Crandon, WI

Crandon is Forest County’s seat and its only incorporated community, set on the north shore of Metonga Lake in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. The city was tied to the creation of the county in 1887 and took its name from Major Frank P. Crandon, the railroad official who helped make the new county possible. A Soo Line connection reached the region early, while a spur into town followed around the turn of the century.

The lumber era then did the heavy lifting. Page and Landeck bought nearby hardwood timberlands in 1891, and by 1902 a large sawmill stood near Clear Lake on the city’s north side. Metonga is the lake beside town, with Lake Lucerne and other water close by, so the map mixes courthouse work, old timber roads, and lake country. Crandon still functions as the county’s government center, but its local feel comes from the combination: one small city, several lakes, and a history built around getting timber and people into a place that had to wait for its railroad spur.