Wood County is named for Joseph Wood, who was a state legislator.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Marathon County
E – Portage County
S – Adams County and Juneau County
W – Jackson County and Clark County
Created: March 29, 1856
County Seat:
Wisconsin Rapids 1856 – present
County Courthouse – Wisconsin Rapids
Location: 400 Market Street / Baker Street
Built: 1954 – 1955
Style: Modern
Architect: Donn Hougen of Wisconsin Rapids
Contractor: Thomsen-Abbott Construction of Marshfield
Description: The building faces west and is a three story gray colored Indiana limestone and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Wisconsin Rapids. The building is faced with light polished stone. The windows form blocks of glass. The north and south sections extend out from the building and have stone stairs ascending to the lower level of the center section. The building has six carved panels illustrating the history of the county. The roof line is flat. In the interior are long corridors. There are three County Circuit Court courts located along the west side of the third story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial District. An addition was constructed on the east side in 1976 and in 1987 a larger jail was constructed on the east side.
Note: During construction of the courthouse the Electrical Contractor was K&M Electric of Marshfield, Plumbing Contractor was Eron Plumbing & Heating of Wisconsin Rapids, Heating & Ventilating Contractor was Wenzel Brother Co of Appleton, Elevator & Dumb-Waiter was by Otis Elevator Co of Milwaukee and Jail Equipment was by Fries & Son Stell Construction & Engineering Co of Covington, Kentucky.
See: The 9th Judicial District includes Florence County, Forest County, Iron County, Langlade County, Lincoln County, Marathon County, Menominee County, Oneida County, Portage County, Price County, Shawano County, Vilas County.
History: The county was created in 1856 and Wisconsin Rapids was designated as the county seat. The first courthouse was erected in 1856 on 1st Street North. The courthouse burned in 1885. The second courthouse was designed by William Waters and built in 1881 on the corner of Fifth Street North and Baker Street at a cost of $40,009. An addition was designed by William Waters and constructed in 1890. The courthouse was demolished in 1956. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1954 to 1956 at a cost of $1,000,000. The cost of the 1976 addition was $500,000 and the cost of the 1987 addition was $3,500,000.
County Courthouse – Wisconsin Rapids
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007 and 2022
Images 17*