Spooner, Wisconsin
| Spooner | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Downtown Spooner
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|
 Spooner
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| Coordinates: 45°49′33″N 91°53′28″W / 45.82583°N 91.89111°WCoordinates: 45°49′33″N 91°53′28″W / 45.82583°N 91.89111°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wisconsin |
| County | Washburn |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.52 sq mi (9.12 km2) |
| • Land | 3.29 sq mi (8.52 km2) |
| • Water | 0.23 sq mi (0.60 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,682 |
| • Estimate (2012) | 2,652 |
| • Density | 815.2/sq mi (314.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | 715 & 534 |
| Website | Official website |
Spooner is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,682 at the 2010 census. The city is located mostly within the southwest corner of the Town of Spooner, with a small portion extending into the Town of Beaver Brook on the south, the Town of Bashaw on the southwest, and the Town of Evergreen on the west. The city's nickname is "Crossroads of the North", a reference to the fact that the city is at the junction of two U.S. highways, 53 and 63, and State Highways 70 and 253. The city was named after Senator John Coit Spooner.
Spooner was once the hub of the Omaha Railroad Line. Its economy was once centered on the railroad and the two main lines that joined there. Eventually, the lines were absorbed by the Chicago & North Western Railroad. Passenger service ended in the early 1960s under the CNW ownership. In 1992, the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad was incorporated, to serve as a freight hauler from Spooner to Trego, a nearby town, with a connection to the CNW. Although the freight idea didn't work out, they began operating successful passenger excursion trains in 1997 (following the example of the nearby Duluth & Northern Minnesota Railroad which began passenger excursions in Duluth only a few years before), and were an instant success. The passenger trains were very successful, and after the 1995 takeover of the CNW by the Union Pacific, UP in 1998 announced intentions to abandon the line from Hayward Junction where it connected to the Wisconsin Central 13 miles (21 km) to the north through Spooner all of the way down to Chippewa Falls. The company bought the portion of the line between Spooner and Hayward Jct in 1999, which greatly expanded passenger operations. To this day they run very popular robbery, western style, cowboy, and buffet style as well as more formal dinner trains. More recently, the Great Pumpkin train nearly sold out and now runs annually around the time of Halloween. The old CNW Spooner Railroad Depot now serves as the town's Railroad Memories Museum.
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Wikipedia