Wausau, Wisconsin

By an 1836 treaty with the United States, the Ojibwe ceded much of their lands in the area to federal ownership.

George Stevens, the namesake of the city of Stevens Point south of Wausau, began harvesting the pine forests for lumber in 1840 and built a sawmill.

By 1846, Walter McIndoe arrived and took the lead in the local business and community.

German immigration into the area following the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states brought more people, and by 1861, the settlement was incorporated as a village.

His efforts helped to establish Marathon County in 1850.

By 1852, Wausau had been established as a town and continued to grow and mature.

The state granted the city a charter in 1872, and elections are held the first Tuesday in April.

When the railroad arrived in 1874, Wausau became more accessible to settlers and industry.

By 1906 the lumber was gone, but the city continued to grow and flourish.

In 1917, Kickbusch II bought a modest four-square-style house at 513 Grant Street.

The Wall Street crash of 1929 had a major effect on the Wausau area.

It first became a ski area in 1937, when Wausau residents cleared six runs by hand, installed the nation's longest ski lift, and built a chalet with stone quarried nearby.

Its logo, first introduced in 1954, was the downtown Milwaukee Road railroad depot set against the backdrop of the community's skyline.

Until 1971, Wausau was served by intercity passenger trains at Wausau station.

It was formed when the county and city libraries merged in 1974.

There were several dozen immigrants in 1978.

By 1980 Wausau had 200 immigrants.

In 1981 there were 160 Hmong students in the Wausau School District and in 1991 1,010.

This increased to 400 in 1982 and 800 in 1984.

In 1983, the Wausau Center shopping mall opened.

In a period ending in 1994 the tax rate of the Wausau School District rose by 10.48% as a result of the expenses of services to children from immigrant families.

By 1996 the number of Hmong students in the school district was over 2,000.

In 1998 this number reached its peak, 2,214.

=== 2000 census === As of the census of 2000, 38,426 people, 15,678 households, and 9,328 families resided in the city.

=== Hmong population === As of 2003, Hmong Americans were Wausau's largest ethnic minority.

=== 2010 census === As of the census of 2010, there were 39,106 people, 16,487 households, and 9,415 families residing in the city.

Everest School District, had its first year in operation in the 2011–2012 school year.

In 2012, Wausau bought the former Holtz-Krause landfill with plans to build a soccer complex.

A new curling facility was finished in 2013, next to the former Holtz-Krause Landfill.

Ragnar relay began hosting a trail event at Nine Mile Recreation Area in 2016.

Downhill flow machine built mountain bike trails were constructed and opened in 2017 at Sylvan Hill County Park.

It responded to 6,490 calls in 2021.

Per the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates, the Hmong population was 3,885, over 80% of the city's Asian population.

The mayor of Wausau is Doug Diny, who was sworn in on April 16, 2024.