Nekoosa, WI

Nekoosa is a Wood County city on the Wisconsin River whose name comes from Ho-Chunk words for running or swift water. Daniel Whitney built the first sawmill at the rapids, and river travelers and lumber raftsmen once stopped at Wakeley’s tavern; paper manufacturing later became central to the city. The Nekoosa paper mill traces its history to 1893, while Historic Point Basse preserves an older Wisconsin River settlement through buildings maintained by local volunteers. Nekoosa is a Wisconsin paper-mill city with Ho-Chunk history, working river, lumber-era traffic, and a school district that includes Ho-Chunk heritage education.