Wabeno (CDP), Wisconsin
History
The unincorporated community of Wabeno was built in an area where timber had been cleared by a tornado in June 1880. Wabeno was platted in 1897. The town's name is derived from "waubeno" a Potawatomi word for "coming of the winds". A brief lumber boom occurred when the Chicago and North Western Railway pushed a line through the tiny town. In 1905, there were five sawmills in operation in Wabeno, producing 35,000,000 board feet (80,000 m) of lumber per year. The last mill closed in 1936.
Attractions
The unincorporated community of Wabeno is located 4 miles (6 km) from Northern Lights Bingo and Casino, run by the Forest County Potawatomi. For much of the year, it is possible to travel from Wabeno to Northern Lights by either snowmobile or ATV.
The Wabeno area is home to the Lumberjack Memorial Snowmobile Trails, a system that includes over 100 miles (160 km) of groomed and maintained snowmobile trails.
Other attractions in Wabeno include: an old-fashioned band shell located in the downtown green, a logging museum, a rare, and still functional, steam-powered Phoenix log hauler, a 20-foot (6.1 m) fiberglass statue of Larry the Logroller, a World War II–era Sherman tank, and a nineteenth-century log cabin still in use as the Wabeno Public Library.
Annual events include: A Memorial Day truck pull, Steam-up Days (a celebration of antique technology) in July; and the Logging Exposition and Harvest Festival on Labor Day weekend. Wabeno is the home of spring and fall dual sport motorcycle events hosted by the Wisconsin Dual Sport Riders.
Wabeno's tap water was selected as the best tasting water in the state in 2003, and this has led to the town bottling the water under the name of "Wabeno Water."
Images
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Larry the Logroller -
Band shell -
American Legion building -
Sign
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wabeno (CDP), Wisconsin
- ^ "Wabeno Profile". Wisconsin Hometown Locator. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 134.
- ^ "Winter Recreation". www.forestcountywi.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2002.
External links
Municipalities and communities of Forest County, Wisconsin, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |