1854 Dunn County
Dunn County was created from a portion of Chippewa County on February 19, 1854, and at the time included all of the present Dunn and Pepin Counties (formed in 1858). Its present-day boundaries encompass some 858 square miles. Dunn County Wisconsin has a rich history and many historical sites to explore.
Our People
People have lived almost forever on the land that’s now Dunn County.
Clovis people lived here 11,000 years ago. Later, people of the Archaic Tradition lived here for thousands of years. Later yet, Woodland Indians and Oneota lived here, Ojibwe and Dakota Indians lived here for hundreds of years,
and members of both nations still live here today. Ojibwe and Dakota Indians lived here for hundreds of years, and members of both nations still live here today.
The Lumber Industry
The modern history of Dunn County dates from the beginning of the lumber business at Menomonie in 1822-1823. Europeans began trickling in during the late 1830s, and pouring in during the 1860s and 1870s. These new arrivals cut giant white pine trees in the winter and sawed them into lumber in the summer. They saved money to buy farms, and by 1880 probably half the county’s land had been cleared into farmsteads. By 1878 the Knapp, Stout & Company was considered the largest manufacturer of lumber in the United States and was thought to be the largest lumber corporation in the world.
