[10] According to Indian agent Joseph Montfort Street, the Sauk leader Black Hawk sought refuge with Ho-Chunks near the Dells of the Wisconsin River at the end of the Black Hawk War of 1832 before surrendering to the United States,[11][12] but more recent research has argued that this was a mistranslation of the true location.

The town was originally named Kilbourn City for Byron Kilbourn, the president of the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company, which was then preparing to build a railroad across the Wisconsin River to connect Milwaukee and La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Boosters and speculators had anticipated the river crossing two miles downriver, where they had established the town of Newport, Wisconsin, and attracted around 1,500 residents by 1855.

[17] When the railroad instead completed a slightly more northern route in 1857, Newport rapidly turned into a ghost town as its residents relocated to the site of the railroad bridge, bringing many buildings and even a church from the earlier town to reassemble in Kilbourn City.

[18] In 1859, lumbermen destroyed the Wisconsin Hydraulic Company's new dam at Kilbourn City because it blocked the flow of timber rafts down the river.

This led the company's main creditor, Byron Kilbourn, to foreclose on its property and take ownership of most of the city's real estate.

[19] Kilbourn City quickly became a popular travel destination in the Midwest due to the scenery of the Dells of the Wisconsin River and the ready railroad access.

In 1856, entrepreneur Leroy Gates began taking tourists on boat tours of the Wisconsin Dells and promoting the town to railroad travelers.

[21] Over the following decades, Bennett took many photos of the sandstone formations in the dells, including stereoscopic views, as well as portraits of local Ho-Chunk people in Indian costume.

Prints of Bennett's photographs were distributed across the United States and played a large role in promoting Kilbourn City as an exotic destination for sightseers.

Berry built the airport to carry visitors to the Dells from the surrounding metropolitan areas.

[29][30] In 1952, a new traveling performance from Chicago called "Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show" came to Lake Delton on its second stop.

Following the show's huge success in the city, its owner, Tommy Bartlett, chose to keep the performance permanently in Wisconsin Dells.

[36] Because it straddles multiple counties, Wisconsin Dells is part of several core-based statistical areas (CBSAs).

[7] Other attractions include boat tours, zip-lining, golf courses, mini golf, go-kart tracks, water sports, horseback riding, a water ski show known as the Tommy Bartlett's Thrill Show (now closed), museums, amusement parks, Wizard Quest,[41] and a casino.

Accommodations range from economical motels to RV parks to chain hotels to themed resorts featuring indoor and outdoor waterparks and other amenities.

The tours visit wilderness trails and enter nearby Lake Delton and the Wisconsin River.

The Polynesian Resort Hotel opened the United States' and the Dells area's first indoor waterpark in 1994.

In 2005, Big Chief Karts and Coasters merged with the former Family Land Waterpark and Treasure Island Hotel to create a large theme park on the border of Lake Delton and Wisconsin Dells, with a resort called Hotel Rome, an indoor waterpark, outdoor waterpark, theme park, and the area's first indoor theme park.

The Tanger Outlet Center opened in 2006 near the Great Wolf Lodge, replacing the defunct Wisconsin Dells Greyhound Park, which opened in May 1990, but closed in 1996 due to heavy competition from the nearby Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells Bingo/Casino.

[46] WNNO-FM broadcasts at 106.9 MHz and covers an area 20 miles in radius centered on Wisconsin Dells.

Greyhound Lines provides intrastate and interstate bus service to Wisconsin Dells[48] on its Chicago - Milwaukee - Madison - Minneapolis route.