STEVENS POINT

city, seat (1867) of Portage County, central Wisconsin, U.S., on the Wisconsin River, 68 mi (109 km) west-northwest of Appleton. Settled in 1839 by George Stevens, it became the service centre for a lumbering community and grew in the 1870s after the arrival of the Wisconsin Central Railroad (the Soo Line). Polish immigrants influenced its cultural development. Diversified manufacturing includes paper products, furniture, fishing equipment, and beer. The Sentry Insurance Company is headquartered there. The University of WisconsinStevens Point was founded as a teacher's college in 1894. Inc. 1858. Pop. (1990) 23,006.