Cumberland, WI

Cumberland is a Barron County city of 2,274 residents in the 2020 census, nearly surrounded by Beaver Dam Lake and known locally as the Island City. The water shapes the street plan, the bridge connections, and the city's relationship with Highway 63 and Rice Lake to the east. The Hay River begins at Beaver Dam Lake and runs south from town. Boating, fishing, and winter activity all meet the same streets as shops and municipal offices. The old Carnegie library, remodeled and enlarged in 2009, sits near Library Lake and a downtown cluster of taverns, restaurants, retail, and DNR offices.

The Cumberland School District serves students from pre-K through high school, and the chamber keeps the Rutabaga Festival going—a tradition dating to 1932. The city also sits in a wider outdoor network that includes the Ice Age Trail and Cumberland Area Ski Touring Association. Cumberland's everyday map is lake, library, school, and a small commercial center stitched together by bridges.