Richland Center, Wisconsin

Richland Center is a city in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat of Richland County. As of the 2010 census, 5,184 people lived there.

History
Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira Sherwin Hazeltine. Haseltine offered to give land to the county if Richland Center was voted the county seat. In 1852, the Wisconsin Legislature named Richland Center as the seat for Richland County. The Richland County courthouse was built in 1889.

In 1876, a railroad branch opened to connect Richland Center with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at Lone Rock, Wisconsin. This gave an outlet for the town's commerce. On October 8, 1882, the town's railway depot was destroyed when a fire lit two kegs of gunpowder inside it. This caused an explosion that tore the roof from the building. Another depot was built in 1909. Today, it is a visitor center for the community.

Frank Lloyd Wright was born at Richland Center in 1867.

Geography
The city has a total area of 4.36 sqmi. Of this, 4.28 sqmi is land and 0.08 sqmi is water.

Notable people

 * Svetlana Alliluyeva, only daughter of Joseph Stalin
 * Lynda Barry, cartoonist
 * Bradie Ewing, NFL Football player
 * Joshua L. Johns, U.S. Representative
 * Gilbert L. Laws, U.S. Representative
 * Vernon Wallace Thomson, Governor of Wisconsin
 * Frank Lloyd Wright, architect

Other websites

 * City of Richland Center
 * Richland Center Chamber of Commerce
 * University of Wisconsin - Richland
 * Brewer Public Library
 * Richland Electric Cooperative