In 1847, Fridolin Streiff was given the task of purchasing 17 lots of 40 acre plots about 5 miles south of New Glarus for a group of emigrants who would be arriving from Bilten, Canton Glarus.  About 12 families arrived in the summer of 1847 and the land which Streiff purchased was known as New Bilten. This land was located about halfway between New Glarus and Monticello, roughly along Hefty Road.  Because of villages forming in New Glarus and Monticello, there was no reason for yet another village to form, and New Bilten remained a farming area and felt into oblivion.

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Source: Bob Elmer, Family History Notes / Thomas Schätti (gukum Schwanden)

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Documents about New Bilten

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Link to The Planting of New Bilten by Duane H. Freitag and Robert A. Elmer (2007)