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| Cuba City 712 |
Cuba City, Wisconsin, is a city in Grant and Lafayette counties along state highway 80 about 10 miles south of Platteville. Its population is about 2000.
The settlement was first called Craiglaw after Solomon Craiglaw.
After that, it gets interesting (and possibly fictitious).
According to The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names, there is an October 27, 1941, article in the Wisconsin State Journal that says the following.
Legend has it that when William Stephens, Madison Y. Johnson, and Solomon Craiglaw platted the village some 70 years ago, there was some disagreement among the partners as to what the name of the fledgling should be. At a meeting of the three one day, Johnson asked if the others had thought of a name. Stephens answered, "We'll call it Stephensville."
At this Craiglaw shouted, "You be damned. We won't."
Stephens, evidently not lacking a sense of humor, then said quickly, "That's it, we'll call it Yuba." [You be = Yuba]
It was called Yuba for a short time until it was discovered that the name was already taken. It was changed to Cuba. Later the postmaster, W. H. Goldthorpe, complained that there were already several towns by that name in the county which made mail delivery confusing. (Really?) He asked that it be changed to Cuba City, which for some unknown reason is what the railroad express office has always been called.