The Lavinia Goodell Walking Tour

We are proud to debut two brand new, self-guided walking tours of downtown Janesville, Wisconsin which allow fans to follow in the footsteps of Lavinia Goodell, Wisconsin’s first woman lawyer. The walking tours pass by sites that Lavinia saw every day when she “went down street” (West Milwaukee Street) to go to her law office or pick up the mail at the post office; made the trek up the hill to the Rock County Courthouse; visited clients and taught classes at the jail on the bank of the Rock River; or stopped by the Janesville Gazette office to drop off an article she had written. We hope that people visiting southern Wisconsin take the time to look up these sites and see life as Lavinia lived it in the 1870s. Those who cannot take the tour in person can take a virtual tour. We encourage you to scroll through the images below, or click to enlarge them. You may also view the full walking tour as a PDF here. A printed brochure version of the tour is coming soon and will be available at select Rock County locations.