HISTORY IN MUKWONAGO

T HE P L ACE OF T HE BE AR
WHY IS MUKWONAGO CALLED THE PLACE OF THE BEAR
Originally was a Native American village of the Bear Clan which
was the Potawatomi Indians.
The name Mukwonago came from the word Mequanego
which translates the bears den.
The spelling of Mukwonago was adopted in 1844 because of the
similarity of a nearby town hall/city Mequon.


BETWEEN 1844 AND 1947

The first settlers, mostly New England Yankees, by use of brain and
brawn, built a thriving community. Many of their descendants are still
living in the community.
In the 19
th
century, Mukwonago was a farming area.
In 1885, the construction of the Wisconsin Central Railroad provided
farmers with transportation and distribution of their crops

THE BEST OF THE BEST
The Elegant Farmer began back in 1947 as a family dairy farm owned
and operated by brothers Dave and Elmer Scheel.
Raised a herd of 50 Guernsey cattle and they sold their surplus fruits
and vegetables.
In 1958 the brothers concentrated on the newly named Davelmer
Market.
Had people pick their own strawberries to encourage more people to
come.
In 1970 Elmer's son and his wife Karen took over the business and called
it The Elegant Farmer.
Over the next 26 years The Elegant Farmer introduced fresh and frozen
fruits and then the apple pie in a paper bag.
This all lead to the great produce and baked goods the Elegant Farmer
sells.
The Elegant farmer sells its goods in 400 other locations today.
The Elegant Farmer has passed to its third generation of owners in 2005.
As longtime employees, John Bauer and Keith Schmidt took over the
helm along with John's brother, Mike Bauer.
The Elegant Farmer has been around for over 60 years now.