[6] Boats would stop at the landing to take on firewood, as well as water from springs not far from the river, leading to the name of Fountain City.

Because of this, at some points, the city is only two houses wide; one on each side of Wisconsin Highway 35.

The steep bluffs are characteristic of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, a region that was not smoothed over by glacier like much of the rest of the Midwest, but rather deeply cut by runoff from the rapidly melting glaciers.

About34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The racial makeup of the city was 99.49% White, 0.10% Native American, 0.10% Asian, and 0.31% from two or more races.

Merrick State Park is a short distance up Fountain City Bay, a slough of the river.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a base on the north side of town.

It was the long-time home of the dredge William A. Thompson, which the Corps used to maintain the 9-foot (2.7 m) shipping depth of the Mississippi's main channel.

[11] The dredge Goetz, which replaced the Thompson, now uses the base as its home port.