Apartments for Rent in Janesville, WI (162 Rentals)

The first settlers of Janesville arrived in 1835 and set out to look for land in the River Rock Valley because they heard the land there was fertile. That’s when they found remains from the Black Hawk War and discovered the land was perfect for their needs, so the development of Janesville began. Janesville was founded in 1836, incorporated as a city in 1853, and shortly thereafter more settlers followed. Land claims and paper towns were then platted on the land near Inman’s cabin. In 1836 the county seat was formed on a small piece of land near the east bank of the Rock River. Today that location is marked by the intersection of Main and Milwaukee Streets. In the decades that followed, the town grew by adding industries such as flour mills, wool and cotton production, tobacco warehousing, stone quarrying, shoe, cigar, and brick manufacturing, and later automobile manufacturing, all of which contributed to the growth of the town and the economy.