Editing Ladysmith, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The [[Ojibwe]] who travelled the Flambeau River called the area that would become Ladysmith {{lang|oj|Gakaabikijiwanan}} ("of cliffed rapids").

The city was founded in 1885 at the intersection of the [[Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad]] (Soo&nbsp;Line) with the [[Flambeau River]], initially named ''Flambeau Falls''. 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. On July 1, 1900 he named it Ladysmith, after the bride of Charles R. Smith, head of Menasha Wooden Ware Co.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Rusk County Historical Society|title=History of Rusk County, Wisconsin|date=1983|publisher=Taylor Publishing Company|location=Dallas, Texas|page=38|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=div&did=WI.IHRuskCounty.i0008&isize=M|access-date=2015-08-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Adams|first1=Peter James|title=Charles R. Smith House|url={{NRHP url|id=79000122}}|access-date=2015-08-08|work=NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form|agency=National Park Service|publisher=US Dept. of the Interior|date=1979-04-08}}</ref>

===Flambeau Mine===
[[File:Chalcocite-181311.jpg|thumb|upright|Steely-blue [[chalcocite]] from the Flambeau Mine]]
The [[Flambeau Mine|Flambeau Copper Mine]] was operated by [[Kennecott Utah Copper|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 Mine has since been closed and the site reclaimed and planted. It now has walking trails.<ref>[http://www.mindat.org/loc-4496.html Flambeau Mine] at [[Mindat.org]]</ref>

===2002 tornado===
On September 2, 2002, a tornado rated at [[Fujita scale|F3 strength]] destroyed much of Ladysmith's downtown area. Overall damage was estimated at $20 million, but there were no fatalities.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2002/2002-09-03-wisconsintornado_x.htm USA Today]</ref>

===2020 Kenosha unrest shooting firearm purchase===
On May 1, 2020, Dominick Black purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle at the Ace Hardware located in Ladysmith. This rifle would later be fired by 17-year-old [[Kyle Rittenhouse]] during [[Kenosha unrest|unrest in Kenosha]] following the [[shooting of Jacob Blake]]. Black purchased the weapon using money given to him by Kyle Rittenhouse, and had an agreement that Kyle would take possession of the rifle when he turned 18.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vielmetti|first=Bruce|date=November 2, 2021|title=Kyle Rittenhouse's friend Dominick Black testifies he bought the gun used in the killings in Kenosha|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2021/11/02/friend-expected-lead-off-states-case-kyle-rittenhouse-trial/6244050001/|access-date=2023-11-12|website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|language=en-US|quote=Black testified that shortly after he got an AR-15-style rifle, Rittenhouse expressed interest in one. During a trip to Black's family's hunting property in May 2020, Black agreed to buy a rifle for Rittenhouse, who was 17 and couldn't lawfully buy or possess one.}}</ref>