Rice Lake is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Barron County in northwest

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States, on the shore of the lake with the same name. The city is a commercial and tourist center for the surrounding rural areas. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 9,040. The city is located mostly within the Town of Rice Lake.

History

American Indians lived around Rice Lake for millennia, some of whom made mounds like those that remain in Indian Mounds Park along the shore of the lake. In later years before white settlers,

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

(Chippewa) people occupied the area, and they had a strong cultural attachment to the wild rice that grew on the lake. In the mid-1860s Knapp, Stout & Co., the growing lumber company downstream at Menomonie, bought tracts of forest around Rice Lake. Around 1868 the company started a logging camp in the area and in 1870 the company dammed the Red Cedar to raise the level of Rice Lake to make a better holding pond for their logs. The higher water disrupted the existing wild rice beds, angering the Ojibwe. As compensation, Knapp-Stout gave them food, but it was settlers' food like pork and flour - not wild rice. Knapp-Stout platted the village in 1870, naming it for the lake, and naming many streets after officers of the company, including Knapp, Stout, Tainter and Wilson. The company built a small water-powered sawmill for sawing local lumber and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

. Permanent settlers began arriving about that time. The first houses were built around 1874. Saloons and hotels followed. Rice Lake's first school opened in a Knapp-Stout building in 1874. Regular mail service began that year, with the mail arriving by stage from Menomonie and Chippewa Falls, initially once a week. The first newspaper, the ''Chronotype'', started the same year. Many employees of the early Knapp-Stout were Norwegian and in 1875 a Norwegian

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

congregation was organized. A local brewery was also started in 1875.

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

families began worshiping intermittently in 1879.

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

began meeting the following year, building a church the same year - the first brick building in the village. Knapp-Stout added a flour mill in 1879. A

Methodist Episcopal The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

congregation also formed in 1880, and a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

congregation in 1882. In 1882 the first railroad reached Rice Lake - the Chippewa Falls and Northern Railroad, and the four-year high school was started. The following year the first bank opened - the Barron County Bank. A barrel factory opened in 1885, employing 40 men, and a hub and spoke factory in 1886, employing 50 in summer and 125 during logging season. In 1887 the Rice Lake Lumber Company opened, owned by Orrin Henry Ingram of

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

. It expanded Knapp-Stout's sawmill, added two

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and Wood drying, seasoned Wood, wooden boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the Thickness planer, planer and matcher, the Moulding plan ...

s, and employed 200. Rice Lake incorporated as a city in 1887. A volunteer fire department was formed in 1889, which was equipped with a hook and ladder wagon, a hand hose cart, and 1,300 feet of hose. The city's population was 2,130 in the 1890 census. A city library opened in 1897. The lumber companies set up electric lights and a water utility in 1892, which were taken over by the city in 1910. In 1907 the Barron County Normal School opened. In 1938 WJMC, the area's first radio station, began broadcasting. In 1940 the forerunner of Indianhead Tech College was established. In 1966 UW-Stout opened a branch campus in Barron County, which has since developed into UW-Eau Claire - Barron County.

Geography

Rice Lake is located at (45.498408, -91.738844). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Rice Lake is along the Red Cedar River.

Climate

Demographics

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $34,637, and the median income for a family was $53,056. Males had a median income of $40,450 versus $30,211 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $22,354. About 6.9% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

Rice Lake Wisconsin Sign WIS48 Looking East

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 8,438 people, 3,936 households, and 2,065 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 4,239 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 3,936 households, of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.5% were non-families. 39.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.79. The median age in the city was 41.2 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 21.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.8% male and 53.2% female.

Infrastructure

U.S. Highway 53,

Wisconsin Highway 48 State Trunk Highway 48 (often called Highway 48, STH-48 or WIS 48) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west in northwest Wisconsin from Grantsburg to Weirgor. Route description The highway begins at its inte ...

, County Road SS (Main Street), and County Road O (South Access Road) are the main routes in the city. The area is served by Rice Lake Regional Airport - Carl's Field (KRPD), which is located south of Rice Lake. Rice Lake formerly had passenger rail service at the Rice Lake station. The town spends $325,000 annually on infrastructure.

Education

Public schools

Rice Lake Area School District operates public schools: * Rice Lake High School * Northern Lakes Regional Academy * Rice Lake Middle School * Haugen Elementary * Hilltop Elementary * Tainter Elementary

Private schools

* Redeemer Lutheran School * St. Joseph School

Post-secondary education

* University of Wisconsin–Barron County * Northwood Technical College (formerly Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College) - Rice Lake Campus

Economy

Rice Lake serves as a shopping, industrial, educational, and medical hub for the surrounding rural communities of Barron, Cameron, Chetek, Shell Lake,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, Spooner, and Ladysmith. The annual city budget is $915,000. The largest source of revenue for the city is property taxes, with $430,000 of income. The largest expenditure of the city is infrastructure, the town budget for which was $325,000 in 2022.

Notable people

* Kenny Bednarek - Olympic medalist in track *

John G. Blystone John G. Blystone (December 2, 1892 – August 6, 1938) was an American film director. He directed 100 films between 1915 and 1938. He was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin and died in Los Angeles, California from a myocardial infarction, heart at ...

- film director * Edward R. Brunner - justice of

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

* Howard W. Cameron - Wisconsin State Senator * William M. Conley - federal judge * William Henry Dietz - college and NFL head coach * Henry Ellenson - professional basketball player for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

- pro wrestler (not from Rice Lake, however he made his pro wrestling debut and had his first ever match in Rice Lake) * Foster Friess - businessman * Eric G. Gibson -

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Hal Kolstad - MLB player * Isaac J. Kvam - Wisconsin State Representative * Dick Lane - announcer, film and television actor * James P. Leary - folklorist * Warren D. Leary - Wisconsin State Representative * Michael A. Lehman - Wisconsin State Representative * Pug Lund - football player * Peter Muschinske -

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

admiral *

Harold Olsen Harold G. Olsen (May 12, 1895 – October 29, 1953) was a college men's basketball coach. The Rice Lake, Wisconsin native was the head coach of the Ohio State University from 1922 to 1946. That year, he became the first head coach of the BAA ...

- head coach of

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, Northwestern and NBA's

Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950. History 1946–47 season In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were originally meant to start out as the ''Chicago Atomics'', to the point ...

, member of

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

* Clay Perry - MLB player * Romaine Quinn - youngest mayor to serve in Rice Lake history * Jason Rae - Secretary of

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

* Kapp Rasmussen - Wisconsin State Representative and lawyer * Fred Thomas - MLB player * John W. Vaudreuil - U.S. Attorney

Sister cities

Rice Lake has two

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

: * Miharu, Japan *

Žamberk Žamberk (; ) is a town in Ústí nad Orlicí District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zon ...

, Czech Republic

Local media

* WAQE (AM) 1090, Talk & Sports * WAQE-FM 97.7, All the Stars, All the Time * WJMC (AM) 1240, Good Friends and Great Information * WJMC-FM 96.1, The Best Country Station, Number One * WKFX FM 99.1, Classic Hits * WWJP-LP FM 101.7, 3ABN Radio, Christian * WYRL-LP FM 105.5, Eclectic Music, Local Government Discussion

References

External links

City of Rice Lake

Rice Lake Chamber of Commerce
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
189318991917
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Barron County, Wisconsin