Wonewoc in Juneau County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Towns made from this?

Oxbow Lake and Brickyard Slough

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 20, 2012

1. Towns made from this? Marker

Inscription. Old rivers, like the Baraboo, have wide flood plains and many wide curves called meanders. These sharp bends and twists frequently become so curved that a loop is formed, separated by only a narrow neck of land. The river eventually cuts across the neck, deposits sediment at both ends of the meander and abandons it, forming an oxbow lake or slough (pronounced slew).

These lakes fill up with mud and silt over time. Early settlers dug up clay from the bottom of this slough and mixed it with sand and water to make bricks during the late 1800s-early 1900s. Bricks were dried in sheds and fired in kilns heated by wood — sometimes taking as much as 300 cords of handcut lumber! Many local buildings were constructed from this slough's clay.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 43° 39.675′ N, 90° 13.675′ W. Marker is in Wonewoc, Wisconsin, in Juneau County. Marker can be reached from Gordon Street west of Center Street (State Route 33). Marker is located along the "400" State Trail (rail trail) about ½ mile north of the Wonewoc Trailhead on Gordon Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wonewoc WI 53968, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

crow flies. Geology of the 400 Trail (approx. half a mile away); Wonewoc History (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Lost District (approx. 0.6 miles away); Mt. Vernon Cemetery Civil War Memorial (approx. 6.1 miles away); African American Settlers of Cheyenne Valley (approx. 6.2 miles away); Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, U.S. Navy (approx. 6.3 miles away); Elroy – Sparta State Trail (approx. 6½ miles away); Stewart's Chapel (approx. 8.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Wonewoc.

Marker detail: Wonewoc, 1894 image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Wonewoc, 1894

Clay from the Brickyard Slough was used to construct the two buildings on the right in this 1894 photograph. These buildings still stand on the southwest corner of Center and Garden in Wonewoc.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 20, 2012

3. Towns made from this? Marker

(Brickyard Slough in background)

Brickyard Slough & Baraboo River image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 20, 2012

4. Brickyard Slough & Baraboo River

(view from near marker)

United States Post Office, Wonewoc, Wisconsin image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 20, 2012

5. United States Post Office, Wonewoc, Wisconsin

Today, the Post Office is in one of those brick buildings from 1885!

Credits. This page was last revised on October 30, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 26, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 164 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 27, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.