Robert M. La Follette, later known as “Fighting Bob,” was born on June 14, 1855, to Josiah and Mary La Follette, early Primrose settlers whose family included six La Follette brothers from Indiana. Josiah and Mary had arrived in 1850 and acquired acreage in section 18, three miles south of this site, and Josiah held town offices including town chairman. After Josiah died eight months after Bob’s birth, Bob showed early talent for oratory at family gatherings and public events, reciting a poem in the newly built schoolhouse near his Primrose home at age 3 ½ and starting school at age 4. In 1862, Mary married widower John Saxton and moved the family to Argyle, but in 1867 she returned to the Primrose farm with her aging husband and children while Bob remained in Argyle to finish school, living with friends and supporting himself by barbering in the local hotel. At age 14, Bob returned to the Primrose farm, where he learned about crops and livestock and often traveled to Madison to sell the farm’s produce. The family moved to Madison in 1872, where Bob entered a prep academy in preparation for the university and enrolled in 1875. At the University of Wisconsin, he found a mentor in president John Bascom, excelled in oratory competitions across the state and Midwest, and as co-owner of the student newspaper, The University Press, sold subscriptions, wrote, and solicited articles from faculty members. After graduating in 1879, he chose politics, entered the UW Law School, completed a seven-month course and an internship at a city law firm, passed the bar, and began his public career. In 1881, at age 26, he was elected Dane County District Attorney, and he later served in Congress, as governor of Wisconsin, and as a U.S. Senator. He ran for President in 1924 on the Progressive ticket, dominated Wisconsin politics until his death in 1925, and was buried in Madison.