History of Atlas Wisconsin

06/13/2026

The 85th Annual Old Settlers Picnic will be held Sunday, June 28, at the Cushing Community Center. A noon potluck dinner will be followed by a short program featuring music and remarks by Reverend Steven Rice of the Frederic Methodist Church.
The picnic tradition began in 1939, as a midsummer reunion of old settlers of the upper St. Croix Valley. Today, it remains the oldest ongoing picnic of its kind in the area. Old and new settlers alike are invited to attend.
Special recognition will be given to the oldest man and woman present, as well as the couple married the longest. The event is free and handicap accessible.
Sponsored by the Sterling, Eureka and Laketown Historical Society, the gathering celebrates the people and stories that have shaped the community through the generations. The Cushing Area Historical Museum, located in the Community Center, will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m with many historical displays from the area.
Everyone is welcome. Free
Photo caption
Families have gathered for the Old Settlers Picnic since 1939. The tradition continues Sunday, June 28, with the 85th annual gathering in Cushing. The photo is from the 1950s when the picnic was held at the junction of Trade River and Cowan Creek in the Sterling Barrens. The man with the brimmed hat is Bill Ramstrom 1890-1975.

05/21/2026

The May SELHS newsletter is out!

05/21/2026

Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society Annual meeting of the members tonight. May 21, 2026, at 5:30 pm upstairs - back entrance to the Cushing Community Center. The museum room 2.
Election of officers and planning for the coming summer season with financial reports, ongoing updates and business that arises.
Please attend and help us plan an exciting year ahead.

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05/18/2026

Today, May 18th, 1:00 pm at the Luck Museum, for the Polk County WI Genealogical Society, Russ Hanson will talk about cemetery records, practices, and family histories from the point of view of a cemetery Sexton.
Free, open to the public.
He will also explain how to get a grave stone for a veteran from the VA free.

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05/14/2026

The project in this Leader clipping includes a gravestone for Civil War Veteran, James Lake buried at Laketown Lutheran Church. He was a Confederate soldier from Alabama who moved to Laketown and appears to have been the first burial in the cemetery in 1880 - in the corner lot in an unmarked grave with his wife -- NW corner along the road. The VA does provide gravestones for Confederate and Union soldiers if their service can be documented.

04/27/2026

The Cushing Museum is open 10-2 Mondays. Stop in and visit and check out the local history exhibits.
The Polk County WI Genealogical Society has its monthly meeting at 1 pm at the Luck Museum. This is the planning meeting to decide what activities we do for the 2026 season.
Some of us gather for lunch at 11:30 at Dickies Diner in Luck (old Main Street Cafe) and have a social time. You are invited if you are interested in family history. The museum in Luck has most of the subscriptions to ancestry, newspapers etc for your free drop-in use.

04/18/2026

The St Croix Falls Historical Society talk by Russ Hanson from SELHS on the on the history of making maple sugar and syrup. The video is at

SCF Historrical Society History of Maple Sugar 1

04/10/2026

The Sterling Eureka and Laketown Historical Society Newsletter for March 2026 is out. It features the Cushing Cooperative Creamery that is being reroofed and fixed up this spring! You can see the newsletter at

04/09/2026

Contrary to the notice in the Leader, there will not be a SELHS board meeting April 16th at 5:30 pm. Instead you might go to St Croix Falls library where Russ Hanson will be giving a talk on the history of making maple syrup at 6:30 pm.
The first board meeting of 2026 will be in the 3rd Thursday of May, the 21st at 6:30 pm at the Cushing Museum.

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03/21/2026

A chance to see if you can identify a photo from the Trade River area. What year, who are the three men and what are they doing?