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Chamber encourages sign-up by Feb. 1
Area businesses and organizations interested in showcasing themselves at East Troy Expo 2012 should sign-up by Feb. 1 to take advantage of advance publicity for the event set for Saturday, March 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at East Troy Middle School. Last chance sign-up deadline is March 1.
Professional booths, complete with a 6-foot skirted table, two chairs and free wireless provided by CenturyLink, start at $85 for Chamber members. Non-members may participate for an extra charge of $50.
East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce president Lori Szolwinski (fourth from left) shook hands with Dennis Klumb Sr. to celebrate the Chamber’s partnership with the Dennis and Janice Klumb Family Foundation to host the Tour of America’s Dairyland bike races in
EAST TROY CYCLING CLASSIC WILL BRING IN PROS FROM TOUR OF AMERICA’S DAIRYLAND FOR ALL-DAY RACES ON JUNE 22, 2012
East Troy, Wis. - Thanks to agreements signed Jan. 11 by the East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce, the Dennis and Janice Klumb Family Foundation, Inc. and the Midwest Cycling Series, LLC, the East Troy Cycling Classic will turn East Troy’s historic square into a professional cycling venue on Friday, June 22, 2012.
The event is part of the 11-day Tour of America’s Dairyland, set for June 21 – July 1 in 11 Wisconsin communities.
“We partnered with the Chamber to bring this event to East Troy because we want to showcase our hometown and provide a new, exciting venue for the race utilizing our historic village square,” Janice Klumb said.
The East Troy race course will take riders around the village square onto neighborhood streets in the half-mile course. The short course will provide constant action for spectators throughout the eight hours of continuous, high energy professional cycling.
The Chamber’s organizing committee will meet with local residents during informational meetings from 7-8 p.m. on Feb. 2 and Feb. 7 at the Red Door Café on the square, and solicit sponsors and develop coordinating activities during the coming months. Watch for updates on the Chamber’s website www.easttroywi.org.
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Community History
The East Troy area was settled in 1836, when a man known as H. Roberts began construction of a saw mill on the shores
of Honey Creek. The area quickly grew and
in the span of only four years, there was
also a hotel, general store, blacksmith, chapel, school (held in the chapel), post office, doctor, lawyer and justice of the
peace.
Originally the entire territory was known as Troy, named after Troy, New York, an area from which many of the settlers originated. In 1843, it was determined that Troy was too large an area for one township and the state legislature split the territory. The western part was named Meacham, after an early settler, Jesse Meacham, and the eastern part retained the name of Troy.
The arrangement was not suitable with the "westerners," including Meacham, who set out for the state capitol to reclaim the name of Troy. As legend has it, Jacob Burgit, another early settler and representative of the eastern territory, heard of Meacham's trip and he too set out in his wagon to the capitol to argue his case for keeping the name of Troy for the east. However, he was too late as Meacham was successful in keeping the name of Troy for the western part of the territory and the eastern part was named East Troy.
In 1847 when the village was officially platted, all the land south of the main street belonged to Burgit, who had purchased Roberts' claim in 1837, built the saw mill and later a grist mill, developing a flourishing business as the surrounding countryside began to settle and build. Austin McCracken owned all the land north of the Main Street, as he came to East Troy in 1836 and built the first public inn in Walworth County. It was a log building on the site where the East Troy House now stands.
In order to encourage growth of the community, Burgit and McCracken offered a lot free to anyone who would build upon it. They also set aside land for the churches. The public square was deeded in perpetuity to the village and the park was divided into quarters on the straight and on the diagonals with Main Street encircling it so that no one would benefit more than any other.
Later a wooden bandstand was built on the square and served East Troy until the 1930s when a new brick bandstand was constructed as a WPA project during the Great Depression. Today, the village square continues to serve as the centerpiece for the community and hosts festivals and band concerts, as well as the residents and visitors who stop to enjoy
its historic charm.
