Wood County, Wisconsin Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Wood County
U.S. county
Wood County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1856
Named for	Joseph Wood
Seat	Wisconsin Rapids
Largest city	Marshfield
Area
• Total	809 sq mi (2,100 km²)
• Land	793 sq mi (2,050 km²)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km²) 2.0%%
Population (2020)
• Total	74,207
• Estimate (2023)	73,939
• Density	93.6/sq mi (36.1/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	3rd, 7th

Wood County is a place in Wisconsin, a state in the United States. It's a type of local government area called a county. In 2020, about 74,207 people lived there.

The main city and where the county government is located is Wisconsin Rapids. The county is named after Joseph Wood, who was a politician in Wisconsin.

Exploring Wood County's Geography
Understanding Wood County's Population
- Population in 2020
Getting Around Wood County: Transportation
Communities in Wood County
See also

Exploring Wood County's Geography

Wood County covers about 809 square miles (2,095 square kilometers). Most of this is land, with a small part being water. The very center of Wisconsin is actually found in Wood County, about nine miles southeast of Marshfield.

In the northwest corner of the county near Bakerville, facing northwest

Landscapes of Wood County

Wood County has two main types of landscapes. The northern part of the county is in the Northern Highlands. Here, you'll find rich farmland with heavy clay soil. Farmers grow crops like corn, soybeans, and hay, and raise dairy cows.

In the northwest, there's a special ridge of land called the Marshfield moraine. This ridge stretches through Marshfield, Bakerville, and Nasonville.

The southern and central areas, from Babcock to Wisconsin Rapids, are part of the Central Plain. This area is flat and marshy. It's one of the biggest places in the United States for growing cranberries.

The Wisconsin River flows through the southeast part of the county. This river has sand flats, islands, and curved sections called oxbows. The river drops about 120 feet as it goes through the county, which helps power several dams. Other smaller streams and rivers also drain the county, with a few isolated hills like Powers Bluff.

How Glaciers Shaped the Land

The flat, sandy southern part of Wood County was formed by the last ice age. Even though the ice didn't reach Wood County, it came very close. The ice blocked the Wisconsin River, creating a huge, cold lake called Glacial Lake Wisconsin. This lake covered much of the southern county.

When the glacier melted about 13,000 years ago, the lake drained. Rivers then cut new paths through the sand that had settled at the bottom of the lake. Later, during a dry period, wind blew the sand into large dunes. One dune in the town of Saratoga is eight meters thick. Over time, the area became wet again, and peat (decayed plant matter) formed on top of the sand.

Early explorers in 1852 described the area around Cranmoor as a huge marsh, like a "Wisconsin Everglades." They noted deep water and many small islands with lots of cranberries.

Looking southeast across Wood County from the Marshfield moraine at Nasonville, with Powers Bluff in the middle and a plume from a paper mill at Rapids or Nekoosa on the right, almost at the far end of the county.

The northern part of the county was shaped by even older glaciers. These glaciers left behind glacial till, which is the basis for the heavy soil found there. The Marshfield moraine in the northwest is likely from these older glaciers. Its smooth surface shows it has been eroding for a very long time.

Underground Rock Formations

Most of Wood County, except for the northeast, sits on top of a layer of Cambrian sandstone. This sandstone formed long before the last ice age. While much of it has worn away or is buried, you can still see it in gravel pits and some bluffs. The Lindsey bluffs and Birch Bluff are examples of hard sandstone that resisted erosion.

Powers Bluff is different. It's much older, with a hard center of Precambrian quartzite and a peak of chert. A marker there says it's a "worn down peak of an ancient mountain range."

Neighboring Counties

Wood County shares its borders with several other counties:

Marathon County to the north
Portage County to the east
Adams County to the southeast
Juneau County to the south
Jackson County to the southwest
Clark County to the northwest

Wildlife Protection Areas

Mead Wildlife Area is a place where wildlife is protected.

Understanding Wood County's Population

The number of people living in Wood County has changed over time. Here's a look at the population from 1860 to 2020:

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	2,425	—
1870	3,912	61.3%
1880	8,981	129.6%
1890	18,127	101.8%
1900	25,865	42.7%
1910	30,583	18.2%
1920	34,643	13.3%
1930	37,865	9.3%
1940	44,465	17.4%
1950	50,500	13.6%
1960	59,105	17.0%
1970	65,362	10.6%
1980	72,799	11.4%
1990	73,605	1.1%
2000	75,555	2.6%
2010	74,749	−1.1%
2020	74,207	−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

Population in 2020

In 2020, the county had 74,207 people. This means there were about 93.6 people for every square mile. Most people in the county were White (91.4%). There were also smaller groups of Asian, Native American, and Black or African American people. About 3.2% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.