10/15/2026
๐๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐๐ "๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ค๐"?
Long before the railroads came, early territorial maps of Wisconsin designated the marshy basin where the downtown business district stands today as Pleasant Lake.
Here are a few surprising local history facts about Clintonโs watery origin:
When the land was originally surveyed in 1836 by the U. S. Government, the surveyor noted the pondโs size and location as ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด 8 & 9 ๐ ๐, 22.00 (1,452 ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต) ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ 32.00 (2,112 ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต) ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐น๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต 10 ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด (660 ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต) ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต & 10 ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด (660 ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต) ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต, ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ 1,452 ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ (๐-๐) ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ 1320 ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ (๐-๐)
14-๐ท๐๐๐๐
๐ญ๐๐๐: Early pioneers and long-time residents passed down stories of catching fish weighing up to 14 pounds.
๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐
: Because the downtown area was built over a former marsh, the ground was notoriously soft. Early accounts tell of the "terrible struggle" to haul even empty wagons up Allen Street, recalling that during muddy seasons, fence posts could be driven completely out of sight into the ground.
๐ป๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐
: Long after the village began expanding, a remnant pond from Pleasant Lake remained between the local school buildings and the Case property, where local children continued to catch strings of fish.
๐๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ (๐๐๐๐๐ฌโ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ)
๐พ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐: Before streets were paved, the soft marsh ground made travel up Allen Street extremely difficult. During muddy seasons, fence posts could be driven completely out of sight into the ground, and merchants had to stick long wooden poles into severe mudholes along Main Street to keep horses from stepping into them.
๐บ๐๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐:
๐ป๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ specifically serves the downtown business district (south of Milwaukee Street between Allen Street and East Street). Stormwater collected from the downtown area drains southwesterly into Spring Brook, flowing seven miles until it empties into Turtle Creek near Beloit.
๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐: Unlike the western and downtown sectors of the village that drain southwesterly toward Spring Brook and Turtle Creek, stormwater collected from the school property and east-side residential areas flows easterly for four miles into Ladd Creek in neighboring Walworth County.
The modern image shows the approximate location of the 'pond'.
