Janesville

In 1837, Henry Janes, one of the area's first settlers, proposed the name Black Hawk for the small southern Wisconsin settlement he lived in, but the US Post Office chose Janesville. The village along the Rock River was selected as the Rock County seat, and by 1860 it had grown to become Wisconsin's second largest city. Janesville developed into an important railroad town and, because of its waterpower, a milling and manufacturing center. General Motors built a large plant, and George Parke...