Barneveld, WI

Barneveld is an Iowa County village in the Madison metro, with 1,331 residents in the 2020 census. The village began in 1881 when David Simpson gave the railroad a right of way for a dollar in exchange for a depot; it incorporated in 1906. The name may come from a Dutch railroad surveyor's hometown or from the poet John of Oldenbarneveldt, a local story with two versions. Barneveld's clearest gathering place is Memorial Park, dedicated in 1986 after the 1984 tornado killed nine community members. The park now has a splash pad, playground, multi-sport court, and three-season shelter, while Birch Lake Park north of the village adds fishing, a baseball diamond, shelters, and play equipment. Annual Fair Day and village events carry the civic side of the story. Barneveld is a railroad village whose park system also records how it rebuilt and grew.