The Early Years

The first settlers came to the banks of the Kickapoo River in the 1850s and established a small village called Pine Grove, in honor of the large groves of white pine that were found there. The name of the village was changed to Soldiers Grove in 1867 to honor the soldiers who had camped in the area during the 1832 Blackhawk War. Early farming of wheat gave way to dairy farming, and later tobacco farming became a way of life on the area’s small family farms.
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