Rice Lake had its beginning in 1864 when the famous Menomonie logging firm, Knapp, Stout & Co., constructed a storage dam on the site of a wild rice bed and an earlier Indian village. Until the large stands of white pine in the area were exhausted, Rice Lake was the center for northern operations for this large company.

The first permanent settler, M. W. Heller, moved his family here and started a mill at the dam in 1871. Mr. Heller was also in charge of the first store, hotel and blacksmith shop.

The original plat of the city was made in 1875 under the auspices of the Knapp-Stout firm and included a 100-foot wide thoroughfare, which is still the heart of the downtown business district. The city was chartered in 1887.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation was established in 1980 to assist downtown revitalization efforts nationwide. The Wisconsin Main Street program was established in 1987 and Rice Lake was accepted into the program in 1991. The purpose of the program is to promote revitalization activities, preserve heritage and enhance community identity.

Rice Lake serves as the regional shopping hub for Barron County and close-by communities in Burnett, Polk, Rusk and Washburn Counties. Rice Lake also serves as an industrial, educational and medical hub for a subregion within the Northwest Region of the state.

The City's Calendar of Events can be accessed at the Rice Lake Chamber of Commerce: http://www.rice-lake.com