Soldiers Grove
America's first solar village.
What You'll Find Here
Solar Meats — locally sourced meat processing and retai
Driftless Area Art Festival — free, third weekend September, Beauford T. Anderson Park
Beauford T. Anderson Park — camping, canoe and kayak launch, riverside recreation
Hiking, paddling, and fishing on and along the Kickapoo River
Forested ridge roads and valley scenery — some of the most dramatic landscape in Crawford County
North Crawford School District
US-61 corridor — accessible from Prairie du Chien and La Crosse
Forested ridge roads and valley scenery — some of the most dramatic landscape in Crawford County
Peace, quiet, and the particular stillness of a river valley that doesn't rush
A creative, arts-forward community with deep roots in sustainability and intentional living
Soldiers Grove did something no American community had done before — it chose to move rather than keep flooding. After decades of Kickapoo River floods, the village relocated its entire downtown to higher ground between 1979 and 1983, and in doing so became the nation's first solar-powered village, requiring every new commercial building to draw at least 50% of its heat from solar energy. The story made national news and became a model replicated across the country.
But the setting is what stays with people. Tucked into the Kickapoo Valley where forested ridges rise steeply from the river and the road winds through a landscape so dense and layered it feels more like central Europe than the American Midwest, Soldiers Grove has a character that's hard to find anywhere else.
Quick Facts
Population
5,500
Crawford County seat and largest city
Live Music & Events Year Round
from ice fishing derbies to blues festivals to Oktoberfest
Five Historic Landmarks
More than any Wisconsin city of comparable size