SPOONER, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invites the public to attend a special ceremony at Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area on Sept. 26, 2026 to celebrate the dedication of an official state historical marker at the property. The event is organized by the Friends of Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area and the Wisconsin Historical Society.
The marker, only the second official state historical marker to be erected in Burnett County, will be dedicated at 11 a.m. on Sept. 26, 2026. The ceremony will take place at the marker location on Namekagon Trail, just north of its intersection with Springbrook Trail within the wildlife area’s South Unit. A short program is planned with presentations on the history and ecology of the Barrens.
The marker will commemorate the robust history of the barrens. For centuries this land was part of Dakota and Ojibwe seasonal travels and served as an indigenous transportation connection between Lake Superior and the Mississippi River region. By the mid-19th Century, trails through the area were used by wagons and then for stagecoach travel.
European and American settlers started arriving the area around 1900 and tried farming the sandy terrain. Since the 1950s, the wildlife area has been preserved as habitat for sharp-tailed grouse and other species.
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Today, the property includes 6,450 acres in Burnett and Washburn counties, in the midst of Wisconsin’s Northwest Sands Ecological Landscape. The wildlife area is a globally rare landscape that is home to scrub oak and jack pine, as well as many shrub and flower species. The DNR manages the property with controlled fire to maintain the land as barrens.
“The Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area are pleased to invite the public to this dedication. The Friends’ board members worked for years to get an official marker to share the Barrens’ historical and ecological significance,” said Kathy Bartilson, Friends of the Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area Board President. “We’re looking forward to the celebration.”
The Wisconsin Historical Society has more than 600 markers throughout the state, telling stories about events, individuals, buildings and sites of significance to the state’s historical heritage.
Event Details
What: Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony
When: Saturday, Sept. 26. at 11 a.m.
