Wausau owes its existence to the Wisconsin
River that flows through it. As early as 1841, logs
were being sent down to Big Bull Falls, where
sawmills were harnessing the river’s power to drive
powerful saws. However, by the beginning of the
20th century, things had changed considerably.
Papermills and other industrial concerns had begun
erecting dams, rendering the river impossible to
navigate in anything large than a canoe that could
be carried around portages. Logs could no longer
be sent downriver in large numbers and were now
carried to mills by rail, which was cheaper for the
lumber companies.
Smaller hydroelectric projects had been
introduced to the river at Big Bull Falls since
1883, when the Bee Hive Store building
(318-324 Third Street) became the first electrically
illuminated building in Wausau. The Wausau
Street Railway company built a new powerhouse
at Wausau in 1908, harnessing the east channel of
river, the section that today is the kayaking course.
This powerhouse, and its dedicated generators,
were mainly built to provide power to Wausau’s
electric street cars, but it quickly found eager
customers around the city.
The demand for electricity in the region led to a
major construction project in 1920; to build a full
hydroelectric dam and new powerhouse. The new
dam spanned the west channel of the Wisconsin
River. It was built by a crew of 200 over the course
of the next year, at a cost of more than $1 million.
The completed powerhouse featured two 1,800-
kilowatt GE generating units with space for a third,
which would be added in 1925. The Wausau Street
Railway company rebranded a few times to reflect
this changing focus away from street cars, until it
finally merged with the Wisconsin Public Service
Corporation in 1933.
