Our History

 Established by a State legislative act in 1959, Menominee County began to function officially on May 1, 1961 with the cessation of federal supervision of the Menominee Indian Reservation. Menominee County was created at this time and became Wisconsin's 72nd county. That same year Menominee Enterprises, Inc. was formed to hold in trust and administer the county's timber resources, while operating the Neopit sawmill for tribal benefits.

In 1962 the corporation's land development program was begun to promote leisure home sites and year around recreational advantages within the 234,000 acres of rugged wilderness. After five years of productive progress, plans were finalized in the fall of 1967 for the "Lakes of the Menominee's" Development near Keshena in a partnership with N. E. Isaacson, Inc., developers. Work began early in 1968 on the construction of dams to create one large lake with more than 40 miles of shoreline from nine smaller lakes. As a result, choice lakeside and off-lake home sites were made available for purchase in the 5160 acre development.

Menominee County's 300 square miles of heritage land includes 82 spring fed lakes and magnificent stands of virgin Pine and Hemlock, as well as Maple, Birch, Red Oak and White Oak. These hardwoods are prized for mineral stain-free characteristics and highly valued by woodworking manufacturers throughout the world. The forests are preserved from over cutting and misuse by state and federal laws and the Menominee Enterprises conservation practices.

Restoration of the Menominee Reservation took place on December 22nd, 1973 which created a County/Reservation status with two separate governing bodies within coterminous boundaries.