Filmed on Monday, August 14 2023, I walk around Downtown Wisconsin Dells to see what's going on.
The city takes its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic, glacial-formed gorge that features sandstone formations along the banks of the Wisconsin River.
Along with nearby village Lake Detlon, the combined area is known as "The Dells".
The city of Wisconsin Dells was founded in 1856 by the Wisconsin Hydraulic Company, a dam-building and real estate investment business. The town was originally named Kilbourn City for Byron Kilbourn, the president of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company.
Kilbourn City quickly became a popular travel destination in the Midwest due to the scenery of the Dells of the Wisconsin River and the ready railroad access. In 1856, entrepreneur Leroy Gates began taking tourists on boat tours of the Wisconsin Dells and promoting the town to railroad travelers. These tours were given using wooden rowboats until 1873 when two excursion steamers, the Modocawanda and the Dell Queen launched.
In 1909, the Kilbourn Dam was completed across the Wisconsin River to generate hydroelectricity. It is now owned by Alliant Energy.
Kilbourn City shortened its name to Kilbourn in 1895 and then changed its name to Wisconsin Dells in 1931, identifying itself with the famous natural landscape of the Dells of the Wisconsin River.
In 1952, a new traveling performance from Chicago called "Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show" came to Lake Delton on its second stop. Following the show's huge success in the city, its owner, Tommy Bartlett, chose to keep the performance permanently in Wisconsin Dells. To promote the show, Bartlett gave away bumper stickers advertising his thrill show and the city, effectively spreading word about the area across the nation. That tourist attraction closed permanently in 2020.
Soon more attractions followed to serve the ever-increasing tourists, along with many hotels, shops, and restaurants. Today, a large number of water parks are central to the local economy.
Tourism is the major contributor to the economy of Wisconsin Dells. The Dells area has many indoor and outdoor waterparks, proclaiming itself the "Waterpark Capital of the World".
Other attractions include boat tours, zip-lining, golf courses, mini golf, go-kart tracks, water sports, horseback riding, a water ski show known as the Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show (now closed), museums, amusement parks, Wizard Quest, and a casino. Most attractions are located on the Strip, otherwise known as the Wisconsin Dells Parkway.
Amphibious DUKW vehicles called "ducks" began offering duck tours to tourists in Wisconsin Dells in 1946. The tours visit wilderness trails and enter nearby Lake Delton and the Wisconsin River.
Since the late 1970s, the Dells area (Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton) has become a water park mecca. Noah's Ark Waterpark opened in Lake Delton in 1979 and has become the largest and the eighth most visited water park in the U.S.
As of the census of 2020, there were 2,942 people in the city.
The racial makeup of the city was 85.2% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 1.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 5.6% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 12.4% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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