Marshfield is a city in Wood and Marathon counties of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,929 at the 2020 census; of this, 18,119 were in Wood County and 810 were in Marathon County. It is a principal city of the Marshfield–Wisconsin Rapids micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Wood County and had a population of 74,207 in 2020.
It is located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 10, Highway 13 and Highway 97. Marshfield is home to the Marshfield Clinic, a large healthcare system that serves much of Central, Northern, and Western Wisconsin.
History
In 1851 and 1853, when the area was still forested, surveyors working for the U.S. government marked all the section corners in the square which now includes Marshfield, Hewitt, and Cameron, working on foot with compass and chain. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description: This Township is nearly all Dry land, there being no Swamp of consequence in it. There being too much clay & rocks in it. Particularly that part which contains Fir & Hemlock. The surface is rough & uneven(?) and rather to flat for anything but meadow. There is some good Pine it but too much scattering to make it an object. The Township is well watered with small streams but none of them are of sufficient size for Milling purposes. The streams are lined with Alder & many of them producing good hay. There are no improvements in this Township.
Marshfield was settled much later than many surrounding towns. DuBay started his trading post east on the Wisconsin River around 1818. A sawmill was built at Nekoosa in 1832. A sawmill was built at Neillsville around 1847. The first building at Marshfield came in 1872.
In 1872 the Wisconsin Central Railway was building the leg of its line from Stevens Point through the forest to what would become Colby, heading north for Lake Superior. The railway needed a supply depot between those two towns, and Marshfield was about midway. At the railroad's request, Louis Rivers, his wife and child, and his brother Frank came to the area and started cutting an opening in the forest. They built a two-room log hotel at what is now the corner of Depot and Chestnut streets, with bunks in the west room and tables, benches, bar and store in the east room. That crude building between the stumps was the first permanent structure in Marshfield.
Marshfield's name is explained two ways. It might have been named for John J. Marsh, one of the original owners of land in the area.Kleiman, et al., p. 158.Jones' 1923 "History of Wood County" says the name was John Marshfield, but the more recent "Marshfield Story" says Marsh in several places, which seems more trustworthy. Marshfield might also have been named after Marshfield, Massachusetts, since the Wisconsin Central Railway was financed with money from Massachusetts and other stops along the WC's line were named after towns in Massachusetts, including Amherst, Medford and Chelsea.
The first industry was a stave and spoke factory located near the railroad. In 1878 William H. Upham, a "Yankee" migrant of English descent from Massachusetts and later governor of Wisconsin,"Wisconsin Governor William H. Upham". NGA.org. built a sawmill near the railway, with a millpond. By 1885 he had added a general store, a planing mill, a furniture factory and a flour and feed mill. Other businesses started, too: an alcohol factory, hotels, saloons, stores, newspapers, blacksmith, and a milliner. There were also churches and schools. The city was incorporated in 1883. By 1885 the population exceeded 2,000, ranging from the Uphams in their fine Italianate homes to laborers living in shacks along the railroad.
In 1887, a fire started and got out of control. On June 27, after a dry three weeks, a fire broke out among the drying piles in the Upham mill's lumberyard, ignited by a spark from a train. The fire spread, consuming the sawmill and flour mill, and headed south into homes and the business district. Men tried to stop the inferno, even dynamiting stores to create a fire break, but the updraft lifted embers and dropped them onto more buildings. When it was over, 250 buildings were destroyed, but there were no deaths. The next day, Upham announced he would rebuild his businesses. Neighbors in Stevens Point, Spencer and Wisconsin Rapids sent trainloads of supplies. The city ruled that buildings on Central should henceforth be built from brick, even though Marshfield had been largely built on wealth generated by lumber.
The late 1800s saw a burst of railroad building. In 1872 the Wisconsin Central built the first line through town. In 1887 Upham Manufacturing started a line south from town to haul logs from Cameron and Richfield. In 1890 a line to Neillsville was built. In 1891 a line was built from Centralia (now Wisconsin Rapids), another was built to Greenwood, and a third from Wausau to Marshfield came from the north. In 1901 a second line was built from Wisconsin Rapids to Marshfield. In 1903 38 passenger trains stopped daily in Marshfield.Kleiman, pp. 106–110. So many tracks intersected in the community that Marshfield was nicknamed "Hub City".
The hub was also agricultural. Dairying began to organize as cheese factories started up, such as the one at Nasonville in 1885. Roddis and then Blum Brothers made wooden cheese boxes in Marshfield. By 1921 the Blum plant was making 3,500 boxes a day.Kleiman, p. 25. In 1907 the first cold storage plant was built in town, to store local cheese before shipping it by rail to larger markets.Kleiman, p. 12. Ice cream factories followed,Kleiman, p. 18. and processing of eggs, chickens, and liquid milk. In 1923 a spokesman for the Soo Line Railroad said that Marshfield shipped more dairy products than any other city in the United States.
St. Joseph's Hospital began with six beds in 1890. Operated by the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, it offered early health insurance. Lumbermen could pay a flat rate, and in exchange St. Joseph's would care for them in case of injury. In 1916, six local doctors formed a group practice clinic in the second story of the Thiel building downtown, calling themselves Marshfield Clinic.Kleiman, pp. 13-14.
German immigrants made up two-thirds of Marshfield's population in the 1890s. One of the two early newspapers, Die Demokrat, was published in German.Kleiman, p. 8. Many had family back in Germany as World War I approached, and had mixed sympathies.Kleiman, pp. 14-15. In one of Marshfield's old Victorian houses, a once-hidden paper-hanger's signature boasts, "...1917, when the Germans licked the World."Kleiman, p. 500. Feelings were again mixed during World War II.Kleiman, pp. 60-61. In the summer of 1945, 243 German POWs were brought in to fill a labor shortage at the canning factory north of the current Wildwood Park.Kleiman, p. 69.
Woodworking and building continued long after the pines were cut. Around 1902 Hafer & Kalsched's Marshfield Mfg. Co. was producing several million basswood beehive sections per year, shipping them to 49 of 50 U.S. states. During World War II, Roddis Lumber and Veneer produced plywood and other composites that were used to build the Allies' Liberty ships, the British De Havilland Mosquito bomber, and Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose. Felker Brothers also produced components for the Liberty ships. The Frey brothers started building Rollohomes in 1947 and were followed by other manufacturers of mobile and modular homes.Kleiman, pp. 70-71. With the consolidation of dairy farms and the late-2000s recession, some of these industries have contracted, and the medical complex has expanded. As of 2025, Marshfield's other largest employers are Custom Fabricating and Repair, Forte Opening Solutions, and Roehl Transport.
Geography Marshfield is located at (44.6688524, -90.1717987)., sitting on a low ridge called the Marshfield moraine by geologists.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Most of the city (all south of McMillan Street) lies in Wood County; some smaller sections north of McMillan lie in Marathon County.
Climate The Köppen climate classification subtype for the climate of Marshfield is "Dfb". (Warm Summer Continental Climate).Climate Summary
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Marshfield, Wisconsin – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 % 2000 % 2010 White alone (NH) 18,158 17,87016,945 96.59% 93.47%89.52% Black or African American alone (NH) 74 128204 0.39% 0.67%1.08% Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 43 3847 0.23% 0.20%0.25% Asian alone (NH) 260 436485 1.38% 2.28%2.56% Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 111 0.00% 0.01%0.06% Other race alone (NH) 10 653 0.05% 0.03%0.28% Mixed race or multiracial (NH) 109 187545 0.58% 0.98%2.88% Hispanic or Latino (any race) 146 452639 0.78% 2.36%3.38% Total 18,800 19,11818,929 100.00% 100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 18,929 people, 8,818 households, and 4,749 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,508 housing units at an average density of .
The median age was 42.6 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18, 4.9% were under the age of 5, and 22.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.7 males age 18 and over. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
Of households in Marshfield, 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.4% were married-couple households, 20.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 32.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Of housing units, 7.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.5%. 98.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.4% lived in rural areas.
2022 American Community Survey As of the 2022 American Community Survey, there are 8,807 estimated households in Marshfield with an average of 2.09 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $58,474. Approximately 12.2% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Marshfield has an estimated 60.3% employment rate, with 26.8% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.1% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (96.5%), Spanish (1.1%), Indo-European (0.7%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.3%), and Other (0.4%).
The median age in the city was 43.7 years.
2010 census As of the 2010 census, there were 19,118 people, 8,777 households, and 4,995 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,516 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.82% White, 0.69% African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.82% from some other races and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.36% of the population.
There were 8,777 households, of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.1% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.78.