Small Towns, Wisconsin Southwest Region Fall 2015 | Page 24

In the early 1840s, things were not looking good in Glarus. There had been several years of failed crops, food was scarce, and much of the canton was in deep poverty. With more workers than available jobs, the government decided to sponsor emigration to America. Authorities created the Glarus Emigration Society, which provided loans to help residents purchase land in the New World. Men were offered 20 acres of land, rent free for ten years, after which it would be purchased for ten shillings per acre. 193 volunteers decided to accept this offer. Scouts were dispatched to find land suitable for a colony. They searched through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, but were unable to find anywhere they deemed appropriate. Finally, they decided on two square miles along the Little Sugar River in Wisconsin, where they purchased 1,280 acres for $1.25 per acre. At the time, the land was untamed wilderness, but the valley and hilltops reminded them of Switzerland. After a comedy of errors, in August 1845 the settlers arrived at their new home. After coming to America, 12 families lived in the community’s only wooden hut. Many of the settlers worked in nearby lead mines to survive the first winter. After that winter, they purchased cattle from Ohio and began dairy farming and cheese making, a trade that many of them had learned back in Switzerland. At its peak, New Glarus boasted an astonishing 22 cheese factories, and became known as the Cheese Capital of the World. Even today, New Glarus boasts the largest concentration of specialty cheese factories and award-winning cheesemakers anywhere in the United States. Did you know? The Swiss Confederation (Switzerland) consists of a number of cantons, which are semi-sovereign states. The Old Swiss Confederacy was an alliance among the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden (see the story of Wilhelm Tell on page 31); Glarus was one of several other cantons to join by 1353. Switzerland is now a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons. p.24 Small Towns, Wisconsin | 2015 Southwest Fall Edition | www.smalltownswisconsin.com | e. [email protected]