Alma Center, WI

Alma Center is a village in Jackson County whose story starts with Strangite Mormon refugees arriving in 1856. They picked berries and logged around the settlement, and the name Alma came from the Book of Mormon as well as the village’s central position in the surrounding township. The Green Bay & Western Railroad reached the area in 1873, turning the crossroads into a trade and shipping point. Alma Center incorporated in 1902, with Village Hall and local services centered at Main and Church streets.

Strawberries became the signature crop. By the early twentieth century, the Alma Center Strawberry Exchange was sending crates across the country by rail, and the village still marks that agricultural history with Strawberry Fest, first held in 1945 and organized each June by the Lions Club. The 2020 census counted 487 residents, while the School District of Alma Center-Humbird-Merrillan operates the local public schools. Alma Center is easy to picture as a small rail village shaped by faith, farming, and one fruit crop that remains part of the annual calendar.