The Juneau County courthouse on March 14, 2015
Juneau County was created in 1857 when the state legislature decided to separate the part of Adams County which was west of the Wisconsin River. The new county was named for Solomon Juneau, who as a state legislator had influenced the legislation that created Juneau County. Solomon Juneau was also a founder of the City of Milwaukee and served as the first mayor of Milwaukee in 1846.
Mauston became the Juneau County seat after a competition with nearby New Lisbon. Mauston was originally named Maughs Town after its founder, Milton M. Maughs, but over the years the name has contracted to Mauston. Mauston was incorporated as a city in 1887.
The Juneau County courthouse is located at 220 East State Street and the Justice Center is located on an adjacent block at 200 Oak Street. The courthouse was built in 1925 and I’m not sure if it is still used as the courthouse. At least some of the functions and office space are located in the Justice Center across the street.
We visited the courthouse on Saturday March 14, 2015. It was getting a little late in the afternoon, but I had the chance to walk around the courthouse and see the Justice Center.
As with some of the other counties, I don’t have a lot to say about Juneau County. I’ve never really spent much time there; I just seem to pass through Juneau County on my way to some other place. I should do some biking here sometime.