Donald, Wisconsin
Unincorporated community
Donald, Wisconsin is located in Wisconsin
Donald, Wisconsin
Donald, Wisconsin
Donald, Wisconsin is located in the United States
Donald, Wisconsin
Donald, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 45°15′09″N 90°53′49″W / 45.25250°N 90.89694°W / 45.25250; -90.89694
Country United States
State Wisconsin
CountyTaylor
Elevation
366 m (1,201 ft)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)715 & 534
GNIS feature ID1564049[1]

Donald is an unincorporated community located in the town of Pershing, Taylor County, Wisconsin, United States,[1] where the Canadian National Railway crosses County Highway M.

Fountain-Campbell Lumber Company in operation, 1909

History

Donald was founded in 1903,[2] where the Fountain-Campbell Lumber Company built a sawmill on the Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and Northeastern Railway (a.k.a. the Omaha).[3] The community was named for Donald Campbell, the son of the president of Fountain-Campbell. Before that, the spot was called Fountain Spur, for the other principal of that company.[2]

A post office was established at Donald in 1904, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1942.[4] Around 1905 the J.S. Owen Company built a line for the Wisconsin Central Railway heading northwest for Superior - now part of the Canadian National Railway.[5] Donald grew to boast a school and a church.[6]

But after the local timber was depleted, the sawmill shut down. The Omaha Railroad stopped running in the late 1930s and track was pulled up.[7] Since then Donald has gradually withered until in 2023 only a few homes and the Canadian National remain.

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Donald, Wisconsin". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ a b Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 173.
  3. ^ Rosholt, Malcolm (1982). Lumbermen on the Chippewa. Rosholt, Wisc.: Rosholt House. p. 250.
  4. ^ "Taylor County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Rusch, Robert P. (September 22, 2013). "The Twelve Railroads of Taylor County, Wisconsin". In Kalmon, Lars (ed.). Our Home - Taylor County Wisconsin - volume 2. Taylor County History Project. p. 15.
  6. ^ "St. Joseph's Catholic Parish". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Rusch, Robert P. (September 22, 2013). "The Twelve Railroads of Taylor County, Wisconsin". In Kalmon, Lars (ed.). Our Home - Taylor County Wisconsin - volume 2. Taylor County History Project. p. 14.


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