Wausau

Marathon County

Wausau is a city in and the county seat of Marathon County,

Wisconsin, United States. The Wisconsin River divides the city

into east and west. The city is adjacent to the Town of Wausau.

As of the 2010 census, Wausau had a population of 39,106

This area was occupied for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of indigenous

peoples. The historic Ojibwe (also known in the United States as the Chippewa)

occupied it in the period of European encounter. They had a lucrative fur trade for

decades with French colonists and French Canadians. After the French and Indian

War this trade was dominated by British-American trappers from the eastern

seaboard.

The Wisconsin River first drew European-American settlers to the area during the

mid-19th century as they migrated west into the Great Lakes region following

construction of the Erie Canal in New York State.

By 1852, Wausau had been established as a town and continued to grow and

mature. German immigration into the area following the Revolutions of 1848 in the

German states brought more people, and by 1861, the settlement was

incorporated as a village.

University of Wisconsin

 Marathon County

Historical Society