Mr. Watson Beach opened the first store in the Footville settlement in 1853.

The evidence

• “Foot and Julius Gilbert, and building became the order of the day, and when the first ttain of cars ran into the depot at Bachelor's Grove, as Footville was then called, on January 1, 1855. it met with a rousing reception from the inhabitants of a large and very prosperous village. Prior, however, to that date, viz., in 1853, Mr. Watson Beach had opened a store, the first in the settlement, and was followed in the next year by Messrs.”

  1879-history-of-rock-county/16-rock-county-ch10-villages.md, PDF p. 666 / book p. 670

  Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources