Balsam Lake, Wisconsin
Balsam Lake is a small village in Polk County, Wisconsin, and it is the county seat. It sits in the Town of Balsam Lake. The population was 934 at the 2020 census.
The area was originally home to a large group of Chippewa Indians who called it Innenehinduc, meaning place of the evergreen, likely because of the many evergreen plants there. The village was organized on January 8, 1870, and was named after the nearby lake.
Early businesses included a blacksmith shop, a bank, a creamery, two sawmills, a hardware store, and a general store. A courthouse and a log schoolhouse served as government buildings.
Today, Balsam Lake is home to the Polk County Government Center. The village hosts the Freedom Festival around the Fourth of July each year.
Balsam Lake covers about 3.39 square miles in total, with 2.16 square miles of land and 1.23 square miles of water. Wisconsin Highway 46 and Polk County Road I are the main roads, with U.S. Highway 8 and Wisconsin Highway 65 nearby.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:30 (CET).