"The Far Away Place"
From past to present - some history...
Hear It
- Click here to listen to The Wausau Polka, by The Straight Eight (although there were actually nine members), recorded August 22, 1940, style: Bohemian Polka. WARNING: THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT LISTENING TO THIS MUSIC IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH.
- If you listened to the above but still have a craving for additional brain damage, check out these all-time hits by the Horace Mann Junior High School Concert Band:
MAP IT
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U.S. Geological Survey maps
- Find below links to U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maps of the Wausau area which show how the area has changed in the past 120 years.
- Until 2010, these maps were created using a labor intensive process which required each feature to be hand-cut in reverse into copper plates. Items which needed to be printed using a different color - water as blue - were cut on separate plates. Despite the intense effort required, the specification for every one of these free maps produced across the United States was that objects had to be shown with an accuracy of 10 meters, or 33'. These maps are truly both a precision tool and piece of art which was unique to the United States until the creation of aerial imagery based mapping.
- From 2010 forward in time, maps were created using an automated conversion process called Object Based Indentification (computer recognition of shapes in aerial imagery). The resulting product (GeoPDF) has less granularity on opening, but if downloaded allows for layers within the map to be turned on and off.
Picture It
Click on the image below to review pictures of Wausau from across the ages.
This will be an ongoing project. Photos will be added when interesting, quality images are found and time is available to post.
Many of the images in this collection come from the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society or Marathon County Historical Society. They are displayed for noncommercial, educational purposes only under the "fair use" doctrine of U.S. copyright law.
Read It
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How Wausau Got Its Name, Wausau Daily Herald, January 27, 2015
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Origin of "Wausau," Wausau Record, February 17, 1906
Watch It
What is believed to be the oldest surviving motion picture shot in Wisconsin is the The Lumberjack, filmed in Wausau in 1914. It is a silent movie which includes views of many locations in and around the city over a century ago. To get the full sense of this movie directed by Oliver William Lamb, image the in theater piano player adding the musical accompaniment to this film. "Here Comes the Bride," would have been played toward the end of the film for certain.
A Wausau Daily Herald article about the movie can be read by clicking here.
Below, a potpourri of other videos about Wausau and its citizens over time.