Birchwood, Wisconsin

Birchwood, Wisconsin
Village
Downtown Birchwood on WIS48
Nickname(s): The Bluegill Capital of Wisconsin
Location of Birchwood, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 45°43′33″N 91°36′32″W / 45.72583°N 91.60889°W / 45.72583; -91.60889Coordinates: 45°43′33″N 91°36′32″W / 45.72583°N 91.60889°W / 45.72583; -91.60889
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Washburn
Village	1903
Government
• President	Virgin a
Area
• Total	1.26 sq mi (3.26 km2)
• Land	1.09 sq mi (2.82 km2)
• Water	0.17 sq mi (0.44 km2)
Elevation	1,329 ft (405 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	442
• Estimate (2012)	435
• Density	405.5/sq mi (156.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	715 & 534
FIPS code	55-07575
GNIS feature ID	1582813
Website	http://www.birchwoodvillagewi.com

Birchwood is a village in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 442 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Birchwood.

Knapp, Stout and Company was a logging company in Northern Wisconsin. Founded in 1846 William Willson brought the company together. The company was originally owned by; William Wilson, Andrew Tainter, John Knapp, and Henry Stout. Knapp, Stout and Co. became the largest lumber company in the world. In 1873 they owned 115,000 acres of pine forests. They put out 55,000,000 ft. of lumber, 20,000,000 shingles, and 20,000,000 lath annually. The company owned six big farms with six, or seven thousand acres of improved land to supply the lumber camps with pork and wheat.

Knapp, Stout, and Co. had a major impact on Northern Wisconsin. The large lumber company brought the SS and Omaha railroads to northern Wisconsin. They also created many logging camps that turned into small towns. Birchwood is located where it is due to the Birch Lake lumber camp, and the crossing of the Soo and the Omaha railroads.

Birchwood WI was platted in 1901. Birchwood was originally named Loomis after Wilbur Loomis, one of the first residents, and the first storekeeper. In 1912 the name was officially changed to Birchwood due to a political argument, and the abundance of birch trees in the area.

The Birchwood dam was first owned by Knapp, Stout and Co. The first dam was built in 1881 from logs. The dam was enlarged by Knapp, Stout, and Co. in 1893 when they found that the first dam was too small. In 1911 the dam was sold to Chippewa Light & Power Co., who built the first concrete dam. The dam was sold again in 1915 to the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Co. In 1916 the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Co. Brought electricity service to Birchwood.

In 1903 the Ahnapee Veneer and Seating Co. came to Birchwood and built a mill where Birchwood’s Best now stands. They ran the mill until 1906 when it burned down. It was immediately rebuilt and remained the Ahnapee Veneer and Seating Co. until 1921. In 1921 the name was changed to the Algoma Panel Co. and again in 1931 to the Algoma Plywood and Veneer Co. In 1931 the mill was sold to the U.S. Plywood Corp. In 1943 the U.S. Plywood Corp ceased operations. Eleven months later a new corporation was formed and named the Birchwood Lumber and Veneer Co. The different companies that owned the mill did their own logging until 1932, when they started hiring agencies to do the logging. Throughout the various companies that have owned and ran the mill, it has always been Birchwood’s principle industry.