1832Architecture
In 1832, Daniel Whitney had built a sawmill 10 miles (16 km) downstream, across from modern Nekoosa.
1836History
In 1836, the Menominee ceded this land, along with more land to the east, to the U.S.
1837History
Rapids' first church services were conducted by visiting Catholic priests in 1837.
1838Architecture
The second came soon after when Nelson Strong built a frame house for himself with boards sawed at his mill - the first frame house in Rapids, built in 1838.
1839Architecture
had built a sawmill there around 1839.
1842History
In 1842 a Methodist missionary J.S.
1843History
The first hotel came in 1843 and the first blacksmith shop in 1844.
1845Architecture
A post office named Grand Rapids opened in 1845, with mail carried in once a week.
1846Economy
Cotey later wrote an account of the early sawmill town as it stood in 1846.
1848Architecture
In 1848 another treaty with Indians opened most of northern Wisconsin to loggers and settlers, which allowed access to much more timber outside the three-mile strip along the ri...
1855Economy
By 1855 Centralia had two sawmills, a gristmill, a general store, a tavern, and houses and shacks.
1856Infrastructure
In 1856 Grand Rapids became the county seat of the new Wood County when it was split out of Portage County.
1857Infrastructure
A promotional booklet in 1857 reported Grand Rapids' population at about 1,000.
1864Disaster
A bad flood in 1864 and a fire in the business district in 1865 were other setbacks.
1869Government
In 1869 Grand Rapids incorporated as a city.
1870Infrastructure
In 1870 the nearest railroad was at New Lisbon, with mail carried from there daily by evening stage.
1872Infrastructure
In 1872 the Green Bay and Lake Pepin Railroad reached Rapids itself, heading west.
1873Infrastructure
In 1873 the Wisconsin Valley Railway arrived from Tomah.
1874Government
In 1874 Centralia was incorporated as a city.
1880Disaster
In June 1880 an unusually high flood of the river forced many businesses to evacuate their stock to higher ground, and in some cases tie buildings down with ropes.
1885Economy
Around 1885 some of the mills at Rapids - formerly sawmills and gristmills - began converting to pulp-grinding and paper-making.
1887Architecture
In 1887 the first pulp mill was built, which would develop into Centralia Pulp and Paper.
1888Economy
The last rafts of lumber passed through in 1888, from the sawmill at Biron heading downriver for St.
1889Culture
Scott Library was started in 1889 with a donation from one of the city's pioneers.
1890Military
The Port Edwards, Centralia & Northern was built by local interests in 1890, and the Chicago & Northwestern line to Marshfield in 1901.
1894Government
In 1894 Mack and Spencer added a generator at their dam which offered electricity to the public.
1895Culture
The Wood County Telephone Company was a member-owned cooperative started in 1895.
1900History
=== 20th century to present ===
In 1900 the cities of Grand Rapids and Centralia merged into one city named Grand Rapids.
1902History
By 1902, after many acquisitions, J.D.
1904Architecture
In 1904 a small purpose-built hospital opened, to take over from the previous location over the Otto drug store; it was replaced in 1916 by the first Riverside Hospital - a 30-b...
1909History
Parks along the river began development with Lyon Park in 1909.
1913Government
A municipal pool was built in 1913, pushed by John Arpin in response to regular drownings of swimmers in the river.
1920History
The name of the merged city was changed in 1920 to Wisconsin Rapids, after years of mail and other goods being misdirected to the much better known Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1928Infrastructure
The city added an airport in 1928.
1940Government
Radio stations based in Wisconsin Rapids include:
WFHR 1320 kHz, News/talk Radio – Established November 1940 – Originally broadcasting at 1340 kHz
Country Legends 24/7 105.5Mhz...
1961Government
WSPT 97.9Mhz WSPT-FM – Greatest Hits – Established 1961.
1988Sports
The state boys and girls cross country championships have been held in Wisconsin Rapids since 1988 with the exception of 2020.
2000Culture
Starting in 2000, Consolidated was bought and then sold by outside companies that eventually filed for bankruptcy, leading to closure of the mill in Rapids in 2020.
2003Government
Established as KZZA in 2003, later WRCW.
2007History
In 2007, NewPage acquired the paper production facility.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the 2010 census, there were 18,367 people, 8,296 households, and 4,626 families residing in the city.
2015Economy
In 2015, Verso Corporation acquired the mill.
2016Sports
The Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings are a hockey team that is a member of the United States Premier Hockey League and won the Midwest Elite Championship in the 2016–2017 season.
2017Education
East Junior High was a junior high school for grades 8–9 before it closed after the 2017–2018 school year.
2019Culture
McMillan was a Finalist for the 2019 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
2020History
It is a principal city of the Marshfield–Wisconsin Rapids micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Wood County and had a population of 74,207 in 2020.
2022History
== Demographics ==
As of the 2022 American Community Survey, there are 8,527 estimated households in Wisconsin Rapids with an average of 2.15 persons per household.