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Home > Local Features by WXPR > How the City of Rhinelander Got Its Name
Podcast: Local Features by WXPR
Episode:

How the City of Rhinelander Got Its Name
Category: Government & Organizations
Duration: 00:03:06
Publish Date: 2019-02-13 05:00:00
Description: In this week's A Northwoods Moment in History , Gary Entz tell us how the city of Rhinelander got its name. The name Rhinelander is tourism manager’s dream. It is a name that evokes images of the German Rhineland, of crisp Riesling wine, and of boisterous beer halls filled with joyous polka music. Of course, as anyone versed in local history will tell you, the town of Rhinelander was not named for the German Rhineland. Rather, it was named for Frederick W. Rhinelander, who was president of the Milwaukee, Lake Shore, and Western Railroad. Anderson and Webster Brown bestowed Rhinelander’s name on the new town in a bid to induce the railroad to extend a spur to their location in order to benefit their lumber business. Nevertheless, the railroad is long gone, but the name remains, so for the benefit of the tourist industry is there a connection to the German Rhineland? As it turns out, if we trace the Rhinelander genealogy back far enough, there is indeed a connection. From 1618-1648
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