Rusk County is a county in Wisconsin, United States, on the Flambeau River in the north-central part of the state. It had a population of 14,188 at the 2020 census and covers 931 square miles (2,410 km2), of which 914 square miles (2,370 km2) is land, centred near 45°29′N 91°08′W.
Ladysmith is the county seat, and its postal code is 54848. The county has one city, eight incorporated villages and 25 civil towns, and its time zone is Central. The FIPS county code is 55107.
Towns & Villages in Rusk County
Rusk County has nine incorporated places — the City of Ladysmith and eight villages — plus a scattering of unincorporated communities inside its 25 civil towns. In the table below, Type “Town” marks a Wisconsin civil town (the county’s minor civil division, not a village), “City · seat” marks the county seat, “Village” marks an incorporated village, and “Unincorp.” marks a small crossroads or former rail settlement with no municipal government of its own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladysmith | City · seat | — | 54848 |
| Bruce | Village | — | 54819 |
| Conrath | Village | — | 54731 |
| Glen Flora | Village | — | 54526 |
| Hawkins | Village | — | 54530 |
| Ingram | Village | — | — |
| Sheldon | Village | — | 54766 |
| Tony | Village | — | 54563 |
| Weyerhaeuser | Village | — | 54895 |
| Apollonia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Flambeau Estates | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Imalone | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Island Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Murry | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Port Arthur | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rivers Edge | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Riverside Estates | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sheldon Estates | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Strickland | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Thornapple | Unincorp. | — | — |
Ingram is a village with no dedicated post office ZIP; mail there is served through the 54819 Bruce carrier route. Several names on this list — Flambeau Estates, Riverside Estates and Sheldon Estates — are subdivision-style lake or river developments rather than historic settlements, and Thornapple names both an unincorporated community and the civil town around it.
ZIP Codes
- 54848 — Ladysmith (also serves the surrounding towns of Grant, True and Wilkinson)
- 54819 — Bruce (also serves Ingram)
- 54731 — Conrath
- 54526 — Glen Flora
- 54530 — Hawkins
- 54766 — Sheldon
- 54563 — Tony
- 54895 — Weyerhaeuser
Rusk County has eight standard-delivery ZIP codes; smaller unincorporated places use the nearest post-office town’s code.
Geography
Rusk County sits in the transition zone between Wisconsin’s northern pine forests and the western farm country of the Chippewa Valley. The Flambeau River crosses the county from northeast to southwest on its way to join the Chippewa River, and the Big Falls area on the Flambeau’s south fork is a well-known whitewater and fishing stretch. Roughly a fifth of the county is water and wetland, dotted with small glacial lakes such as Island Lake in the county’s east.
Rusk County borders Washburn County (Washburn County) to the northwest, Sawyer County (Sawyer County) to the north, Price County (Price County) to the east, Taylor County to the southeast, Chippewa County to the south, and Barron County (Barron County) to the west.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 14,188 residents in Rusk County. Ladysmith is by far the largest community; Bruce and Weyerhaeuser are the county’s next-largest incorporated villages. Median household income in the county runs well below the Wisconsin median of $74,631, reflecting a rural, timber- and farm-based economy with an older population than the state average. Population density is roughly 15 people per square mile, among the lowest in western Wisconsin.
Economy & Local Life
Forestry and wood products remain central to Rusk County’s economy, a legacy of the white-pine logging boom that built Ladysmith in the 1880s–1900s. Dairy and beef farming occupy much of the county’s cleared land outside the river valleys. The Flambeau Mine, an open-pit copper, gold and silver operation near Ladysmith, ran from 1991 to 1999 and remains a locally significant chapter of the county’s mining history. Ladysmith’s Rusk County Fair each August is the county’s largest annual gathering.
History
Rusk County was carved out of the northern part of Chippewa County and organized in 1901 as Gates County, named for Milwaukee land investor James L. Gates. In 1905 the legislature renamed it Rusk County in honor of Jeremiah M. Rusk, a former Wisconsin governor and the first U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The county’s economy through the early twentieth century was dominated by lumber camps and sawmills working the Flambeau River pine forests, and Ladysmith grew as a rail and milling town during that boom.
Getting There
US Highway 8 runs east–west through the county, meeting Wisconsin Highways 27, 40 and 73; Canadian National and Watco freight lines cross the county but there is no passenger rail service.
- Eau Claire — 65 miles south
- Rice Lake — 30 miles west
- Chippewa Falls — 55 miles south
- Park Falls — 30 miles northeast
Rusk County Airport (KRCX) in Ladysmith handles general aviation; the nearest commercial service is Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Rusk County, Wisconsin?
It is in north-central Wisconsin, along the Flambeau River between Eau Claire and the far-northern forest counties.
What is the population of Rusk County?
14,188 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Rusk County?
931 square miles (2,410 km2), including 17 square miles of water.
What is the county seat of Rusk County?
Ladysmith is the county seat.
How many towns and villages are in Rusk County?
One city, eight incorporated villages, and 25 civil towns.
What ZIP codes are in Rusk County?
54848 (Ladysmith), 54819 (Bruce), 54731 (Conrath), 54526 (Glen Flora), 54530 (Hawkins), 54766 (Sheldon), 54563 (Tony) and 54895 (Weyerhaeuser).
Why is it called Rusk County?
It was renamed in 1905 for Jeremiah M. Rusk, a former Wisconsin governor and the first U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, replacing the original name Gates County.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Wisconsin.