Fall River, WI

Fall River is a Columbia County village of 1,801 residents in the 2020 census on the North Fork of the Crawfish River, within the Madison metropolitan area. Alfred Brayton named it for his family's hometown in Massachusetts after arriving in 1845, and the river's waterpower helped shape the early village. The dam Brayton built has been repaired over the years and now controls Lazy Lake, so the river remains part of the town's physical layout rather than a historical footnote. Village Park and Brayton Park both sit along the Crawfish, while Hometown Park serves the northeast side.

A new 18-hole disc golf course, completed in 2025, runs from the tennis courts through Village Park and Brayton Park to the dam. Fall River School District, home of the Pirates, adds the school, athletics, clubs, and daily announcements that organize much of the local routine. The easy way to picture Fall River is river, dam, parks, and school: a small Wisconsin village whose present-day map still follows the water that powered its beginnings.