Rusk County, Wisconsin

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

County Seat: Ladysmith
Year Organized: 1901
Square Miles: 913

Court House:

311 East Miner Avenue
County Courthouse
Ladysmith, WI 54848-1829

Etymology - Origin of County Name

originally named Gates in honor of John L. Gates, then a prominent Milwaukee lumberman and capitalist. It was changed (1905) to Rusk in honor of Governor Jeremiah M. Rusk (1830-93). Rusk was born in Ohio, and removed to Wisconsin in 1853, settling at Viroqua. A member of the legislature of 1861, he served in the federal army throughout the War of Secession. From 1865-67, Rusk was bank-comptroller; 1871-77, member of Congress; and 1882-89, governor of the State. Under President Benjamin Harrison, he was the first secretary of agriculture, an office wherein he was highly efficient. He died at his Viroqua home, soon after his last term of public service.

[Source: Kellogg, Louise Phelps. "Derivation of County Names" in Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for 1909, pages 219-231.]

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Rusk County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 15,347. Its county seat is Ladysmith. Founded in 1901, Rusk County was originally named "Gates" County. It was formed out of the northern portion of Chippewa County.

Logging was the industry that opened up the territory in 1884 and the Chippewa River. Weigor and Thornapple Rivers were a solid mass of logs being floated down river. Also, in 1884, the Soo Line was completed from the west to Bruce and many homes and business places were constructed.

Small towns developed in a line east of Bruce as the Railroad developed and soon Ladysmith boomed.

Rusk County was originally named Gates County in 1901, when it was formed out of the northern part of Chippewa County.

Ladysmith was made the county seat by the Legislature in honor of Jeremiah M. Rusk, a Civil War hero, Wisconsin Congressman, 3-term Governor of the State and the first United States Secretary of Agriculture under President Benjamin Harrison.

Farming developed slowly starting in the Bruce area where lumber-jacks acquired 40 or 80 acres, bought a cow or two, and raised food for their own use and fodder for their stock.
Rusk County consists of 936 square miles, with 24 townships, 8 villages, and 1 city.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 931 square miles (2,411 km²), of which, 913 square miles (2,365 km²) of it is land and 18 square miles (46 km²) of it (1.91%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Sawyer County - north
Price County - east
Taylor County - southeast
Chippewa County - south
Barron County - west
Washburn County - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Atlanta	town
- Bruce	village	Incorporated Area
- Cedar Rapids	town
- Conrath	village	Incorporated Area
- Flambeau	town
- Glen Flora	village	Incorporated Area
- Grant	town
- Grow	town
- Hawkins	village	Incorporated Area
- Hubbard	town
- Ingram	village	Incorporated Area
- Ladysmith (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Lawrence	town
- Murry	town
- Richland	town
- Sheldon	village	Incorporated Area
- South Fork	town
- Strickland	town
- Stubbs	town
- Thornapple	town
- Tony	village	Incorporated Area
- True	town
- Weyerhaeuser	village	Incorporated Area
- Wilkinson	town

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our 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."

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