[5] Wabasha is named after the Mdewakanton Dakota mixed-blood (with Anishinaabe) chiefs Wapi-sha, or red leaf (wáȟpe šá - leaf red), father (1718–1806), son (1768–1855), and grandson (±1816–1876) of the same name.

The second, Wabishaw the son, signed the 1830 USA treaty with the "Confederated Tribes of the Sacs and Foxes; the Medawah-Kanton, Wahpacoota, Wahpeton and Sissetong Bands or Tribes of Sioux; the Omahas, Ioways, Ottoes and Missourias" in Prairie du Chien.

[6] The grandson, Wabasha III (±1816–1876), signed the 1851[7] and 1858[8] treaties that ceded the southern half of what is now the state of Minnesota to the United States, beginning the removal of his band to the Minnesota River, then removal from Minnesota to Crow Creek Reservation in Dakota Territory, then to the Santee Reservation in Nebraska, where the last chief Wabasha died.

The city of Wabasha is on the Mississippi River at the foot of Lake Pepin.

As of the census[12] of 2010, there were 2,521 people, 1,144 households, and 654 families living in the city.

37.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 2,599 people, 1,062 households, and 665 families living in the city.

32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which operates between Seattle/Portland and Chicago, passes through the town on BNSF tracks, but makes no stop.

A sign reading "Welcome to Wabasha, Home of Grumpy Old Men" stands at the city limits.

[15] Wabasha is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional district, represented by Brad Finstad, a Republican.