Ashton
Ashton rests in the Township of Springfield, Dane County, in south central Wisconsin, U.S.A. The Ho-Chunk Indians, later known as the Winnebagos, hunted and gardened here for hundreds of years. The first white settlers in the township were English: Hawley Simons and family in 1841, soon followed by the George Johnson family and others. In 1848 they formally organized the town with the election of officers. They named Ashton after Charles Ashton, who served as president of the English Temperance Society, which had formed a colony to send immigrants to the area.
But by the mid-1850s, German Catholic immigrants, primarily from Prussia, had begun to buy the farms around Ashton. By 1861 they had established the first church, St. Peter’s, which became the center of life in the community. Some 20 families made up the congregation then. The year 1866 marked the opening of the first parochial school. By 1900, the Ashton congregation had grown to 70 families, so a new church was built and dedicated in 1902. A new school was built in 1905, and again in 1966.
Today, many of the current grandparents, parents, and children of St. Peter’s parish represent the third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth generations of the original German settlers.
But by the mid-1850s, German Catholic immigrants, primarily from Prussia, had begun to buy the farms around Ashton. By 1861 they had established the first church, St. Peter’s, which became the center of life in the community. Some 20 families made up the congregation then. The year 1866 marked the opening of the first parochial school. By 1900, the Ashton congregation had grown to 70 families, so a new church was built and dedicated in 1902. A new school was built in 1905, and again in 1966.
Today, many of the current grandparents, parents, and children of St. Peter’s parish represent the third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth generations of the original German settlers.