Barron County, Wisconsin

Barron County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Barron
Year Organized: 1859
Square Miles: 863

Court House:

330 East LaSalle Avenue
County Courthouse
Barron, WI 54812-1501

Etymology - Origin of County Name

1) In honor of Henry D. Barron, of St. Croix Falls, Wis., judge of the eigth judicial circuit. Formerly named Dallas, in honor of George Miflin Dallas, Vice President of the United States (1845-49). 2) "Judge H.D. Barron told me the county was named after a Mr. Barron, a lumberman residing at Chippewa Falls but operating quite heavily in what is now Barron Co. I don't think that he said this to be modest. He would have been more likely to claim the distinction." - Nils P. Haugen

[Source: 1) Chippewa Valley, p.311 2) Wis. Hist. Colls., ix, pp.405-409]

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

British explorers first claimed this area and French explorers set up an early trading post at Rice Lake dealing with the Sioux Indians. It was claimed by the U.S. in 1787 as part of the Northwest Territory and later became part of the Territory of Wisconsin. This area was at that time part of Crawford County and in 1840 was annexed to St. Croix County. In 1859 Dallas County was established and it became Barron County in 1869. Named after a prominent Wisconsin pioneer, it is a surveyed county, that is, its borders are set up by survey rather than by natural boundaries.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 890 square miles (2,305 km²), of which, 863 square miles (2,235 km²) of it is land and 27 square miles (70 km²) of it (3.05%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Washburn County – north
Sawyer County – northeast
Rusk County – east
Chippewa County – southeast
Dunn County – south
St. Croix County – southwest
Polk County – west
Burnett County – northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Almena	village	Incorporated Area
- Barron (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Barronett	town
- Bear Lake	town
- Cameron	village	Incorporated Area
- Canton	town
- Cedar Lake	town
- Chetek	city	Incorporated Area
- Crystal Lake	town
- Cumberland	city	Incorporated Area
- Dallas	village	Incorporated Area
- Dovre	town
- Doyle	town
- Haugen	village	Incorporated Area
- Lakeland	town
- Maple Grove	town
- Maple Plain	town
- Prairie Farm	village	Incorporated Area
- Prairie Lake	town
- Rice Lake	city	Incorporated Area
- Sioux Creek	town
- Stanfold	town
- Sumner	town
- Turtle Lake	village	Incorporated Area
- Vance Creek	town

County Resources:

The Official Barron County Wisconsin Government Web Site

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."