New Glarus

Sister cities

• Glarus

History

In the early 1840s, after several years of failed crops and as food became scarce, much of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland found itself deep in poverty. With more workers than available jobs, the government of the canton saw emigration to America as a solution. Authorities established the Glarus Emigration Society in 1844, which offered loans to help residents purchase land in the New World. All other expenses associated with the voyage to America were to be paid by the emigrants themselves. Men were offered free of rent for ten years, after which they could own the land for a mere ten shillings per acre. Given the desperate economic conditions in Switzerland, 193 volunteers decided to leave their homeland to start anew in America. In 1845, magistrates in Glarus dispatched two men, Nicolas Duerst and Fridolin Streiff, to find a suitable location for a colony in the New World. They were given $2600 and instructions to purchase land, build cabins, and prepare for the settlers to arrive the following spring. Duerst and Streiff began their search in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois before reaching St. Louis, Missouri. In the early days of July 1845, they then traveled north to Galena, Illinois, after which they arrived at the land office in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. The men investigated several tracts of farm and timber land in the southern Wisconsin territory before deciding on two square miles along the Little Sugar River. On July 17, 1845, they purchased for $1.25 per acre. It was a fertile basin bounded with hills and a large stand of trees nearby. Some said later it was not the best property available, but the valley and hilltops reminded them of their native Switzerland. The land that would become the Village of New Glarus was untamed wilderness, which had been…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land. New Glarus is included in the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,645
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,556
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,481
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,463
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,339
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,228
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,977
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,836

Largest nearby schools

• New Glarus Elementary
  Elementary · New Glarus · 422 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• New Glarus High
  High · New Glarus · 320 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• New Glarus Middle
  Middle · New Glarus · 219 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Monticello Elementary
  Elementary · Monticello · 132 students · 9.4:1 ratio
• Monticello High
  High · Monticello · 100 students · 10:1 ratio
• Monticello Middle
  Middle · Monticello · 68 students · 11.3:1 ratio