Mount Horeb, Wisconsin

Mount Horeb, Wisconsin
Village
Mt. Horeb Opera Block on Main Street.
Location in Dane County and the state of Wisconsin.
Coordinates: 43°0′23″N 89°44′3″W / 43.00639°N 89.73417°W / 43.00639; -89.73417Coordinates: 43°0′23″N 89°44′3″W / 43.00639°N 89.73417°W / 43.00639; -89.73417
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Dane
Area[1]
• Total	3.25 sq mi (8.42 km2)
• Land	3.25 sq mi (8.42 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation[2]	1,243 ft (379 m)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	7,009
• Estimate (2012[4])	7,294
• Density	2,156.6/sq mi (832.7/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	608
FIPS code	55-54725[5]
GNIS feature ID	1569817[2]
Website	mounthorebwi.info

Mount Horeb is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,009 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

A post office called Mount Horeb has been in operation since 1861.^[6] The village was named after Mount Horeb, the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments, according to the Hebrew Bible.^[7]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.25 square miles (8.42 km²), all of it land.^[1]

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 7,011 people, 2,696 households, and 1,878 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,156.6 inhabitants per square mile (832.7/km²). There were 2,826 housing units at an average density of 869.5 per square mile (335.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.0% White, 0.8% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 2,696 households of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.

The median age in the village was 35.5 years. 29.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 5,860 people, 2,228 households, and 1,544 families residing in the village. As of 2010 there are 7,009 people. The population density (in 2000) was 2,011.5 people per square mile (777.5/km²). There were 2,305 housing units at an average density of 791.2 per square mile (305.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.28% White, 0.22% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.58% of the population. 33.0% were of German, 22.6% Norwegian, 10.7% Irish, 5.8% English and 5.2% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,228 households out of which 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $55,513, and the median income for a family was $63,234. Males had a median income of $40,850 versus $27,391 for females. The per capita income for the village was $23,359. About 0.8% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Herman Dahle, member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
• Carl M. Grimstad, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Edmund Hillestad, member of the South Dakota House of Representatives
• William C. Kahl, Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Clarence Gonstead, chiropractor at the Gonstead clinic

Business and industry

Mount Horeb offers several good access points to the Military Ridge State Trail, a 39-mile (63 km) bicycle trail built on a former railroad right-of-way.

Mount Horeb was once home to the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum, a light-hearted museum with an approximately equal amount of floor space devoted to exhibits and to its museum store. The store has hundreds of varieties of mustard that can be sampled before purchase. The museum exhibits a large collection of unusual mustards and antique mustard jars. In 2002 the museum was showcased on the Food Network television series Unwrapped. The museum and its curator have also been featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition broadcast of July 29, 2010,^[10] and Weekend Edition Saturday on February 18, 1995.^[11]

In 2009 the Mustard Museum relocated to Middleton, Wisconsin, where it is now known as the National Mustard Museum.

Mount Horeb has been known by some residents as the "Mustard Capital of the World" as well as the "Troll Capital of the World". The Chamber of Commerce calls the main street the "Trollway," and troll statues and themes decorate many area businesses. This reflects Mount Horeb's largely Norwegian heritage.

Mount Horeb is home to the Gonstead Clinic of Chiropractic, originally founded in 1939 by Dr. C.S. Gonstead. Gonstead developed the widely used Gonstead chiropractic technique for spinal adjustment.^[12] With the completion in 1964 of a 19,000-square-foot (1,800 m²) building on Route 151, and the adjoining Karakahl Inn, it became a nationally recognized chiropractic center.^[13] It gradually declined in importance after the 1978 death of its founder, and the buildings are currently deteriorating and the target of a preservation effort.^[14]

Popular culture

Mount Horeb was the second community featured on the short-lived, four-episode 2005 ABC television show, My Kind of Town.

Mount Horeb serves as the setting in the mystery novel Myth and Murder by M.A. Stenner.

Images

• 

  Post office

• 

  Municipal building

• 

  Mount Horeb Public School

• 

  Henry L. and Sarah Dahle House

• 

  Hoffs Department Store

• 

  Herman B. and Anne Marie Dahle House

• 

  Welcome sign

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin.

• Village of Mount Horeb
• Sanborn fire insurance maps: 1894 1905 1915

Municipalities and communities of Dane County, Wisconsin, United States County seat: Madison Cities Edgerton‡ Fitchburg Madison Middleton Monona Stoughton Sun Prairie Verona Villages Belleville‡ Black Earth Blue Mounds Brooklyn‡ Cambridge‡ Cottage Grove Cross Plains Dane Deerfield DeForest Maple Bluff Marshall Mazomanie McFarland Mount Horeb Oregon Rockdale Shorewood Hills Waunakee Towns Albion Berry Black Earth Blooming Grove Blue Mounds Bristol Burke Christiana Cottage Grove Cross Plains Dane Deerfield Dunkirk Dunn Madison Mazomanie Medina Middleton Montrose Oregon Perry Pleasant Springs Primrose Roxbury Rutland Springdale Springfield Sun Prairie Vermont Verona Vienna Westport Windsor York CDP Windsor Unincorporated communities Albion Aldens Corners Ashton Ashton Corners Bakers Corners Basco Burke Daleyville Deansville Door Creek Dunkirk East Bristol Elvers Five Points Forward Hanerville Highwood Hillside Hoffman Corners Hope Indian Heights Kegonsa Kingsley Corners Klevenville Lake Windsor London‡ Lutheran Hill Martinsville Marxville Middleton Junction Montrose Morrisonville Mount Vernon Nora North Bristol Norway Grove Old Deerfield Paoli Pierceville Pine Bluff Primrose Riley Roxbury Rutland Schey Acres Seminary Springs Springfield Corners Stone Token Creek Utica Vermont Vilas West Middleton York Center Neighborhoods Fitchburg Center Oak Hall Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties