While living near Madison, Wis., a few years ago, I was biking through the hills south of the city when I came to the tiny town of Paoli. At the time, I actually lived on Paoli Street, and I knew, vaguely, that there was a town called Paoli at the other end of it. But I'd never stopped there because Paoli is so small that you'd miss it if you weren't looking for it.
Apparently, many people were looking for it, because as I rolled through the town, I saw strange things for the heart of farm country: Art galleries. Out-of-state license plates. Tourists.
Wisconsin is known for many things (most of which are edible and delicious), but art is not one of them. Georgia O'Keeffe and Frank Lloyd Wright may have come from the state, but you just don't expect to stumble upon an oasis of fine art out in the middle of nowhere.
Paoli, it turned out, was a bohemian island of art and culture surrounded by an undulating ocean of corn.
A mill town
Paoli sits on the Sugar River at the north end of what's known as the "Swiss Valley" (the heart of yodeling country is a few miles south, in New Glarus). It started as a mill town, and a huge 1860s building still dominates the town today. It's a giant limestone structure built to cut lumber, then later was used as a gristmill.
Nowadays all it grinds out are images for postcards.
The mill is still the center of town. Shops and galleries are clustered around it, and even the old whey house has been converted into the Paoli Cheese Shop, which is packed with artisan specialties, including Butterkase, Gruyere Surchoix and Wild Morel & Leek Jack.
