Collections Views of Jefferson County

A curated collection of historic photographs featuring the City of Madison and the townships of Jefferson County.

Dry Goods) Dry Goods)
Dry goods and clothing stores, with legible signs for stores owned by Arno Schmidt and Rodolph Hoffstadt. Both men are listed as entrepreneurs in the 1880 and 1882 Madison City Directories. The Hoffstadt family was part of Madison's flourishing Jewish community at that time. Schmidt was an established businessman in the city and also was a member of the school board and a city councilman. According to a May 8, 1908, issue of a Madison newspaber, fire bells rang and school was dismissed in his honor when the announcement was made that he had died by suicide.
Hampton Cracker Factory) Hampton Cracker Factory)
Exterior view of the Hampton Cracker Factory, a 3-story brick Italianate structure that once stood at 610 West Main Street, on the northwest corner at Vine Street. Painted on the side of the building is "CRACKIN GOOD CRACKERS / THE HAMPTON CRACKER CO."
J.G. Hill grocery store) J.G. Hill grocery store)
View of the J.C. Hill Grocery store in Hanover. (See V500033 for contemporary view of building)
“The Renovah”) “The Renovah”)
Snapshot of excursion riverboat "Revonah" as it arrives at Hanover Beach.
Chain Mill Falls) Chain Mill Falls)
An unidentified man sets in a chair hoisted by a large chain down a 35-foot man-made shaft from the top of Chain Mill Falls to the overhang below. The mill was operated by buckets attached to chains that captured water from the falls; the chains were attached to a large wooden wheel, like a cog, and the momentum of the water filling the buckets powered the wheel, which turned the millstones used to grind corn and wheat into flour. According to historian Frank Bird, the mill was built around 1815 by a man named William Gordon, who designed the chain-and-bucket method to harness energy from the falling water. The falls is located about two miles from Hanover near State Route 56. V000608
Telephone Exchange) Telephone Exchange)
This photo was taken by Will Ernst, a Madison photographer around the turn of the 20th century. His glass-late negatives were donated to JCHS by the late Jane Jacobs, former publisher of the Madison Courier. The women in the photo are not identified, but their job was to help connect telephone calls in the early days of this communications system. This telephone exchange, one of the first in town, was located above the Schiff Shoe Store at 121 East Main Street.
Passenger Station on First Street, Madison) Passenger Station on First Street, Madison)
The Madison passenger train station on West First Street, looking toward the Lanier Home. Today, Visit Madison's offices are behind the station, and at far right is now the History & Art Center. The station is now a museum and, along with the local history museum in the main building of the History & Art Center, is owned and operated by the Jefferson County Historical Society, built in the late 1990s.
Fourth of July, circa 1910) Fourth of July, circa 1910)
A Fourth of July celebration at the Madison Country Club about 1900.
Brooksburg School Orchestra) Brooksburg School Orchestra)
This is a photo of the Brooksburg School orchestra in 1938, just one year before Jefferson County schools were consolidated to form Madison Consolidated Schools. This image was scanned from a photo loaned to the Jefferson County Historical Society archives by Sharon Denning.

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