In the winter of 1827, Daniel Whitney of Green Bay obtained a permit from the Winnebago granting him the privilege of making shingles on the Wisconsin River.  He employed 22 Stockbridge Indians and conveyed them to the mouth of the Yellow River.  In 1831 Daniel Whitney obtained a permit from the War Department to erect a saw mill and cut timber on the Wisconsin River.  In 1831-2, assisted by his nephew and A. B. Sampson he built the first mill at the place known as Whitney's Rapids, below Point Basse, and about 10 miles south of Wisconsin Rapids.  Messrs, Grignon & Merrill, having also obtained a permit, built a mill at Grignon's Rapids in 1836.  These two establishments were the first lumbering plants on the Wisconsin River in Wood County.

Wood County was named after Joseph Wood, who came here from Illinois in 1848.  Under Chapter 54 Laws of 1856 present Wood County was detached from Portage County.  The same chapter directed that the town board of supervisors of said Wood County until a county board should be elected and qualified as provided by the revised statutes of the same act.  The first election was held in November 1856.  The first county officers were: County Judge Joseph Wood; Sheriff Benjamin Buck; District Attorney L.P. Powers; Surveyor H.A. Temple; Clerk of Circuit Courts L. Kromer; County Clerk L.P. Powers; Treasurer I.L. Moser; Register of Deeds L. Kromer.  The county board met for the first time October 8,1856.

Towns were established as follows: Rudolf- Oct. 8,1856; Saratoga- Jan. 9,1857; Seneca- June 9,1857; Dexter- March 10,1858; Lincoln- Dec. 25,1861; Sigel- Jan. 10,1863; Remington- July 15, 1868; Wood- Feb. 10, 1874; Port Edwards- Feb. 10, 1874; Auburndale- Dec. 30, 1874; Marshfield- Dec. 3, 1875, Rock- Jan. 23, 1878; Richfield- Nov, 18, 1881; Milladore- Feb. 15, 1882; Sherry- Nov.10, 1885; Hansen- Nov. 10, 1885; Cary- Feb. 13, 1901; Arpin- Feb. 13, 1901; Hiles- Nov. 15, 1901; Cranmoor- Nov. 18, 1903; Centralia- Jan. 9, 1857; Springfield- Aug. 27, 1861; and, McClellan- May 26, 1864.  Centralia is now part of Wisconsin Rapids.  Springfield was vacated February 23, 1865 and attached to McClellan which was reorganized and shortly afterward vacated and the territory distributed to other towns.

January 5, 1858 the board adopted the Wood County Reporter as its official newspaper to publish all proceedings.  This paper was established in November 1857 and was the first and only paper in the county.  The first court house was a hall in the Magnolia House which was located on the corner of ninth and Washington Avenue.  The first court was held there in 1857.  The date of the first warranty deed recorded was October 1856.  The first building actually erected as a court house in Wood County was built in Grand Rapids on a spot near the river.  The population of Wood County in 1860 was 2425.

(Footnote: Reprinted from"Inside Wood County Government" -Volume 4, Issue 4, 1998)

Today there are a total of 11 cities and towns in Wood County.  The population is about 77,000 people.