[3] The Ojibwe who travelled the Flambeau River called the area that would become Ladysmith Gakaabikijiwanan ("of cliffed rapids").

The city was founded in 1885 at the intersection of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste.

On July 1, 1900 he named it Ladysmith, after the bride of Charles R. Smith, head of Menasha Wooden Ware Co.[5][6] The Flambeau Copper Mine was operated by Kennecott from 1993 to 1997.

[7] On September 2, 2002, a tornado rated at F3 strength destroyed much of Ladysmith's downtown area.

[8] 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 unrest in Kenosha following the shooting of Jacob Blake.

41.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Rusk County Airport (KRCX) serves Ladysmith.

Silver Lake College of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, began offering courses at Mount Senario, renamed Mount Senario Education Center, in September 2009.

[13] Silver Lake itself closed in 2020, and North Cedar Academy now occupies Mount Senario's old campus, passed on its collaboration with the UW System and provides "BluGold" Guarantee Transfer Program.