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About Mazomanie, WI

The land on which rests the town of Mazomanie fell within the hunting grounds of the Hočąk, or Winnebago, Indian nation. About a decade after the Winnebago cession of 1832, there were only a small number of white settlers in the area. What precipitated the birth of the town was the advent of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad in 1855, which passed through the region to connect Milwaukee with La Crosse. The superintendent of the railroad, Edward Brodhead, gave the village its name; many years later, he explained its derivation: “He (Mazomanie) was an Indian chief in our state and was well known to the old gentleman, H.L. Dousman, who said the Indians pronounced it as though it was spelled Man-zo-ma-nie and the English of it is Iron Horse, which I adopted for the name of a railroad town and also for the name of my horse.” This distinguished chief was Mą́zamąnį́ga, "Iron Walker." The Hočągara, who have persisted in the area despite many attempts to eject them, call this town Mą́zamąnį́, dropping the suffix -ga (a definite article used to indicate a person's name).