Waushara County courthouse on May 24, 2015
Waushara County was created in 1851 when the state legislature divided Marquette County into several pieces; Green Lake County created at the same time. The name “Waushara” is of Native American origin and is believed to mean “good land.”
The county seat was first located at Sacramento and was relocated to Wautoma in 1854 after a bitter dispute between the two settlements. Wautoma was founded in 1851 and calls itself the “Christmas Tree capital of the world” because of a very large Christmas tree plantation owned by the Kirk Company since 1953.
The Waushara County courthouse is located at 209 South Saint Marie Street in Wautoma. I visited Wautoma on a rainy Sunday afternoon – it was Memorial Day weekend – May 24, 2015. The courthouse was originally built in 1929 I think, and an addition to the main building was built in the 1960s. Next to the courthouse is the Waushara County Historical Museum. In front of the building are two memorials; one for the Waushara county people who served in World War I and the other is for the Waushara county citizens who fought in the Civil War.
I didn’t really get much of a chance to see anything of Wautoma itself due to the heavy rain at the time of my visit. It seems to be a nice community; the courthouse is located a block or two from Main Street. This was my first visit to Wautoma.
As far as I know I have no connection to Waushara County at all, so I have no stories to tell, other than occasionally driving though it on my way to northern Wisconsin from Madison. It seems like a nice place and there are some scenic areas. Perhaps I will have to visit again sometime soon.