Downsville is an
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
in the town of
Dunn, in
Dunn County,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, United States, where
Highway 25 crosses the
Red Cedar River. As of the
2010 census, its population was 146.
The community was founded in 1855. Around that time, Ebenezer Thompson tried to dam the
Red Cedar, but his half-built dam was destroyed by a flood. In 1857 Captain Downs tried again and succeeded in building a dam which powered a
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
. The village was platted in 1859, and named for Downs. He sold the mill to
Knapp, Stout & Co., who expanded it and added
planing and shingle mills which employed about 100 men by 1891. By that year the town also had a steam feed mill and a stop on the Menomonie branch of the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul Railway.
Notes
External links
Downsville village website
Census-designated places in Dunn County, Wisconsin
Census-designated places in Wisconsin
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