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Wisconsin County
Sauk County, Wisconsin
Devil's Lake and Ringling Brothers circus birthplace - from Devil's Lake State Park (Wisconsin's most visited state park, Devil's Lake features 500-foot quartzite bluffs surrounding a stunning glacial lake, with exceptional hiking, rock climbing, and swimming that draws over 3 million visitors annually - making it one of the most spectacular natural landscapes in the upper Midwest) to Baraboo's Ringling Brothers heritage (all five Ringling Brothers were born or raised in Baraboo, and the Circus World Museum preserves the original Ringling winter quarters where America's greatest circus was born - the museum's collection of antique circus wagons and summer big top performances celebrate Baraboo's extraordinary circus legacy).
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Office: Sauk County Emergency Management – Sauk County Courthouse, 510 Broadway, Baraboo, WI 53913 | (608) 355-3200 | Email: [email protected]
Services: Develops and maintains an effective emergency management program to protect residents from man-made, technological, or natural disasters
Notes: City of Baraboo maintains its own separate Emergency Management Commission coordinating with county, state, and federal resources.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-12 and WI-33/WI-136 serve Baraboo, the county seat, on the Baraboo River; Tri County Airport serves the region
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sauk County Planning and Zoning – Sauk County, WI
Services: Zoning permits, sanitary/septic permits, land use ordinances
Notes: City of Baraboo maintains its own separate Building Inspector (Stephanie Potter, 101 South Blvd., (608) 355-2730) for city building permits and short-term rental information – confirm whether your property falls under city or county jurisdiction.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Sauk County Veterans Service Office – Baraboo, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Sauk County Libraries – a countywide network including Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library (Baraboo), LaValle Public Library, North Freedom Public Library, Kraemer Library (Plain), Ruth Culver Community Library (Prairie du Sac), Reedsburg Public Library, Rock Springs Public Library, George Culver Community Library (Sauk City), Spring Green Community Library, and Kilbourn Public Library (Wisconsin Dells/Lake Delton)
Main Branch: Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library – 230 Fourth Avenue, Baraboo, WI 53913 | (608) 356-6166 | Fax: (608) 355-2779 | Director: Jessica Bergin | Member of the South Central Library System
Services: Serves roughly 17,925 residents with nearly 74,000 volumes and over 244,000 items circulated annually; hosts regular storytimes for ages 0-2, Tween programs, and a “Storytime at the Sauk County Fair” event
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Sauk County’s Baraboo is genuinely and famously “THE ORIGINAL HOME OF THE RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS” – five sons of a German harness-maker (Charles, Albert, Alfred, Otto, and John Ringling) gave their first performance in Baraboo on May 19, 1884, building what would become “The Greatest Show on Earth”; the circus wintered in Baraboo continuously until 1918, when the Ringling Brothers Circus merged with Barnum & Bailey; today, CIRCUS WORLD, a National Historic Landmark complex owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, occupies the original 64-acre winter quarters site at 550 Water Street, preserving SEVEN National Historic Landmark structures alongside the world’s LARGEST COLLECTION of restored historic circus wagons and what is recognized as the largest library of circus information in the United States; the museum hosts live summer circus performances under the Big Top, historic buildings, a vintage carousel, and educational programming – nearly seven million people visited between 1959 and 1999 alone; Sauk County is also home to DEVIL’S LAKE STATE PARK, Wisconsin’s most-visited state park, along with the International Crane Foundation and Aldo Leopold’s historic Shack and Farm; the county’s other notable communities include Wisconsin Dells, a major amusement/water park tourist destination, and Spring Green, home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin estate and the House on the Rock
Notes: Baraboo’s genuine, National Historic Landmark-designated status as the founding home and winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus is an extraordinary and well-documented piece of American entertainment history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Sauk County GIS/Tax Parcel iSite – accessible via co.sauk.wi.us
Parcel Search: Sauk County Land Information/GIS
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Sauk County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Sauk County Humane Society (SCHS) – 618 Linn St / State Road 136, West Baraboo, WI | (608) 356-2520 | Email: [email protected] | Animal drop-off: daily 8 AM–5 PM (365 days/year); Animal viewing hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 12–5 PM, Thu 12–7 PM, Sat/Sun 11 AM–4 PM (closed Tue for viewing)
Services: A genuine OPEN-ADMISSION shelter that turns no animal away regardless of age, condition, or behavior, with no surrender fees or forced appointments; offers a “Companions in Crisis” program (pet food pantry, temporary safekeeping during personal emergencies, and volunteer in-home pet care for those with medical limitations); the area’s only low-cost spay/neuter clinic since 2014
Notes: After-hours animal emergencies or found animals should be reported to Sauk County Dispatch, (608) 355-3903 (verify current number directly).
Notes: Contact Sauk County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Sauk County’s Baraboo genuinely earns its title as the birthplace of “The Greatest Show on Earth” – the original home and winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers Circus, now preserved as a National Historic Landmark at Circus World. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Sauk County
Sauk County is south-central Wisconsin’s Devil’s Lake and circus heritage county – the state’s most visited park and the birthplace of the Ringling Brothers circus give Sauk County a tourism identity matched by few Wisconsin counties, while Wisconsin Dells on the county’s northern edge anchors the state’s most concentrated resort and waterpark economy.
Baraboo (the county seat, population ~12,500) is Sauk County’s governmental and cultural hub, a Wisconsin River city whose Devil’s Lake proximity, Circus World Museum, and Baraboo Hills scenery make it one of south-central Wisconsin’s most visited communities.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sauk County Assessor at 505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI 53913, phone 608-355-3285. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Sauk County Circuit Court at 515 Oak Street, Baraboo, WI 53913, phone 608-355-3266, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 355-3269
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sauk County Register in Probate, Baraboo (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). The Sauk County Courthouse (1906, Neoclassical, designed by Ferry & Clas) is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sauk County has 62 NRHP-listed properties and districts total, including three National Historic Landmarks – one of the richest historic-preservation records of any county covered so far.
Local societies
No dedicated Sauk County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Sauk County Register in Probate Sauk County Courthouse, Room C234, 510 Broadway Street, Baraboo, WI 53913 (608) 355-3226
Sauk County was founded in 1840 (organized 1844), named for the Sauk people, county seat Baraboo. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge (filed by an attorney only in Sauk County), and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Sauk County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Sauk County charges a $10 fee for a packet of probate forms, a $3 fee to file a creditor claim, and $1 per page for certified copies (plus $3 per certificate). Inventory filing fee statewide is 0.2% of total assets subject to administration, or a minimum of $20 (Wis. Stat. §814.66).
What it costs
Filing fee: approximately 0.2% of the estate’s inventory value, minimum $20 (Wis. Stat. §814.66).
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1300 8th St, Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 355-3282
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(608) 355-3269
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Sauk County Health Department, 505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 355-3290
Human Services
Sauk County Human Services, 505 Broadway, Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 355-4200
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Sauk County Health Department – Baraboo, WI
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