Editing Blair, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
[[File:Blair, Wisconsin (1912).jpg|thumb|left|Baseball game between Blair and [[Arcadia, Wisconsin|Arcadia]], 1912]]

The city was first settled during the 1850s. The majority of the city's population are descended from [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]] settlers, with a smaller group descended from [[Germans|German]] settlers. The city's Norwegian heritage is represented by annual [[lefse]] and [[lutefisk]] suppers at the churches and a love of [[Polka|polka music]]. A lefse company is located in Blair.<ref>[http://trempealeau.wigenweb.org/histories/1881norwis/blair.htm ''Blair History & Biographical Sketches of Blair Residents'' (History of Northern Wisconsin, 1881)]</ref>

The city's name was changed from Porterville in 1873 when the [[Green Bay and Western Railroad]] was routed through the city. The new name of Blair came from one of the railroad's chief investors, [[John Insley Blair]]. At one time, during the heyday of [[railroad]]s, a [[branch line]] connected the GB&W with the nearby village of [[Ettrick (village), Wisconsin|Ettrick]], although it was later abandoned. The railroad continues to operate, although under a different name.<ref>[http://blairsociety.org/blplace.html#WISCONSIN '' A Place Called Blair'' (published in the "Blair Family Magazine" Spring 1993)]</ref>

The city has avoided the fate of some small towns in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] which slowly lost population due to young people leaving for jobs elsewhere. The population of Blair nearly doubled in the years between 1950 and 2000. During the 1950s and earlier annual floods during the snow melt were often experienced, but better farming techniques now make flooding rare. More recently, a number of [[Amish]] farming families have settled in the area and their horse-drawn carriages are sometimes seen on the roads. {{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}