Iron Ridge, WI

Iron Ridge is a Dodge County village whose name is basically an old job description. Iron ore was mined nearby, and the village grew beside a railroad line that carried the local story outward. A Wisconsin Historical Society map from 1868 shows Iron Ridge village, the Neda settlement, a mill, a railroad depot, and the Milwaukee & St. Paul line all on the same map. A documented main-street house at 140 South Main dates to 1890, and St. Matthew Lutheran School provides a local 4K–8 option. Iron Ridge is a small Wisconsin village where the mine, the rail line, and the old downtown are still easy to connect.