Wood County, Wisconsin

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

County Seat: Wisconsin Rapids
Year Organized: 1856
Square Miles: 793

Court House:

400 Market Street, PO Box 8095
County Courthouse
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494-4868

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Wood County is thus named in honor of Joseph Wood, assemblyman from Grand Rapids when the county was formed. He came to Grand Rapids in 1848, and after serving one term in the legislature (1856), and one as county judge (1857), was mayor of Grand Rapids (1872-75) - Hist. No. Wis., p. 1198.

[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

In the early 19th century the area was settled by early lumber workers harvesting timber along the banks of the Wisconsin River.

Joseph Wood immigrated to the area from Illinois in 1848 to settle in what was then the city of Grand Rapids (now Wisconsin Rapids).

Wood County was officially organized in 1856 after Mr. Wood introduced a state legislation bill to create Wood County from a portion of the existing county of Portage to the east.

Mr. Wood served one term in the state legislature, one year as a county judge, was a multi-term County Board Supervisor, and served as postmaster and mayor of Grand Rapids.

Wood County is located in the geographic center of the state of Wisconsin. This location makes everything in Wisconsin within a driving range of, usually, no more than 4 hours.

Major Wood County municipalities are the City of Marshfield (home to the renowned Marshfield Clinic), as well as the cities of Nekoosa and Pittsville. The county seat is located in the County Courthouse at 400 Market Street Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494.

With a population base of approximately 75,000 people Wood County is a prime location for industry and shipping within the state. Current major industries are in paper production

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 809 square miles (2,096 km²), of which, 793 square miles (2,053 km²) of it is land and 17 square miles (43 km²) of it (2.06%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Marathon County - north
Portage County - east
Adams County - southeast
Juneau County - south
Jackson County - southwest
Clark County - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Arpin	village	Incorporated Area
- Auburndale	village	Incorporated Area
- Biron	village	Incorporated Area
- Cary	town
- City Point	town
- Cranmoor	town
- Dexter	town
- Grand Rapids	town
- Hansen	town
- Hewitt	village	Incorporated Area
- Lincoln	town
- Marshfield	city	Incorporated Area
- McMillan	town
- Milladore	village	Incorporated Area
- Nekoosa	city	Incorporated Area
- Pittsville	city	Incorporated Area
- Port Edwards	village	Incorporated Area
- Remington	town
- Rock	town
- Rome	town
- Rudolph	village	Incorporated Area
- Saratoga	town
- Sherry	town
- Sigel	town
- Vesper	village	Incorporated Area
- Wisconsin Rapids (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Wood	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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