Wisconsin Rapids &
Wood Co. History

Digital Resources

100 Years of Pictorial & Descriptive History of Wisconsin Rapids by T.A. Tayor (also known as The Tom Taylor Book) [1934-1939]. Taylor compiled over 400 photographs and then wrote a book providing details about them. He also included a history of the city  and a timeline of events through 1939.

• Google Map - Many of the photographs from the Taylor Book are geo-located on this Google Map mashup.

• Taylor Portraits - Many of the Taylor Book portraits are posted on Flickr.

• Taylor Street Scenes and Buildings - Many of the Taylor photographs depicting street scenes and buildings are also available on Flickr.

Lumber Rafting The rafting of sawn lumber to market was once a common practice, especially on the Wisconsin River. We have gathered a variety of resources about this forgotten chapter in Wisconsin's history.

• Raftsman's View of the Wisconsin River. This booklet is the core of the Lumber Rafting resource and is also available through Flickr.

Malcolm Rosholt Collection. Malcolm Rosholt was a journalist in pre-WWII China, an intelligence officer for the Flying Tigers and the author of works on lumbering, railroads and pioneer times, focused on central Wisconsin. With his family's permission, eleven of his books about Wisconsin history, long out of print, have been digitized.

On-Line Books

Wisconsin Rapids

• Who's who in Wisconsin Rapids.  A series of biographies published in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune 1920-1922.

• Grand Rapids [1907]. A promotional look at the community of Grand (later Wisconsin) Rapids.

• The Twin cities (pre-1920). A pictorial souvenir of Grand Rapids and Centralia.

• Consolidated Water Power Company [1994]. History of the people, places and events that made up the consolidation of the water powers at Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

Wood County / Central Wisconsin

• History of Wood County, Wis.  [1923]. The only major work about the county, with histories of every city, village and township and over 500 pages of biographies.

• Along the Wisconsin River [1907]. Information about the cities of the Wisconsin River Valley, from Rhinelander to Portage, with a focus on businesses. 

• Art work of the Wisconsin River Valley [1901]. Artistic photographs of the upper Wisconsin. 

• Central Wisconsin's railroads : past and future [1981]. Ray Specht's survey of area railroads.

• Cranberry culture on a western plan [1891]. History, tips for growers and recipes from the dawn of Wisconsin's cranberry industry.

• History of Company "A" 127th Infantry, 64th Brigade, 32nd Division [1919]. Chronicling Marshfield's contribution to WWI.

• Milladore centennial, 1870-1970. The illustrated centennial booklet from the Village of Milladore.

• Wood County place names [1970]. Robert Rudolph's compilation of the origins of local place names. This item is covered by copyright and available courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Press.

Other On-Line Books

• As you were : a book of memories as told by the men who lived through them. A compilation of personal narratives from the members of the Badger State Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association.

• Upon the objects to be attained by the establishment of a public library  : report of the Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston, 1852. The seminal document justifying the existence of public libraries and their role in the education of citizens.

• Our county, our story; Portage County, Wisconsin. (not on our website)

• A History of Cranberry Growing (not on our website)

Photographs & Postcards

• Taylor Book Photographs. Volume I of the Tom Taylor Book, with over 400 photographs, which are all described in Volume II.  Also available as :

  • Google Map - Many of the photographs from the Taylor Book are geo-located on this Google Map mashup.

  • Taylor Portraits - Many of the Taylor Book portraits are posted on Flickr.

  • Taylor Street Scenes and Buildings - Many of the Taylor photographs depicting street scenes and buildings are also available on Flickr.

• Postcards (Young Collection) . Over 75 historic postcards. The local ones are geo-located on this Google Map mashup.

• Vesper Photograph Collection. An annotated photo album of Vesper compiled by Marlys Steckler.

• Miscellaneous Photographs. Images and photographs that do not fit in any of the above collections.

Library History

• Centennial story, 1890-1990 : McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.  Alice McCaul Hayward's history of the Library.

• Five Libraries - a photo tour of the Library's previous locations. This Google Map shows the five sites that housed the library.

• Rules and Regulations of the T. B. Scott Free Public Library [pre-1920].. The rules for using the Library in what was definitely a different time.

• 1921 Newspaper Articles. Newspaper articles extolling the value of the Library.

• J.D. Witter Traveling Libraries. Information about the Witter Traveling Libraries, collections of books that were moved to 49 stations in Wood County between 1896 and 1947. 

Related McMillan Pages

• Local Genealogy Resources. A listing of newspapers, indexes and organizations for those pursuing local genealogical research.

• Famous Natives of the Wisconsin Rapids Area. Stars of stage and screen, race car drivers, the greatest wrestler who ever lived and the artist behind Betty Boop and Snow White.  

• Local Authors. A surprising number of area residents have written books, starting with Augustus Carey (1891) and Frances Jane Merrill Edwards (1901). 

McMillan's Digital Projects

• Creating Google Map mashups. A brief look at how McMillan created four different Google Map mashups.

• About McMillan's Digitization Project. Several presentations and forms developed by the Library in the course of its digitization program.

• Local History in E-Books and on the Web : One library's experience as example and model by Don Litzer and Andy Barnett. (from the Spring 2004 Reference and Users Services Quarterly). A peer reviewed article analyzing the value and impact of digitized local historical documents.

• Review of RUSQ Article by Walt Crawford in Cites & Insights

Directories & Plat Books

City Directories

• Bellis' Twin city directory, 1892

• Partial directory of Grand Rapids and Centralia 1898

• Grand Rapids city directory 1905-06

• Grand Rapids directory 1911-12

• Grand Rapids city directory [1913-14] 

• Wisconsin Rapids directory [1921]

• Wright's Wisconsin Rapids city directory 1930

Plat Books & Farm Directories

• Bird's Eye View of the City of Grand Rapids 1874

•  Map of Wood County, Wis. by Gaynor and Purdy [1878-1882]

• From Historical Atlas of Wisconsin, 1878.

• Wood County (map), Centralia / Grand Rapids (map) and History (pdf)

• Portage County (map), Stevens Point (map) and History (pdf)

• Adams (and Juneau) County (map) and History (pdf)

• Lincoln County (map) and History (pdf)

• Phileo's Plat (1896)

• Standard atlas of Wood County, Wisconsin 1909 (not on our website)

• Standard atlas of Wood County, Wisconsin 1928 (not on our website)

• Wood County farm directory 1940

• Official county plat book and rural directory of Wood County, Wisconsin [1956?]

• Annual farm directory of Wood County, 1965

Pamphlets, Articles and Lists

• Carbonic Safety system: refrigeration. A booklet promoting the American Carbonic Machinery Company, which manufactured refrigeration equipment in Wisconsin Rapids between 1907 and 1931.(located off-site)

• Wisconsin Rapids area. A survey of the community prepared by the League of Women Voters in the 1970s. 

• Wisconsin Rapids bridge history [1955]. A history of the bridges that have united our community.  

• Historical Highlights, 1855 - 1967, Riverview Hospital. A booklet covering the medical history of the area.

• James Quick Severns. An autobiographical fragment from an early Pittsville area settler. As published in the Wood County Reporter, in 1891.

• A Short History of Wisconsin Rapids. A short account revised in the 1950s. 

• Official Historical Program - Wood County Centennial, August 5-11, 1956. Includes a detailed cast listing for "Centurama: From Trees to Triumph" and histories of local communities.

• Wood County parks in the making, 1935-1951. A booklet describing how north and south county parks were started and developed.

• Township Election Results 1882

• Prairie Chicken Hunting Licenses 1899

• Wood Co. Soldiers and Sailors 1885

• Wood Co. Soldiers and Sailors 1895

Maps

• Wood County Cemetery Locator. This includes a Google Maps mashup that precisely located each cemetery.

• Taylor Google Map - Many of the photographs from the Taylor Book are

• Postcard Google Map - Over 75 historic postcards. The local ones are geo-located on this Google Map mashup.

• Library Locations - This Google Map shows the five sites that housed the library.

Indexes

• Wisconsin Valley Leader (1902-1906). An index to births, deaths and marriages noted in this newspaper. A more complete index to pre-1907 events is available at the Library, but not on-line.

• 1928 Wood Co. Plat Book Index. A township by township index to an early plat book.

• Index to the Works of David Engel. A combined index to the eight works of local history by Engel.

• Index to Elsie's World War II Scrapbook. Clippings from the Marshfield News-Herald listing service members' activities.

• Wood County Lists (not on our website)

• WIGenWeb Wood County (many small lists), including pre-1907 births. (not on our website)

• To obtain items listed in the above indexes, either send us a SASE with your request or request a scanned version through our email request form.

• Marshfield Public Library Index covers births, deaths and marriages reported in Marshfield newspapers.

• Stevens Point Obituary Index and Portage County Cemetery Locator.

High School Graduates

• John Edwards High School, Port Edwards, Graduates

• Nekoosa High School Graduates

• Pittsville High School Graduates, 1960-2002

• Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School Graduates, 1909-present (housed off-site)

• Wisconsin Rapids Assumption High School Graduates, 1955-2002 (housed off-site)

Use & Permissions

Unless otherwise noted, our on-line collections are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0.  This allows private, educational and non-commercial use with attribution. Contact the Library to obtain permission for other uses.