In 1848, immigrants from Langeland, Denmark, seeking economic opportunity and plentiful farmland, settled in this vicinity. The Danes purchased land here and called their early settlement "Copenhagen," later changed to Denmark. In subsequent years, German, Irish and Czech immigrants joined the Danes, and Denmark grew to be a prosperous farming and trading community. After a railroad line reached Denmark in 1906, the area became an important center for Wisconsin cheese and dairy production.