State Trunk Highway 27 (often called Highway 27, STH-27 or WIS 27) is a
state highway in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
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 ...
. The highway spans a length of and is generally two-lane local road with the exception of urban multilane arterials within some cities. Earlier routing of the highway had it reaching
Superior along the present
US 53
U.S. Route 53, or U.S. Highway 53 (U.S. 53), is a north–south U.S. highway that runs for 404 miles (650 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to International Falls, Minnesota. It is the primary north–south route in northwestern Wisconsin, ...
and
Fennimore along the present
US 61
U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designat ...
and following
I-94 between
Black River Falls
, settlement_type = City
, nickname =
, motto =
, image_skyline = Black River Falls Wisconsin Downtown2 WIS54.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Looking west at ...
and
Osseo.
Route description
In southern
Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States:
* Crawford County, Arkansas
* Crawford County, Georgia
* Crawford County, Illinois
* Crawford County, Indiana
* Crawford County, Iowa
* Crawford County, Kansas
* Crawford Count ...
, WIS 27 begins at a junction with US 18,
WIS 60
State Trunk Highway 60, often called Highway 60, STH-60 or WIS 60, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west in southern Wisconsin from Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi River at the Iowa state line to the ...
and
WIS 35
State Trunk Highway 35 (STH-35, WIS 35) is a Wisconsin state highway running north–south across western Wisconsin. It is 412.15 miles in length, and is the longest state highway in Wisconsin. Portions of WIS 35 are part of the ...
in Prairie du Chien. The highway turns north after a three-mile (5 km) northeast stretch out of the city and passes through
Eastman and
Mount Sterling.
After entering
Vernon County, WIS 27 converges with
Wisconsin Highway 82
State Trunk Highway 82 (often called Highway 82, STH-82 or WIS 82) is a state highway in Wisconsin, United States. It runs east–west in southwest and south central Wisconsin from the Iowa border near Lansing, IA to Oxford.
This highway is ...
and turns northeast in
Fargo. The two highways continue concurrent for seven miles (11 km) and turn northwest onto
US 14
U.S. Route 14 (abbreviated U.S. 14 or US 14), an east–west route, is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It currently has a length of 1,398 miles (2,250 km), but it had a peak length of 1,429 miles (2,300 km). For ...
and US 61. WIS 82 turns east off the concurrency in downtown
Viroqua
Viroqua is the county seat of Vernon County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,504 at the 2020 census. The city is in the town of Viroqua.
Etymology
The town was originally named “Farwell” after Leonard J. Farwell, second Gov ...
at the junction with
WIS 56 west. WIS 27 turns north off the concurrency with the U.S. Highways in
Westby and crosses into
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe:
* Monroe County, Alabama
*Monroe County, Arkansas
* Monroe County, Florida
* Monroe County, Georgia
*Monroe County, Illinois
*Monroe County, Indian ...
near
Newry
Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011.
Newry ...
.
The highway crosses WIS 33 in
Cashton, Wisconsin
Cashton is a village in Monroe County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,158 at the 2020 census.
History
The settlement began in 1854 when Thompson Hazen established an inn at a nearby bend in the stagecoach road from Prairie du Chie ...
and passes through
Melvina before crossing
I-90 just south of
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
. In downtown Sparta, WIS 27 crosses
WIS 16
State Trunk Highway 16 (often called Highway 16, STH-16 or WIS 16) is a Wisconsin state highway running from Pewaukee across the state to La Crosse. Much of its route in the state parallels the former mainline of the Milwaukee Road and curr ...
. The junction is also the west terminus of
WIS 21 and the point where
WIS 71 west joins WIS 27 heading north. WIS 71 west follows WIS 16 east. WIS 71 turns westward off the highway near
Four Corners. WIS 27 enters
Jackson County seven miles (11 km) north of the WIS 71 West junction.
WIS 27 junctions with
US 12
U.S. Route 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) and I-94, but unlike most U.S. routes that ...
east on the south side of Black River Falls. The two highways run concurrent through the city and junction with
WIS 54
State Trunk Highway 54 (often called Highway 54, STH-54 or WIS 54) is a Wisconsin state highway running east–west across central Wisconsin. It is in length.
Route description Minnesota state line to Plover
WIS 54 begins at the we ...
in the city center and I-94 on the north side. US 12 and WIS 27 cross
WIS 95 in
Merrillan and enter
Clark County four miles (6 km) north of Merrillan.
The two highway pass through
Humbird and turn west onto
US 10
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
and pass back into Jackson County.
After entering
Eau Claire County, US 12 and WIS 27 turn northwest off US 10 in
Fairchild Fairchild may refer to:
Organizations
* Fairchild Aerial Surveys, operated in cooperation with a subsidiary of Fairey Aviation Company
* Fairchild Camera and Instrument
* List of Sherman Fairchild companies, "Fairchild" companies
* Fairchild Fa ...
. WIS 27 turns north off US 12 in
Augusta.
The highway crosses
WIS 29
State Trunk Highway 29 (often called Highway 29, STH-29 or WIS 29) is a Wisconsin State Trunk Highway System, state highway running east–west across central Wisconsin. It is a major east–west corridor connecting the Minneapolis ...
five miles (8 km) north of the
Chippewa County line in
Cadott. and junctions with
WIS 64 in
Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...
. WIS 27 enters
Rusk County five miles (8 km) north of
Holcombe.
The entire stretch of WIS 27 is due north–south and passes through only one city,
Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to:
* Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
* Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada
* Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States
* Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia
* Ladysmith, Virginia, United States
* Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...
, midway through the county. WIS 27 crosses
US 8 in Ladysmith.
Eleven miles after crossing into
Sawyer County
Sawyer County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,074. Its county seat is Hayward. The county partly overlaps with the reservation of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa ...
, WIS 27 turns west onto
WIS 70
State Trunk Highway 70 (often called Highway 70, STH-70 or WIS 70) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs east–west in northern Wisconsin from a shared terminus with WIS 101 at US Highway 2 (US 2) and U ...
in
Ojibwa. The two highways pass through
Radisson and
Couderay along a stair-stepped northwest trek. WIS 27 turns north off the concurrency near
Sand Lake The highway junctions with
US 63
U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northern terminus is at US&nbs ...
and
WIS 77 in
Hayward. WIS 77 west follows WIS 27 north for three miles (5 km) north of Hayward. WIS 27 enters
Bayfield County seven miles (11 km) north of the WIS 77 west junction.
WIS 27 passes through the county for before turning west into
Douglas County WIS 27 turns north again and continues to its north terminus is at a junction with
US 2
U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whi ...
in
Brule
History
When first added as part of the original Wisconsin state trunkline in 1918, WIS 27's northern terminus was at Sparta.
It was extended further to
WIS 12 at
Shamrock in the early 1920s. It was extended to follow the current routing through Hayward (with the exception of the portion through Rusk and Sawyer counties to Radisson) - where it followed present day WIS 77 and US 53 (then WIS 11) to Superior in 1924.
When US 61 was added in the late 1920s, WIS 27 was re-routed to
Fennimore from Viroqua until 1932 - when it was restored to its original routing to Prairie du Chien. The present route in Rusk and Sawyer Counties was opened in the late 1940s and the section north of Hayward was rerouted along the present alignment in 1948. The section of WIS 27 between Black River falls and Augusta was rerouted to follow I-94 between
Hixton and Osseo in 1967, but was relocated back to the section following US 12 in 1972.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline, Wisconsin Highway 27
027
O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scal ...
Transportation in Crawford County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Vernon County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Monroe County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Jackson County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Clark County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Chippewa County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Rusk County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Sawyer County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Bayfield County, Wisconsin
Transportation in Douglas County, Wisconsin