Bakertown (Jefferson County)
The southwesternmost section of Concord township - at the intersection of County Highway P and Bakertown Road -- was named for a Baker family that owned large sections of farmland here beginning in the mid-19th century. A local reminiscence identifies the Bakers as Jewish and recalls a “synagogue and yeshiva (school)” on the land .There is no other evidence that the Bakers were Jewish, however, a Jewish family, Elias and Frieda (Detotofki) Weinberg and children, lived at the Bakertown intersection from 1895-1907, operating a farm, broom factory and creamery . The Weinbergs' daughter, Ruth, made no mention of a synagogue or Jewish school in her family history.
She does explain how her father bought the land. A peddler, he stopped in the Bakertown saloon and met a man, Charles Kippert, who told Weinberg that he could buy the farm across the road for 25 cents per acre. Just then, “a very angry, drunken man came into the saloon, yelling for everyone to hear: 'Have you heard there is a g--d---- Jewish peddler around who is going to buy some land here? We don't want no g-d--- Jews around here!'
“Charles K. reached over and quietly asked Pa to give him a dollar as a deposit for the land. Pa said he didn't have a dollar. All he had was a refund check for about 50 cents from Sears Roebuck, where he bought the goods that he sold.
“Mr. Kipper grabbed the check from him, held it up for everyone in the saloon to see, and said, 'You're too late. I've already accepted Mr. Weinberg's check. And I never go back on my word.' After that, Pa and Mr. Kippert always remained the closest of friends.”
All of these articles are always open to the addition of new information. Readers who have more data about, or documents or artifacts from, these communities are welcome to contact Leon Cohen at the Wisconsin Society for Jewish Learning at 414-963-4135 or lcohen@wsjl.org.