Rome, WI

Rome is a Jefferson County census-designated place in the Town of Sullivan, set along the Bark River around the old mill pond. Peter Knockler arrived in 1840; two years later Myron Smith and S.D. Tenny dammed the river, creating Rome Mill Pond and a sawmill that led to later mill-race and turning-shop work. The settlement grew as a village, then remained unincorporated while its name stayed on the map. Today the river and pond still give Rome its shape: Rome Pond County Park lies along the Bark River between Rome and Sullivan, and the old mill landscape connects the community to Jefferson County's early settlement history. It is a place where a CDP designation sits on top of a much older village story.