Why we are called Westby

In 1879 when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul railroad completed the building of a branch line from Sparta to Viroqua, the name Westby Station was given to this railroad depot by the railroad company in honor of its most valued customer.

Intersection of State and Main Streets at the time the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad arrived

The railroad originally wanted to locate the station about one mile further north at todays intersection of Highway 27 and County Highway P. This attempt was foiled however by two La Crosse merchants, Mons Andersen and C.B. Solberg, who urged that the station be built near their good client, Ole Westby. Before the Sparta-Viroqua branch line of the railroad, the local merchants at both ‘Old Town’ and the settlement one mile north (State and Main Streets today) had to go to Sparta to load and unload their goods from the railroad—livestock to market and merchandise for sale at their local establishments from the world marketplace. 

Before 1879 and the arrival of the railroad both settlements, 'Old Town' and the settlement one mile north were prosperous communities, both had about an equal amount of business and trades people. When the Milwaukee Depot was built, Old Town slowly, but surely started to disappear. The last remaining business of the past was a gas station that closed in the early 1950s.