About

More than 10,000 years ago, small bands of people entered Dodge County on the edge of the receding glacier. As hunters and gatherers, early native Americans followed and hunted herds of large animals and gathered food stuffs. The river systems from the south were used by early inhabitants to reach the wildlife and other resources the county provided in abundance. Numerous sites within the county show evidence of the early inhabitants including stone tools, campsites and settlements, burial and effigy mounds, garden plots and paintings and carvings on rock outcrops and stones.

The first white settlers were drawn for reasons of bountiful agricultural land, with wheat, corn, oats, potatoes and apples being the primary crops. Wheat growing was later replaced with dairying. Before mass settlement and agricultural pursuits, Dodge County was covered mainly with forests, wetlands, prairie and oak savannas.

Dodge County was created in 1836 and named in honor of Henry Dodge, then territorial governor of Wisconsin. The Town of Victory was chosen as the County Seat. The Town of Victory was later renamed City of Juneau after Paul Juneau, the son of Solomon Juneau, founder of Milwaukee.

In 1845 iron ore was discovered in Mayville and an iron ore works operated here for several decades until competition from mines in the Lake Superior region closed them. Sawmills and gristmills were widely distributed over Dodge County in the 1870's.

In 1875, John Jossie, came from Switzerland, developed the variety of cheese known as brick, and later opened the first brick cheese factory in the United States in Watertown, operating until 1943.

Dodge County is a leading county in the production of cheese, barley, alfalfa, hay and peas for canning. Industries include the manufacture of wood products, shoes, metal products, lawn care equipment, magazines, stainless steel equipment and ice fishing equipment.