Namekagon River


The Namekagon River is a tributary of the St. Croix River. It is long and is located in northwestern Wisconsin in the United States. Its course is protected as part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
According to the Geographic Names Information System, the river's name has also been spelled Namakagon, Namekagan, and Namekagun; the United States Board on Geographic Names issued a decision setting "Namekagon" as the river's spelling in 1933. Its name is derived from the Ojibwe language Namekaagong-ziibi, meaning "river at the place abundant with sturgeons."

Course

The Namekagon River issues from Lake Namakagon in southeastern Bayfield County and flows southwestwardly through Sawyer and Washburn counties, past Hayward, and northwestwardly into Burnett County, where it joins the St. Croix, south of the city of Superior. Near its mouth it collects the Totagatic River.

History

The Namekagon River was an integral part in the transportation of lumber during the timber boom of the 1800's. Before the lumber boom, the river was used as a primary form of transportation by fur-traders, explorers and missionaries. In Trego, a sign stands which says,