Racine Journal Times | July 2, 2020
MUSKEGO — U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., has proposed renaming Muskego’s post office in Waukesha County after local abolitionist Col. Hans Christian Heg, an immigrant who lived in Racine County in the 1840s and 1850s, after a statue honoring Heg was destroyed on June 23 in Madison.
Heg was born across the ocean in the nation of Norway, but in his youth immigrated with his family to the Muskego settlement that encompassed parts of Waukesha and northern Racine counties. As a young man, he bought his father’s farm in what is still known as the Town of Norway in north central Racine County, just south of what today is the City of Muskego.
Wisconsin officials show support
Steil wants to make sure that Heg’s legacy is still honored, even if the statue honoring him in Madison is gone for good. The bill to rename the post office already has three co-sponsors, all Republicans from Wisconsin: Congressmen Tom Tiffany of Wausau, Glenn Grothman of Fond du Lac and Mike Gallagher of De Pere.
It also has support of a couple Racine County Republicans in the state Legislature. State Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Wind Point, tweeted on Saturday: “I support Congressman Steil and the bill he is introducing. You cannot erase history but you can certainly learn from it.”
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