07/28/2026
Photo Taken March 6th 2026:
Long before Wausau became known as the “Possum Capital of the World,” it was a small rural community surrounded by farmland and pine forests.
The town’s story began in the late 1800s when John B. Glen opened a general store and later became the local postmaster. Having spent part of his youth in Wausau, Wisconsin, Glen helped give the growing Florida settlement the name we still know today.
By the early 1900s, Wausau was growing. The community had stores, a school, a post office, a sawmill and a cotton gin. Farming and timber kept local families working, and neighbors depended on one another to build a life in rural Washington County.
One of the biggest moments in Wausau’s history came on July 4, 1907, when the railroad reached town. Thousands gathered to welcome the first train with music, speeches, baseball, fireworks and celebration. For a time, the railroad connected Wausau to the surrounding area and helped the community continue to grow.
Like many small towns, Wausau faced hard years during the Great Depression and World War II. But the community never lost its spirit. In the 1950s, residents began working together to improve the town, and Wausau officially incorporated in 1963. Paved streets, streetlights, a town hall, a fire station and a water system soon followed.
Then came the tradition that would make Wausau famous.
In 1970 Dalton Carter founded the Fun Day Festival with gospel singing, games, a parade, a fish fry and a beauty contest. A possum auction was added later, and the event eventually became the well-known **Wausau Possum Festival**.
In 1982, the town erected the Possum Monument to honor the animal that helped provide food and fur for early settlers during difficult times.
Today, Wausau may be small, but its history is full of determination, community pride and traditions that continue to bring people together.
From farms and sawmills to railroads and possum festivals, Wausau’s story is truly one of a kind.
