What's in a name? Photo by Jerry Apps

 

It’s only a wildflower.  A little rose, a wild rose.    It grows on my farm, as it does in many other places in the area. But it has meaning and memories more than any other wildflower for me.  You see, I was born on a farm in the township of Rose in Waushara County, four and a half miles from the village of Wild Rose.

            In 1973, I wrote a little book titled Village of Roses, the history of Wild Rose.  While writing the book I went searching for the source of the village’s name. The obvious answer, it was named after the wild roses growing in the area.  Nope, that’s not correct. Another possibility, an old-timer shared, with a grin on his face. “The village is named after this young lady, Rose. She was a bit on the wild side.”  Interesting idea, but also not correct.

With a little digging I learned that many folks who settled in around Wild Rose came from upstate New York, from a village named Rose, in Wayne County. It just happened that the year I wrote the book, I also was doing some work at Syracuse University.  I looked at a map and discovered Rose, was only about an hour’s drive from Syracuse, so I drove up there.  I stopped at the Post Office and introduced myself to the elderly clerk as being from Wild Rose, Wisconsin.  She greeted me like a long-lost son had returned.  I soon discovered that several of the names receiving mail from the post office were the same names as people living in the Wild Rose area.  The man who homesteaded my farm, in 1867, Tom Stewart, was from Rose, New York.

A surprising finding,   Rose, New York was named after Robert Rose, an early landowner in the town, not after a flower.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: The history of placenames often reveals surprising information.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase my books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

The Village of Roses book is available from the Wild Rose Historical Society.
If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.