Plain, Wisconsin
village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States
Plain is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Plain is located at 43°16′39″N 90°2′40″W (43.277580, -90.044563).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.83 square miles (2.15 km2), all land.
History
The village of Plain is located on Wisconsin Highway 23 and County Road B in the Township of Franklin. The area of Plain was originally known as Cramer's Corners after four Cramer brothers (John, Jeremiah, Adam and Solomon, Sr.) moved to the Plain area in the early 1850s. They came from Troy Township in Richland County, Ohio and Morrow County, Ohio. Joseph Cramer was originally from Letterkenny Township, Pennsylvania.
The Cramers are listed as land owners in the 1859 Town of Franklin map. This Cramer family should not be confused with the Kraemer [Krämer] family from Irlach, Bavaria, Germany, who settled in Plain, Wisconsin, in 1867.
“Plain, Wisconsin” enters the record as village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Plain, Wisconsin and village can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Plain, Wisconsin” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Plain, Wisconsin and village provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2690737. Authority coordinates are 43.278, -90.044. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1859 and 1867.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Plain, Wisconsin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Plain, Wisconsin primary sources, Plain, Wisconsin archive and Plain research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Plain, Wisconsin”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Plain, Wisconsin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.