Jefferson Street Walkbridge

This is the site of the historic Stoughton footbridge, known locally as "the walkbridge". At the turn of the 20th century, this bridge made it easier for employees of the equally historic Mandt Wagon Works, on the East side of the Yahara River that flows through Stoughton, to get to work from their neighborhood called Peteville on the West side. The neighborhood was named for Peter Hagen, who built and owned many of the residential properties in the area. Peteville had its own park and a general store, and residents were largely wagon works employees and their families.[1]

The earliest mention of the bridge appeared in the Stoughton Hub newspaper on September 18, 1903:

"Employees of the two wagon shops living on the west side are agitating the building of a foot bridge across the river, either at the armory or at South street. Such a bridge at the latter place would save the workmen a good many steps every day..." [2]

However, neither of the named locations was chosen. In February, 1907, a petition "numerously signed" was presented to the City Council. The petition read in part:

"Peter Hagen, who owns the tract of land .. has expressed his willingness to dedicate to public use a strip of land eight feet wide .. at a point in line with the said projecting continuation of Jefferson street across the river...The construction of said bridge will materially shorten the distance which a large number of factory employes living in the third ward of the city have to travel in going to and from the wagon shops, and will be of great service and benefit to a large number of laborers in the factory."[3]

Being in agreement with the proposal, the Stoughton City Council allocated $330 to build a wooden footbridge across the river from the Eastern end of Jefferson Street. Another $100 was contributed from private donations from Stoughton citizens. Building continued throughout the summer of 1907 and numerous unsourced accounts reference this summer as the time the bridge was completed.

By March 1912, a bridge of iron construction -- perhaps the original wood bridge, reinforced? - appears in the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.[4]

By March 1923, the bridge was described as "a dilapidated structure" by the Council [5], and in 1924 the Council voted to issue $5000 in bonds for an iron and concrete replacement. Work was begun on Dec. 31, 1924 on a new bridge erected by J.O. Legreid. It was completed in 1925.

Peter Hagen (1865--1930), a native of Norway, married Antoinette Engh (1868-1919) on Sept. 24, 1892.

The Hagens spent their lives in Stoughton, where Peter worked as a Blacksmith and owned real estate. They had five children: Eva (1893-1979), Berger (1896-1960), Otto (1903-1932), Mildred (1905-2001), and Agnes (1910-1941).[6,7]

Although the original wood-and-iron walkbridge was replaced long ago, the site of the bridge is today one of the last surviving remnants of the vanished Peteville neighborhood. In 1978, when the Council proposed that the bridge be torn down and replaced by an auto road, community feeling on the West Side was so strong against the motion that it was defeated -- again, showing the power of the petition.[8]

[1] Bankston, K., Gifford, L., & Neuwirth, E. A journey through time: Pictorial history of Stoughton. Stoughton Newspapers, 1997. p. 30.

[2] Stoughton Hub (Stoughton, WI) September 18th 1903.

[3] "Council proceedings." Stoughton Hub (Stoughton, WI) February 8, 1907.

[4] Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Stoughton, Dane County, Wisconsin. Sanborn Map Company, August, 1912. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/sanborn09708_003/>.

[5] "Council discusses concrete foot bridge." Stoughton Courier Hub (Stoughton, WI) September 5th 1923.

[6] "Death summons Mrs. Peter Hagen." Stoughton Courier Hub (Stoughton, WI) January 17th 1919.

[7] Public Member Tree: Peter O. Hagen. Ancestry.com.

[8] Morgan, Michael A. Jefferson Street footbridge use spans 85 years. [unknown source found in Stoughton Public Library local history files] p. 8. n.d.