Pardeeville, WI

Pardeeville is a Columbia County village 35 miles north of Madison, with Wisconsin 22 running down Main Street and Wisconsin 44 following Lake Street. The 2020 census counted 2,074 residents. The Fox River begins just northeast of town and is dammed here to form Park Lake, so the water is woven into the street pattern rather than sitting outside it. The village has a clear center around Chandler Park, the Angie Williams Cox Library, the Columbia County Historical Museum, and the Tin Man water tower.

Park Lake gives Pardeeville a year-round set of local routines: fishing, a sandy swimming beach, baseball, camping, and community events in Chandler Park. The Pardeeville Area School District serves local students, while Main Street and Lake Street carry trips toward Madison, Montello, and the communities north and east. Pardeeville also has a curling club, a detail that fits its lake-and-winter identity. The local scoop is that the village's main landmarks are all close together: water, park, library, museum, school, and two state highways.