7 non-Madison capitals in Wisconsin: Paying homage to curds, UFOs, brats and grouse

Of course Madison is Wisconsin's state capital.

But that doesn't stop cities and towns from across the state from proclaiming themselves capitals too, in an effort to call attention to the things the people there love or are proud of. It doesn't hurt business, either, to spotlight something distinctive about a town.

These capitals say a lot about who we are as a state. We love cheese and brats. We love our animals, particularly birds. And we love some weirdness too.

It all leads to self-proclaimed (and sometimes officially proclaimed) capitals of things such as cheese curds, ruffed grouse, muskies, trolls and UFOs. We even have a capital of, and this is a bit of a curveball for our state's reputation, root beer.

Here's a list of our favorite non-Madison Wisconsin capitals.

Sheboygan is the 'Bratwurst Capital of the World,' but not America

The Sheboygan Press first wrote a story that declared the city the "Bratwurst Capital of the World" in 1952, and made its case with numbers, according to a 2021 story in the newspaper that tracked the title's history and controversy. The 1952 article tallied Sheboygan's bratwurst production of four local makers from mid-May to mid-September and found that they produced an eye-popping 1.9 million brats. The next year Sheboygan held a Bratwurst Day and attendees ate about 7,000 pounds of brats.

Soon another Midwest city starting beating their brat drum. Bucyrus, Ohio, held its first Bratwurst Festival in 1967, backed by six brat makers from that region. It began calling itself both the "Bratwurst Capital of the Nation" and the "Bratwurst Capital of Ohio."

Ultimate the two cities "apparently agreed to disagree and accepted the Ohio town as the '"'Bratwurst Capital of America' and Sheboygan as the 'Bratwurst Capital of the World,'" wrote Dan Higgins in the 2021 piece.

How Boulder Junction became the official 'Musky Capital of the World'

Why does Boulder Junction call itself the Musky Capital of the World, when the world-record largest musky was caught outside of Hayward?

It's a good question, and Boulder Junction has the answer. According to a story posted on the Travel Boulder Junction website, the term phrase "Musky Capital of the World" has been used for about 60 years. The piece says that the phrase was first used by a sports writer based in Chicago who regularly fished in the area. In 1950, Boulder Junctionites applied to the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to register the title and received a registered trademark certificated signed by Secretary of State, Fred R. Zimmerman. Boulder Junction has reapplied and received the certificate every 20 years through 2010.

However, the endorsement of the state of Wisconsin did not put the case to rest. In 1967, Boulder Junction applied to the United States Department of Commerce for federal registration of the trademark. Not so fast, said a group of Hayward-area business leaders, who appealed to the federal government to block the application. They claimed that because the world's largest musky was caught in Hayward area waters and was on display in their town, they should be the official Musky Capital of the World.

This argument continued for years. Boulder Junction kept trying to get a federal certificate of trademark registration, Hayward kept blocking the procedure. Finally, according to the Boulder Junction account, "On December 14, 1969, Hayward was given five days to show just cause why their claim should not be dismissed." Hayward musky-title activists "apparently took no further action." On Jan. 22, 1971, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office ruled on the side of Boulder Junction and paved the way for a trademark certification.

"At no time did Boulder Junction claim to have been responsible for the largest musky ever caught," the story said. The musky capital tag "has always been premised on the total number of muskies caught, not the size of one freak fish."

Park Falls is the 'Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World'

The northwoods town of Park Falls uses iconic signs to let people know that it is the place on the planet for ruffed grouse, a popular game bird. The ruffed grouse is known for it's distinctive neck plumage and for making a drumming or thumping sound. That distinctive noise is made by male grouse year round, but particularly in the spring when they are trying to attract nearby females.

Park Falls boosters say it's the capital place to hear that sound because the area around it has the most land in the state publicly managed for the birds, according to the Price County Review. That helps bolster the grouse population, and also attracts hunters from across the world, according to the newspaper.

It's official: the 'Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin' is Ellsworth

In 1983, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Earl proclaimed Ellsworth, a town of about 3,300 in Pierce County, as the 'Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin," which automatically makes it the cheese curd capital of the world, doesn't it?

The town is home to the Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, a dairy co-op with 400 area dairy farms that was established in 1910. An annual Cheese Curd Festival is held in the town at the end of June each year, and the co-op produces about 6,000 pounds of curds for the extravaganza. It will be held June 27-28 in 2025 if you want to plan ahead.

Glendale boldly proclaims it is 'The Root Beer Capital of the Universe'

Glendale doesn't fool around with being the root beer capital of the state, the USA or even the world. It proudly takes on the self-proclaimed 'Root Beer Capital of the Universe.' In a way, the statement is backed by a CBS news report and the New York Times, both of which said the best root beer is made in Glendale by the Sprecher Brewing Co. Sprecher got its start in the mid-1980s as a beer company, but it has since grown in size and reputation based on its craft soda brewing. The brewer caramelizes its root beer and other sodas by using fire-heated kettles, and uses local ingredients such as raw honey.

Why is Mount Horeb the 'Troll Capital of the World?'

There are two main explanations as to why Mount Horeb makes the bold claim of being the place on the planet for trolls. One is mystical and magical, according to Trollway.com, a website linked to the Mount Horeb Chamber of Commerce.

The site claims, tongue in cheek, that trolls sprang from the earth when the nearby Cave of the Mounds opened up. "They liked Mount Horeb so well they settled here."

The less fun, but more plausible explanation, is that when a Scandinavian gift shop called Open House Imports opened in the mid-1970s. The owners placed trolls imported from Norway on the shop's lawn to attract shopper attention. In the 1980s, village officials asked a woodcarver named Michael Feeney to create a bunch of trolls and they were a hit. The main drag through town became known as the "trollway" and town boosters coined the slogan "Take the Trollway through Mount Horeb" as a way to get people to stop in the city's downtown.

Wisconsin has three UFO capitals

Three towns contend they are the UFO capital of Wisconsin: Dundee, Elmwood and Belleville. Each lays out a compelling case, as explained in a 2021 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story, 3 towns claim to be the UFO Capital of Wisconsin.

Dundee plants its UFO capital flag at Benson's Hide-A-Way, a bar that feature alien posters, inflatable green beings, and, what owner Bill Benson says is an alien in a jar. He claims that someone found it in a cave near Roswell, New Mexico, and gave it to him.

Elmwood stakes its claim based on several UFO sightings, starting in 1975. Elmwood Police Officer George Wheeler first reported seeing a large, fiery red ball streak across the sky. He reported another encounter in 1976, when he went to investigate what he thought was fire, but instead found an object that he described as flaming orange, 250 feet across and two stories high, hovering above the ground. Others reported similar sighting in the area as well.

Police officers also reported seeing UFOs in Belleville in 1987. Investigators from the J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies, a privately funded UFO research group founded by an astronomy professor from Northwestern University, concluded the incidents were "legitimate sightings."

Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or [email protected]. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wisconsin capitals of muskies, trolls, brats and cheese curds