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During his time volunteering with our image digitization program, Ray Wery scanned and preserved hundreds of historic images of Marathon County. This panoramic photo of a 1912 baseball game was one of his favorites.

On June 9th, 1914, over 12,000 people gathered in downtown Wausau for the unveiling of a new sign over the city hall. The new sign stood thirty feet tall, with hundreds of electric lights to illuminate the massive letters that spelled out the new city slogan: WORK FOR WAUSAU.

In April 1920, the Marathon County Agricultural Society made a surprising announcement: the 52nd annual Marathon County Fair was to be canceled.

A recent donation hints at an unusual moment in Marathon County history in the story of William A. Edwards' remedy wagon.

This February marks the 100th anniversary of the election of Wausau chef and restaurateur, Herman A. Marth to the Wisconsin Assembly. His election was a surprise that few saw coming, because Marth won the election on the Socialist Party ticket.

On a frigid morning in January 1892, Wausau’s Opera House—and a large portion of the block—was lost to a fire. Wausau had endured fires that were more costly in both property and human lives lost, but the loss of the Opera House was a polarizing event that would lead to the professionalization of the fire department and tough questions for the management of the city.

Ninety years ago, Wausau was host to a concert by John Philip Sousa. The “March King” was partially though his 35th annual tour, and stopped in Wausau for about 12 hours between November 4th and 5th, 1927.