List_of_city_nicknames_in_Wisconsin
This list of city nicknames in Wisconsin compiles the aliases, sobriquets and slogans that Wisconsin's cities and towns are known by (or have been known by historically), officially and unofficially, to municipal governments, local people, outsiders or their tourism boards or chambers of commerce. City nicknames can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community because of its nickname; promote civic pride; and build community unity.[1] Nicknames and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"[2] are also believed to have economic value.[1] Their economic value is difficult to measure,[1] but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.[2]
Some unofficial nicknames are positive, while others are derisive. The unofficial nicknames listed here have been in use for a long time or have gained wide currency.
A
B
- Babcock – The Cranberry Pie Capital[1]
- Baldwin – The Biggest Little Town in Wisconsin[1]
- Baraboo
- Barron – Turkey Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Bayfield – Best Kept Secret in Wisconsin[1]
- Bear Creek – Home of the World's Largest Sauerkraut Plant[1]
- Beaver Dam – Beaver Dam – Make Yourself at Home[1]
- Belleville – UFO Capital of the World[1]
- Belmont – Home of the First Territorial Capital[1]
- Beloit – Gateway to Wisconsin[1]
- Berlin – Fur and Leather Capital[1]
- Birchwood – Bluegill Capital of Wisconsin[1][4]
- Black Creek
- Black Earth – The Only Black Earth in the World[1]
- Black River Falls – Deer Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Blanchardville – The Village in the Valley[1]
- Bloomer – Rope Jump Capital of the World[1]
- Blue River – Heart of the Lower Wisconsin River[1]
- Bonduel – Spelling Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Boscobel
- Birthplace of the Gideon Bible[1]
- Turkey Hunting Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Boulder Junction – Musky Capital of the World[1]
- Boyceville – Cucumber Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Boyd – The Friendly Town – Why Go By[1]
- Brodhead – The Bicycle Gateway to Wisconsin[1]
- Burlington – Chocolate City, USA[1]
C
- Cambridge – The Umbrella City[1]
- Cassville – Where History, Bald Eagles and the Mississippi Meet[1]
- Cedarburg – Historic Cedarburg[1]
- Chippewa Falls – Naturally the World's Purest Water[1]
- Clam Lake – Heart of the Chequamegon National Forest[1]
- Clintonville – The Good Life Unlimited[1]
- Colby – Home of Colby Cheese[1]
- Columbus – Red Bud City[1]
- Combined Locks
- Cornell – Stacker City[1]
- Cornucopia – Wisconsin's northernmost Post Office[1]
- Cross Plains – Famous For Friendliness[1]
- Cuba City – The City of Presidents[1]
- Cumberland
D
- Darlington – The Pearl of the Pecatonica, U.S.A.[1]
- Delavan – Clown Town, U.S.A[1]
- Dickeyville – Home of the Famous Dickeyville Grotto[1]
- Dodgeville – At the heart of it all[1]
- Dousman – Bullfrog Station[1]
E
- Eagle River
- Eau Claire
- Eden – Hometown of Baseball Star Jim Gantner[1]
- Edgar – Progressive Village Serving People[1]
- Edgerton – Tobacco City[1]
- Elkhorn
- Ellsworth – Cheese Curd Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Elmwood – UFO Capital of the World[1]
- Ephraim – The Pearl of the Peninsula[1]
- Ettrick – Fun City, USA[1]
- Evansville – Soybean Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Exeland – Trout Fishing Capital of Wisconsin[citation needed]
F
- Fennimore – Fennimore..."The City on the Move!"[1]
- Florence County – Heart of Wild Rivers Country[1]
- Fond du Lac – Winners Choice[1]
- Forest Junction – You Can Get There From Here[1]
- Fox Cities – Refreshing Change of Place[1]
- Fox Lake – Home of Bunny Berigan[1]
- Francis Creek – A Nice Place to Live[1]
- Fremont – White Bass Capital of the World[1][10]
G
- Galesville – Garden of Eden[1]
- Gays Mills – The Apple Capital of Wisconsin[11]
- Germantown
- Deutschstadt[1]
- Gateway to Washington County[citation needed]
- Gleason – Brook Trout Fishing Capital of the World[1]
- Glidden – Black Bear Capital of the World[1]
- Grantsburg – Home of Big Gust[1]
- Green Bay
- Green Lake – Wisconsin's Lake Trout Capital[1]
H
J
- Janesville
- Jefferson – The Gemütlichkeit City[1]
- Jim Falls – Biggest Little Town on the River[1]
- Johnson Creek – Crossroads With a Future[1]
- Juda – Buffalo Roast Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Juneau – Birthplace of Addie Joss (Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher)[1]
K
L
- La Crosse – God's Country. Mud City, USA[1][failed verification]
- Lac du Flambeau – Lake of Torches[1]
- Lake Geneva – Enjoyed for Over 100 Years by the Rich & Famous[1]
- Lake Tomahawk – Snowshoe Baseball Capital of the World[1]
- Lancaster – City of the Dome[1]
- Land O' Lakes – Land of Four Seasons Fun[1]
- Langlade County – Wisconsin's Get-Away County[1]
- Lodi – Home of Susie the Duck[1]
- Lone Rock – Coldest Spot in the Nation (With the Warmest Heart)[1]
M
- Madison
- Manitowish Waters – Wisconsin's Northwoods Year-Round Vacationland[1]
- Manitowoc
- Wisconsin's Maritime Capital[1]
- Manty[citation needed]
- Clipper City[22][23]
- Skunk Hollow[citation needed]
- Marinette – Marinette County Waterfalls Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Marshfield
- Mayville – Jayville[1][failed verification]
- Mazomanie – Turn-of-the-Century Railroad Town[1]
- Medford – People, Pride and Progress[1]
- Menasha (city) – Menasha on the Move[1]
- Menasha (town) – Bridging the Fox Cities[1]
- Menomonie – Traditional Yet Progressive[1]
- Mercer – Loon Capital of the World[1][24]
- Merrill – Enjoy the Merrill Advantage[1]
- Middleton – The Good Neighbor City[1]
- Milton – History in Progress[1]
- Milwaukee
- Mineral Point – The City Where Wisconsin Began[1]
- Minocqua – The Island City[1]
- Monona – City of Pride, and It Shows[1]
- Monroe – Swiss Cheese Capital of the U.S.A[1][8]
- Montfort – Home of the Fort[1]
- Mt. Horeb – The Troll Capital[1]
- Muscoda – Morel Mushroom Capital of Wisconsin[1][8]
N
- New Auburn – Gateway to the Ice Age Park[1]
- New Berlin – City Living with a Touch of Country.,[1]
- New Glarus – America's Little Switzerland[1]
- New Holstein – Cow Town, USA[1]
- New London – Heart of Wolf River Country[1]
- New Richmond – The City Beautiful[29]
- Norwalk – The Black Squirrel Capital of the World[1]
O
P
- Palmyra – Heartbeat of the Kettle Moraine[1]
- Pardeeville – Home of the World Watermelon Eating and Seed Spitting Championships[1]
- Park Falls – Ruffed Grouse Capital of the World[1][24]
- Peshtigo – Home of the Great Peshtigo Fire[1]
- Phelps – Headwaters County (Start of Wisconsin River)[1]
- Phillips
- Pittsville – Exact Geographical Center of the State[1]
- Platteville – Home of the Chicago Bears Summer Training Camp[1]
- Plover – Golden Sands Area[1]
- Plum City – A Small Village in a Peaceful Valley[1]
- Plymouth – The Cream of Wisconsin[1]
- Poniatowski – The Center of the Northwestern World[1]
- Port Washington
- Portage
- Historic Portage[1]
- Potosi-Tennyson – Catfish Capital of Wisconsin
- Prairie du Chien – Wisconsin's Second Oldest Settlement (Where Great Rivers Meet)
- Prescott – Where the Mighty Mississippi Meets the Beautiful St. Croix River[1]
- Presque Isle
- Price County – We've Saved a Place for You[1]
- Princeton – Princeton on the Fox – Where Yesterday Meets Tomorrow[1]
- Pulaski – Polka Town[1]
R
- Racine
- Randolph – A Great Place to Grow[1]
- Redgranite – Home of the State Rock[1]
- Reedsburg – Butter Capital of America[1]
- Rhinelander – Home of the Hodag[1][32]
- Richland Center – From Farming to Frank Lloyd Wright[1]
- Ripon – Birthplace of the Republican Party[1]
S
- Sauk City/Prairie du Sac – Cow Chip Throwing Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Saukville – Saukville Will Work for You[1]
- Sayner-Star Lake – The Birthplace of the Snowmobile[1][33]
- Seymour – Home of the Hamburger[1]
- Sheboygan
- Shiocton – Where Nature Begins[1]
- Siren – Lilac Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Soldiers Grove – America's First Solar Village[1][35]
- Somerset – Tubing Capital of the World[1]
- Sparta – Bicycling Capital of America[1]
- Spencer – A Friendly Small Town with a Future[1]
- Spooner – Crossroads of the North[1]
- Spring Valley – Home of the Largest Earthen Dam in the Midwest[1]
- St. Germain
- Stevens Point – See Our Point of View[1]
- Gateway to the Pineries[1]
- Stockbridge – Sturgeon Center of the World[1]
- Stoughton – The City of Progress and Opportunity[1]
- Stratford – Stratford on the Move[1]
- Sun Prairie – The Groundhog Capital of the World[1][36]
- Superior
T
- Taycheedah – Sheepshead Fishing Capital of the World[1]
- Tilden – Halfway Between the North Pole and the Equator[38]
- Tomah
- Tomahawk – Gateway to the Northwoods[1]
- Trego – The Wild River City[1]
- Two Rivers
V
W
- Warrens – The Cranberry Capital of Wisconsin[1]
- Watertown – Home of the First Kindergarten in America[1]
- Waukesha
- Waunakee – The Only Waunakee in the World[1]
- Waupaca – Chain-O-Lakes[1]
- Waupun
- Wausau – Our Peak Season Never Ends[1]
- Wausaukee – Ranger City USA[1]
- Wautoma – Christmas Tree Capital of the World[1]
- Wauwatosa – Tosa[45]
- Webster – The Fishbowl of Wisconsin[1]
- Weyauwega – Home of Horse and Buggy Days[1]
- Winneconne – Winneconne on the Wolf[1]
- Wisconsin Dells – Waterpark Capital of the World (commercial, trademarked)[46]
- Wisconsin Rapids – Paper City[1]
- Wonewoc
- Woodman – The Dinky's Last Stop[1]
- Woodruff – Home of the Million Penny Parade[1]
- Muench, David (December 1993). "Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts" (PDF). University of Wisconsin Extension. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
- Alfredo Andia, Branding the Generic City Archived 2008-05-21 at the Wayback Machine, MU.DOT magazine, September 10, 2007
- Faber, Harold (1993-09-12). "The World Capital of Whatever". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- Village of Black Creek, retrieved April 27, 2013.
- "Cumberland Chamber of Commerce | Cumberland Wisconsin". Archived from the original on 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- "Music Capital of the North - Eau Claire, WI". volumeone.org. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- Claims to Fame - Food Archived 2017-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007
- "U.S. National Kubb Championship". www.usakubb.org.
- Claims to Fame - Fish Archived 2008-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007
- "Village of Gays Mills". Village of Gays Mills.
- Peterson, Davis. " Titletown again; The Packers put away the Patriots 35-21 for the NFL crown, and after 29 years, Green Bay again reigns as Titletown, USA. Frenzied fans and bedlam abound in Loony Land of Lombardi.", Star Tribune, January 27, 1997. Accessed June 13, 2007
- "Vitame Vas (We Welcome You) to the City of Hillsboro, WI". hillsborowi.com.
- " The Bower City is Proud of Pioneers.", Janesville Recorder, April 20, 1911. Accessed July 26, 2008
- " JANESVILLE PLANS NEW PARK NEAR THE RIVER AND LIBRARY THE SITE WOULD FOCUS ON CHILDREN WITH SHADE-TREE READING PROGRAMS.", Wisconsin State Journal, August 20, 2000. Accessed June 13, 2007. "The place that bills itself as the City of Parks might be getting another one -- a unique space near Hedberg Public Library catered to children."
- A Symbol for a City Archived 2007-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, on the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission's Madison: A Capital Idea website, accessed January 5, 2008. "An art lover at the 1976 Art Fair on the Square sports the Mad City T-shirt created by Russ Frank of the Madison Top Company two years earlier."
- Kevin Murphy (January 3, 1994). "Madtown goes (slightly) mad after victory". Milwaukee Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
- Brian D. Coleman (April 2006). "In Madison, Wisconsin". Old House Interiors. pp. 46–50.
- Madison, City of Four Lakes: Our History and Our Home. Madison Metropolitan School District, Department of Teaching and Learning, Social Studies Division. 24 July 2017. ISBN 9780615269085 – via Google Books.
- Madison Metropolitan School District Archived 2013-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- Campbell, Henry Colin (1906). Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1634-1905. Century history Company. p. 37.
- Bogue, Margaret Beattie (1985). Around the Shores of Lake Michigan: A Guide to Historic Sites. University of Wisconsin Pres. ISBN 9780299100001.
- Claims to Fame - Birds Archived 2008-01-10 at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007
- Brew City loses its oldest brewery, by Lisa Price, October 31, 1996, on CNN.com website. "Milwaukee has never had an identity crisis -- as one city resident said, 'We've been Brew City for 135 years.'"
- Jan Uebelherr, "Magazine tips hat to Mil-town[dead link]," The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 31, 2007. "Spin magazine takes a dizzying spin through Brewtown in its September issue in a little travelogue called '72 Hours in Milwaukee.'"
- The "Cream City" nickname refers to the cream-colored brick produced in Milwaukee and used in many of its 19th-century buildings.Cream City Brick Archived 2006-10-18 at the Wayback Machine, by Terry Pepper, updated 12/02/2007
- The Making of Milwaukee Archived 2012-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, MPTV
- City of New Richmond website, accessed October 15, 2011
- Racine, Wisconsin the Belle City of the Lakes. Archived 2007-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Racine, Wisconsin. Accessed June 13, 2007
- "Home - Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce, WI". www.rhinelanderchamber.com.
- A local mechanic and businessman built the first workable snowmobile in his shop in Sayner (About Plum Lake Township Archived 2008-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, Sayner-Star Lake Chamber of Commerce website, accessed July 26, 2008)
- Sheboygan County Historical Documents, University of Wisconsin Digital Collections
- "Soldiers Grove Wisconsin - The Heart of the Driftless". Soldiers Grove. Archived from the original on 2000-09-28. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
- Claims to Fame - Animals Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine, Epodunk, accessed April 16, 2007
- Twin Ports: Duluth/Superior, accessed May 8, 2007. "Duluth, also known as the "Zenith City", is the larger of the two, and usually gets the most notoriety, but Superior, also referred to as "Soup Town"(because of common fog overhangs!) has a lot to offer residents as well as visitors."
- "Half-Way Between Equator And North Pole Billboard". Roadside America.
- "Welcome to Tomah". City of Tomah (official website). Retrieved 2015-12-20.
- "Where the I Divides, Tomah, Wisconsin". www.roadsideamerica.com. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
- "Waukesha Spa." Milwaukee Journal August 8, 1969
- "About Les Paul". lespaulfoundation.org. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014.
- "City of Waupun". www.cityofwaupun.org.
- "A souvenir of Fond du Lac County, Wis. ([1904?])", The State of Wisconsin Collection, University of Wisconsin Library,
Waupun, "The Prison City,' is a city of 4,000 inhabitants and located on a beautiful table land which gives it a dry and healthful climate.
- "Official Website of the Waterpark Capital of the World". Wisconsin Visitors Bureau. 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-03.; also, cover of 2006 Travel and Attraction Guide, ©2006 Ad Lit Inc.; printed on cover, with TM notice, "The Waterpark Capital of the World!™, as obtained from "Wisconsin Dells Resorts". Ad Lit. 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-03., which has the same slogan. City's website, "City of Wisconsin Dells". Archived from the original on 2006-09-02. Retrieved 2006-09-03. does not mention the slogan
- a list of American and a few Canadian nicknames
- U.S. cities list