Independence, WI

Independence sits where Elk Creek meets the Trempealeau River, and the town was literally moved into place by the railroad. Before the tracks arrived in 1875, nearby New City had a school, store, and mill. When the railroad chose the confluence, residents put several New City buildings on skids and moved them to the new site. That gives Independence a local origin story with wheels under it; the name matters less than the moving buildings. The city is in the Driftless Area, with Bugle Lake just upstream from the creek-and-river junction. Independence is a Wisconsin river town whose beginning was a relocation project.