Rusk County Career Opportunities

Since the time of the great forests, when Rusk County was just starting to grow, this area has been one of the most beautiful in the state. With the coming of the lumber barons many small communities grew and then died when the logging industry dwindled. Ladysmith and Rusk county survived, and the beauty of the "olden days" is still here.

Take a hike in the Blue Hills: you'll enjoy the Perch Lake Nature Trail, the Ice-Age Trail or the hardwood trails. A forested, glaciated area, waterfalls are hidden in the woods, and deer inhabit the area. Take a boat ride on any of our clean, clear lakes. Get the fishing tackle out: bass, panfish, walleye, musky, northern, or bullheads are waiting to bite. Good trout fishing is to be had in well-stocked streams.

Picnic at Memorial Park or Falge Park in Ladysmith, or enjoy the county and city parks at Bruce, Hawkins, Sheldon, Perch Lake, Audie Lake or Josie Creek. Swimming, boat ramps, barbecue grills, tennis, volleyball, horseshoe, golf and baseball games are available. Whitewater canoeing is a great sport on the Flambeau River, while the Chippewa provides a quieter ride with beautiful scenery - again, the Rusk County fishing is great! Hundreds of miles of snowmobile and cross country ski trails criss-cross the county, and an excellent ski hill offers the highest vertical run in the north.

History:
Logging was the industry that opened up the territory in 1884 and the Chippewa River. Weigor and Thornapple Rivers were a solid mass of logs being floated down river. Also, in 1884, the Soo Line was completed from the west to Bruce and many homes and business places were constructed. Small towns developed in a line east of Bruce as the Railroad developed and soon Ladysmith boomed. Rusk County was originally named Gates County in 1901, when it was formed out of the northern part of Chippewa County.

Ladysmith was made the county seat by the Legislature in honor of Jeremiah M. Rusk, a Civil War hero, Wisconsin Congressman, 3-term Governor of the State and the first United States Secretary of Agriculture under President Benjamin Harrison. Farming developed slowly starting in the Bruce area where lumber-jacks acquired 40 or 80 acres, bought a cow or two, and raised food for their own use and fodder for their stock. Rusk County consists of 936 square miles, with 24 townships, 8 villages, and 1 city.