Every town has an origin story. Ours involves a log cabin, a river ferry and a post office that fit inside a cigar box. Meet Henry F. Janes.
A cabin by the river
In the mid-1830s, the land along the Rock River was mostly open prairie and woods. A handful of settlers had already started to arrive. Then, in 1836, Henry Janes showed up and staked his claim on the east bank of the river.
He built a timber cabin right where the Lappin-Hayes Block stands downtown today. So the next time you walk past that building on Main Street, you're standing on the very spot where Janesville got its start.
Ferry man, tavern keeper, postmaster
Janes didn't just build a house. He built the whole town.
He started running a ferry across the Rock River so travelers could cross. He opened a tavern, which in those days was the place to eat, sleep, swap news and do business.
Then he became the county's first postmaster. And here's our favorite detail. For months, the entire post office was a cigar box nailed up in his tavern. That's it. That was the mail system.
When Rock County was created, the county seat was placed on Janes's land on the east side of the river. That was a huge deal for a brand new settlement. It meant courts, business and more people coming to town.
How Janesville got its name
As the story goes, Janes first applied for a post office under a different name, Black Hawk. That didn't stick. Fellow settlers suggested naming the town after the man who had done so much to build it.
And just like that, Janesville.
He also surveyed the land himself, laying out the town's early streets.
The guy who couldn't sit still
Here's the funny twist. Once Janesville started growing, Janes decided it was getting too crowded. So he packed up and headed west.
And he kept doing what he did best. Historians and family records credit him with helping start other towns named Janesville, including ones in Minnesota and California.
Some people collect souvenirs. Henry Janes collected towns.
Why it still matters
By the early 1850s, Janesville was booming. It was one of the biggest cities in Wisconsin, bigger than Madison at the time.
All of that started with one guy, one cabin and a cigar box full of letters.
Today, Janesville is still a river town built by people who show up, roll up their sleeves and make something out of nothing. Henry would probably be proud.
and then