Vilas County, Wisconsin

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

County Seat: Eagle River
Year Organized: 1893
Square Miles: 873

Court House:

330 Court Street
County Courthouse
Eagle River, WI 54521-8362

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of William F. Vilas of Madison. A native of Vermont (1840), he removed to Wisconsin in 1851, and was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1858. During the War of Secession he attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel; was postmaster-general of the United States (1885-88) ; secretary of the interior (1888-91) ; and United States senator (1891-97). He died in August, 1908, leaving to his alma mater the bulk of his large fortune.

[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

Vilas County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 21,033. Its county seat is Eagle River. Vilas County was named for William Freeman Vilas

VILAS COUNTY poplulation 21,033 is located in the far northcentral part of the state. Before January 1875 it was part of Marathon County; from 1875 to 1885 part of Lincoln County and from 1885-1893, part of Oneida County.. On April 12, 1893 Vilas County was formed. . The county courthouse is located in the City of Eagle River, 330 Court Street, Eagle River WI 54501.

Present day Vilas County is bordered on the East by Forest County ; on the West by Iron County WI ; on the South by Oneida County ; and on the North by the Upper Peninsula of Michicgan; Gogebic County, MI and Iron County, MI

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,018 square miles (2,636 km²), of which, 874 square miles (2,263 km²) of it is land and 144 square miles (373 km²) of it (14.16%) is water. There are 1,318 lakes in the county.

Neighboring Counties:

Gogebic County, Michigan - north
Iron County, Michigan - northeast
Forest County - southeast
Oneida County - south
Price County - southwest
Iron County - west

Cities and Towns:

- Boulder Junction	town
- Cloverland	town
- Conover	town
- Eagle River (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Lac du Flambeau	town
- Land O'Lakes	town
- Lincoln	town
- Manitowish Waters	town
- Phelps	town
- Plum Lake	town
- Presque Isle	town
- St. Germain	town
- Washington	town
- Winchester	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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