenir Edition: Janesville, Wis. was a special issue (volume 10, no. 4, May 1896) of the serial publication Headlight: a Journal of Progress and Development.

The Headlight was designed to attract new business and residents to Janesville. It was "intended to set forth the advantages of Janesville, Wisconsin, as an industrial location, [and] as a place of residence" with a "pictorial part — show[ing] a few of its many beauties." In an era when the Janesville population was 15,000, highlights includes a brief town history; biographical capsules of the mayor, councilmen, and leading citizens; a summary of public schools and the Wisconsin School for the Blind; and information on early newspapers, financial institutions, and a leading Wisconsin law firm of the time. Hotels, including the Myers House, which was "one of the oldest and most widely known hotels in the Northwest," are featured. Manufacturing companies are described, including those for corn planters, carriages, knitting and woolen mills, beverages, transportation, and farm machinery. Many photographs feature business interiors as well as exteriors. Janesville was also the center for the Wisconsin tobacco market with related industries. The Headlight also claims Janesville as "the commercial center of Southern Wisconsin" and describes the city's virtues.

Janesville Fire Department Souvenir Album
Janesville Room 977.587 JANES 1902, 165 pages
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleSouv1902

The Janesville Fire Department Souvenir Album, a book published in 1902 by the local newspaper for the Firemen's Relief Association, is not only a pictorial history of 19th century Janesville firemen and their horse-drawn firefighting equipment but also a record of the residences and commercial establishments they protected. Business interiors -- including local saloons and beer halls as well as Janesville retail and manufacturing firms -- are a significant feature of this book.

The text includes the business cards of physicians, dentists, and many retail firms and commercial offices. A 50-year historical sketch of Janesville firefighting history is covered in two pages, while the last 16 pages provide the following lists: significant Janesville events from 1835-1902; Janesville churches; city and county officials and local postmasters; Rock County representatives in state and territorial government; labor and fraternal societies; state fairs held in Janesville; and even the location of Janesville fire alarm boxes.

Picturesque Janesville
Janesville Room 977.5 WISE, 53 leaves
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvillePic1888

Picturesque Janesville, published in 1888, consists of photographs of Janesville residences, schools, churches, street scenes, bridges and dams. Many of these structures no longer exist.

The author's note states: "In presenting this work of Art to the public, permit me to say that in many respects it differs from any work ever offered to the people of Janesville. It is different not only as a work of Art but in the style of illustrations, and is a fair specimen of advanced photography, known among artists as 'Photo-Graveure,' or 'Photo-Mechanical Printing,' being printed on an ordinary printing press from negatives taken by myself. This collection embraces our most prominent buildings, residences and the scenery surrounding our home. In making the collection an effort has been made to select views that would be a fair representation of the best. It would have been a pleasure to me could I have enlarged the size of this work, but in such case it would have been too expensive to be within the reach of many. In offering you Picturesque Janesville, I give you a work of Art, believing that those who possess it would prefer looking elsewhere for a descriptive history of our city than have its pages encumbered with printed matter."

There is no text apart from the name of the building or place featured in the photographs.

Prospect Hill & Conrad Cottages Historic Districts: A Guide. 1992
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleProspect

Guidebook for a walking tour in the Prospect Hill and Conrad Cottage area of Janesville. Historic and architectural descriptions of residences and businesses are provided. Written and designed by Carole Zellie of Landscape Research, St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Janesville Historic Commission.

Prospect Hill Historic District surrounds one of Janesville's highest hills and overlooks the Rock River and downtown. Early pioneers settled this area by 1845, though only 25 buildings were built before 1870. Another 39 buildings were constructed between 1870 and 1900. One reason for the delayed settlement of this area was its steep slope. The district, which spans approximately 15 blocks, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, the fourth historic district in Janesville to be added.

The Conrad Cottages Historic District is located near the Prospect Hill District. Included in this district are four similar cream-colored brick workers' cottages built by Charles B. Conrad in 1882.

Old Fourth Ward: Historic District: A Guide. 1990
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleFour

Guidebook for a walking tour in the Old Fourth Ward area of Janesville. The area extends from the southwest edge of downtown to the Rock River. Historic and architectural descriptions of residences and businesses are provided. This guidebook was written and designed by Carole Zellie of Landscape Research, St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Janesville Historic Commission.

The Old Fourth Ward is one of Janesville's largest and oldest residential sections, composed of more than 900 structures in central Janesville. The district is actually a mixture of three historic neighborhoods: Near Downtown, Monterey and Rockport. The structures in Near Downtown are a mix of the Greek Revival and Italianate homes of the city's business leaders and cottages of quarry workers. Most date from the 1850s. Development of Monterey began in the 1840s around the ferry and bridges that spanned the Rock River between Center Avenue and Rockport Road. Ira Miltimore, an experienced mason and engineer, established the Monterey Quarry on the south side of the river in 1845. Quarry workers lived in small cottages on the north side of the river. Rockport was established as a separate village after the Civil War. First settled by Judge William Holmes in 1836, the village was platted by Holmes' son, Thomas. The plot he set aside as public land for a courthouse is Fourth Ward Park.

Court House Hill Historic District: A Guide. 1986
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleCourt

Guidebook for a Janesville walking tour of the Courthouse Hill Historic District. Historic and architectural descriptions of residences and businesses are provided. Written and designed by Carole Zellie of Landscape Research, St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Janesville Historic Commission.

Rising above the city of Janesville on the east side of the Rock River, this historic district contains outstanding examples of the architectural styles seen throughout Janesville from its founding in the mid-19th century through 1930. The 30-block district contains 219 properties and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Many of the blocks were contained in Henry Janes' original claim.

Main & Milwaukee Janesville's Downtown Historic District: A Guide. 1989
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleMain

Guidebook for a Janesville walking tour of the Downtown Historic District. Historic and architectural descriptions of residences and businesses are provided. Written and designed by Carole Zellie of Landscape Research, St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Janesville Historic Commission.

Main and Milwaukee streets are the heart of the city. Janesville's central business district reflects the city's origins as a river city. Close study of many of its buildings reveals information about their past uses, previous owners and architectural styles.

Benton Avenue Historic District: A Guide. 1995
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.JvilleBen

Guidebook for a walking tour in the Benton Avenue area of Janesville. Historic and architectural descriptions of residences and businesses are provided. Written and designed by Carole Zellie of Landscape Research, St. Paul, Minnesota, for the Janesville Historic Commission.

A small area of urban bungalows is the focus of the Benton Avenue Historic District. Built following World War I during a decade of substantial economic growth and development, Benton Avenue offered low-cost tract housing to the workers of Janesville's General Motors factory.

Gruver Photograph Collection

The Gruver Photograph Collection: A Collection of Historic and Current Photographs of Janesville, Wisconsin collected by Lowell ("Bud") Gruver of Janesville, Wisconsin

In 1986, Lowell "Bud" Gruver, a longtime Janesville resident, local historian, and avid photographer, donated his collection of over 1,000 historic photographs of Janesville people and places to the Janesville Public Library. In donating the collection to the library, Gruver's goal was to share Janesville history with all interested residents and visitors. Digitizing much of his collection on the Web extends Gruver's reach to an even larger and farther-flung audience. An unusual aspect of this collection is the knowledge of Janesville's past that Gruver brought to his project. Photographing Janesville buildings in the 1980s, Gruver recalled (in narratives accompanying the photos) the buildings and businesses that had preceded them and often tracked down older photos of those establishments, which he paired with the contemporary ones.

Case Postcard Collection

Postcards from the collection of Debra Case on loan to the Hedberg Public Library for the purposes of this digitization project. Copies of the postcards are available at the library, though the originals remain in the collector's possession. The cards represent views of the city prior to the 1930s.