Biohazard Cleanup Near Hidden Valley Downsville, WI

Downsville is an unincorporated census-designated place in the town of Dunn, in Dunn County, Wisconsin, located where State Highway 25 crosses the Red Cedar River south of Menomonie.

Downsville was founded in 1855 and platted in 1859, and it is named for Captain Burrage E. Downs, who in 1857 succeeded in damming the Red Cedar River to power a sawmill after an earlier dam attempt by Ebenezer Thompson was destroyed by a flood.

Downs sold his mill to Knapp, Stout & Co., the Menomonie lumber giant, which expanded it with planing and shingle mills that employed about 100 men by 1891, when the community also had a steam feed mill and a railroad stop.

Downsville's population grew to 188 at the 2020 census, up nearly 29% from 146 in 2010.

The Downsville Odd Fellows Hall, built in 1908 by Lodge 1961 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is now a local museum and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Red Cedar State Trail runs through Downsville, crossing the Red Cedar River just north of the community on a railroad truss bridge built in 1882, and local businesses on County Highway C cater to trail users.

Downsville is an unusually service-equipped unincorporated village — the Town of Dunn's sanitary district provides it with both public sewer and water service.