History of Wauzeka

Wauzeka's history began at about the time of Joliet and Marquette's discovery of the Mississippi River although the French Voyageurs knew of and traveled that river, as did the Scandinavians.

Wauzeka was named after an Indian individualist by the name of Wauzega who broke away from tribal habits and with his squaw settled at the mouth of the Kickapoo River to hunt, trap, and fish. Even today, it takes more than a generation to establish a name, so he must have been here 40 or 50 years previous to 1840 because the name of Wauzeka was here when the settlers came.

Between 1850 and the Civil War, copper and lead mines were found west of the Kickapoo. An onyx mine was found on the Frank Pivett farm, which was mined by an eager beaver with dynamite. Some of the ore was quite rich but soon cleaned out.

In 1857, a plat of the village of Wauzeka was laid out listing four streets north and south with 80-foot streets, 300-foot square blocks. The only difference in the original plat and that from 1969 is the absence of the fourth street and the spelling of the name. It was listed in the original plat as "Wauzeekaw" in 1857 and signed by Ralph Smith, J.S. Markham, S.J. Foster, and H.L. Dousman.

When Fort McKay was captured by the British troops, their headquarters after crossing the Wisconsin River was at Wauzeka, consequently, the government of the united States occupied and took over most of the platted Wauzeka as a remount station for Fort Crawford as most of the deeds will bear witness. Later two stage lines animated the town, one going through to Prairie du Chien and the other going north to LaFarge on the west bank of the Kickapoo River all starting from Stuckeyville two miles west of Wauzeka.

Ralph Smith, who first operated two saw mills at Plum Creek, then came to Wauzeka and was the local founder of the steamboat works at Wauzeka. The steamboat works at Wauzeka was later affiliated with the Diamond Joe steamboat line, which provided steamboats from the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. This was Wauzeka's contact with big business.

In 1893 or 1894 the Kickapoo Railroad, after a long study, a lot of work, promises, options, etc., became a reality. Because wood was very cheap, maple wood rails that the option called for were promised and laid as far as Gays Mills. Later iron or steel rails replaced these and the line was continued to LaFarge. A passenger train left LaFarge daily except Sunday on its trip to Wauzeka. A freight train left daily to LaFarge and back again. Both the engines were wood burners and on Sunday, there were wood trains traveling the rails to load wood for the engines. The yards provided employment for many. Due to highway travel, about 1930, the passenger train out of LaFarge was discontinued and the freight train did duty for both. This continued until 1938 when the Milwaukee Road, which had taken over from the original owners, discontinued the whole line under the guise of insufficient use, even when most of the towns up the Kickapoo were solely dependent on the rails. The right of way was discontinued, bridges torn up, land turned over to adjoining taxpayers, and that ended the Kickapoo Railroad. At one time 30 railroad families lived in Wauzeka. There was a coal chute, roundhouse, turntable, and yards in Wauzeka. Besides being of the same garage as the mainline, it was possible to go to Marquette for repairs of equipment.

From 1856 until 1938 when the Kickapoo was discontinued and then about 1956 when the depot was eliminated, Wauzeka was a railroad town. Before that, from 1830 until 1890 Wauzeka had been a river town. For 60 years a river town, 100 years a railroad town, and in 1960 businesses were consolidating, schools were consolidating, businessmen were getting old, and the government from the 2nd World War on was making city living so attractive that most of our young people and many of our farmers were leaving the area to live in the cities. Wauzeka did manage to maintain a population of 500 or so but in so doing, the average of its citizens was close to retirement age. The citizens voted consistently to keep our school up. They built an agriculture building in 1936, a gymnasium in 1947, a new high school in 1957, a new grade school in 1965, and a shower and locker room in 1967.

By far the greatest advancement made in 80 years was the school. Originally it comprised just the village, but at the insistence of the State Department of Education whose edict "get big or die", the Rider District was added, Wauzeka and Dutch Ridge, Onstine School, Gardner School, Porter School, Boydtown School, Steuben School, Lower Citron, Marfilius and a part of Bridgeport. At the same time Boscobel schools were given a greater valuation in Crawford County than was Wauzeka and some spirited battles were enjoyed with Boscobel, Gays Mills, and Prairie du Chien.