BlockBefore

Retreat, Wisconsin

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Sterling town. It lies in ZIP code area 54624. It lies near Anderson Ridge. The Survey maps it on the Retreat quadrangle. It stands 1,280 feet above sea level.

Retreat within Vernon County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 18 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

12,001 words on this township

History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884 names this settlement in its chapter on Sterling Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Retreat school district first had a school taught in a log house belonging to the widow Clark. This school was taught by Alexander Latshaw. The first school building proper erected was on the southwest quarter of section 10. It was a grout house. Aframe house was erected in 187-3, located on section 10. Thomas Tenney was the first teacher.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

In 1867 the Methodists organized another class at the Retreat school house. The following were the first members : E. B. Hyde and wife, William Barr and wife, Ammon Davis and wife, Mrs. V. L. Davis, Mattie Davis and Mrs J. M. Hill. William Barr was class leader. This class belonged to the De Soto circuit. In 1872 a church was built at Retreat; it was a frame house built at an expense of $l,.300. In 1884 this Church numbered sixtyfive. The following ministers have served this charge: Rev. Bushby, Rev. H. J. Walker, Rev. Th(m\as ]\Iaiiuel, Rev. D. L. Hubbard, Rev. D. Ciingman, Rev H. D. Jenks. W. W. Kurd and J. F. Nuzum.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

In 1873 a Methodist class was formed at the school house on section 5, town 1 1, range 5, by Delos Hubbard, a minister of the De.Soto circuit. This class numbered twenty-three, and was under the leadership of E. B. Alien. In 1874 a church building was provided; this was located on section 4, town -11, lange 5. In 1884 the class numbered about twenty. The following ministers have preached for this Church: A. D. Chase, John Davis, John W. McKay, William McMillan, Robert Smith, John Medd, James Phelps and R. S. Mocket.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Sterling Town - it names this place 17 more 17 times.

Fires near this place

9 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Retreat between 1996 and 2018, burning about 14 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
24 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.8 acresWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesCOLOMBUS FIRE
24 April 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesDESOTO FIRE
24 April 2018Debris and open burning4.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800038
11 April 1996Debris and open burning4.2 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 April 2003Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 March 2000Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 March 2012Debris and open burning1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesCOLOMBUS
24 October 2016Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesMCQUEEN HILL FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Vernon County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Retreat: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Kraemer-Hanson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Vernon County

Storms near this place

8 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Retreat in 8 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 hail, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 1998Tornado (F1)Retreat$100,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindRetreat$15,000no account filed
July 2016Tornado (EF0)Retreat$5,000An EF-0 tornado touched down in rural Vernon County near Retreat. The tornado was on the ground for about three-quarters of a mile and damaged trees and crops along its path.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindRetreat$1,000The public reported tree limbs down and shingles blown off. The report was relayed via mPING.
May 2004HailRetreat$800no account filed
August 2002Thunderstorm WindRetreat$750no account filed
June 2011Flash FloodRetreat-Slow moving thunderstorms produced some locally heavy rain that pushed Cooley Creek out of its banks along Bohland Hollow Road near Taylor Road east of De Soto.
June 2008HailRetreat-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Vernon County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
West Prairie3.4 miles18
Red Mound3.9 miles18
Purdy5.2 miles11
Fargo6.6 miles10
Victory7.5 miles18
Romance8.1 miles11
Bud9.2 miles14
Liberty Pole9.6 miles10

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on RetreatAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7316914The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1572222. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.