Catawba, WI: Price County’s Agricultural Heartland & Farm Country

A Farming Town That Almost Grew Grapes

Drive west out of Prentice on US Highway 8 and the forest thins. The pine and hardwood stands that dominate most of Price County give way to something unexpected: open fields, rolling pastureland, and dairy barns set back from the road. You have entered Catawba, and the landscape is telling you what this place is before you see a single sign.

Catawba is Price County’s agricultural outlier. While the rest of the county identifies with timber, lakes, and the Northwoods, Catawba is farmland. The 2020 Census counted 141 people in the village, which sits within the larger Town of Catawba. That number has fluctuated over the decades (282 in 1930, down to 110 in 2010, back up to 141 in 2020), but the character of the place has held steady: family farms, open sky, and a quiet rhythm tied to the seasons.

Where the Name Comes From

The story behind Catawba’s name is one of the better ones in Price County. Before the railroad came through around 1884, the area was forested wilderness. The federal government surveyed it in 1847 and 1855, and a few Swedish immigrants had settled near where Highway 86 now crosses the South Fork of the Jump River. When the railroad arrived, so did the lumber camps and the saloons.

According to the local history Memories of Catawba, published by the Bicentennial Committee in 1976, the name comes from Catawba wine. The specifics are hazy: either a crew of railroad gandy dancers overindulged in the stuff, or local lumberjacks partook at a saloon in nearby Kennan. Either way, someone decided “Catawba” sounded right for the new rail stop, and the name stuck. The early vision was that this area might become a grape-growing region. The climate had other ideas. Dairy and traditional homesteading won out, but the name remains a reminder of the optimism, or possibly the hangovers, of the first settlers.

From Lumber Camp to Farming Village

The railroad brought more than a name. By 1902, Peter Hammer’s Red Birch Lumber Company had a sawmill running in Catawba, and Hammer and his wife Isabelle operated the Commercial Hotel, which largely served men working in the lumber business. Other early businesses included a lath mill, Hamm’s Brewing Company saloon and pool hall, Stevens’ barber shop, Swanson’s soda fountain, and Gruber’s store and opera house. A Lutheran congregation was organized in 1903. The Catholic church was built around 1908. The Catawba State Bank opened in 1916.

The town hall went up in 1921. The village incorporated in 1922. Wisconsin Highway 14 eventually joined the railroad passing through town and was upgraded to US Route 8, paved in 1949.

But the timber played out, as it did everywhere in Price County, and the sawmill era ended. What remained was the farmland, and Catawba leaned into it harder than any other community in the county.

What Catawba Looks Like Today

Driving through on US-8, you see what the census numbers suggest: a small village with big agricultural surroundings. Family dairy operations still run here. Catawba Farms operates a farm stand with vegetable plants, hanging baskets, and fresh produce through the growing season. The landscape is genuinely different from the rest of Price County. Wide-open fields replace the wall of trees, and you can see the horizon.

The village has a Historical Building that serves as a community gathering space. The Village Board meets the third Monday of each month at 5:30 PM at the village hall. Ape Hangers Saloon on US-8 is the local bar and gathering spot. It received a conditional Class B liquor license from the village board in 2025, contingent on being current on property taxes.

The US-8 Property Deal

In September 2025, the Village of Catawba held a special meeting with a single agenda item: whether to buy a tax-delinquent property on US Highway 8 for $10,000. The meeting lasted 15 minutes. No public comments. No debate. Village President Cheryl Moore, Trustees Cali Handel and Richard Manula, and Clerk Shirley Kempen were present. Manula made a motion to purchase at the minimum bid. Handel seconded. Motion carried.

The property at W9212 US Highway 8 had accumulated $6,365.26 in back taxes, delinquent user fees, and a special assessment dating back to 2019. The stated plan was to convert the lot into parking for the Historical Building and overflow parking for community events. But the purchase raised questions. The village’s total checking balance was about $25,000 at the time, meaning the deal represented over 40% of operating cash. We covered the full story of Catawba’s US-8 land deal, including the subsequent sewer commission obligations and road funding complications that followed.

Infrastructure Challenges

Catawba shares a sewage system with the Village of Kennan through the Catawba-Kennan Joint Sewage Commission. The financial relationship is intimate. In September 2025, the Village loaned $7,500 to the Sewage Commission, and later that year, $12,693.72 of a $14,377 county property sale payout went straight to the commission.

Road funding is a structural problem. The Wisconsin DOT informed the village that LRIP (Local Roads Improvement Program) funds cannot be used for chip seal on roads in villages, only in towns and cities. That means Catawba has fewer road maintenance options than neighboring towns, and the board is weighing whether to pulverize and gravel South Main Street or stick with patching and crack sealing for now. For a village with roughly $25,000 in its checking account, every infrastructure decision is a budget decision.

Where to Eat and Drink

Options in Catawba are limited but real. Ape Hangers Saloon on US-8 serves food and drinks; check their Facebook page for nightly specials. Catawba Farms operates a seasonal farm stand with produce and plants during the growing season. For more options, Prentice is about 10 minutes east on US-8 with additional bars and restaurants.

Getting There

Catawba sits on US Highway 8, roughly 10 minutes west of Prentice and 20 minutes west of Phillips. The highway runs east-west through the village. There is no other major route in or out; US-8 is it. From Phillips, head west on US-8 through Prentice and continue another 5 miles. From Park Falls, take Highway 13 south to US-8, then head west about 12 miles.

What’s Nearby

• Kennan, neighboring village to the south, connected via the joint sewage commission and shared agricultural community
• Prentice, 10 minutes east on US-8, the nearest village with more services
• Price County Fairgrounds, located at N9130 Forest Lane in Phillips, hosts the Price County Fair each August
• Price County Parks, camping, hiking, and lake access within a short drive

The Bottom Line

Catawba is not a destination in the traditional Northwoods sense. There are no lakeside resorts, no ATV trailheads, no tourist attractions. What there is instead is working farmland, a community that shows up for village board meetings, a bar on the highway, and a landscape that breaks the monotony of county forest. If you want to see what Price County looks like without the trees, and understand why the people who live here have a different set of concerns than the rest of the county, drive US-8 west and watch the fields open up.

See also: Worcester gravel pit and asphalt plant controversy

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