Ladysmith

Ladysmith is a city and the county seat of Rusk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,414 at the 2010 census.HistoryThe city was founded in 1885 at the intersection of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line) with the Flambeau River. It was originally named "Flambeau Falls" after the Ojibwa name for the area Gakaabikijiwanan ("of cliffed rapids"). Robert Corbett, a logging and lumbering entrepreneur, who was a strong influence on the city in its early years, renamed it "Corbett", then "Warner" in 1891, and then Ladysmith on July 1, 1900, after the bride of Charles R. Smith, head of the Menasha Wooden Ware Co.Flambeau MineThe Flambeau Copper Mine was operated by Kennecott from 1993 to 1997. This was a very rich volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit, so rich that the ore was shipped directly to the smelter. Flambeau has since been permanently closed and the site reclaimed.2002 tornadoOn September 2, 2002, a tornado rated at F3 strength destroyed much of Ladysmith's downtown area. Overall damage was estimated at $20 million (USD), but there were no fatalities.GeographyLadysmith is located at. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.59sqmi, of which 4.21sqmi is land and 0.38sqmi is water.