Wisconsin Highway 186
state highway in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States
State Trunk Highway 186 (often called Highway 186, STH-186 or WIS 186) is a 15.01-mile (24.16 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs from its southern terminus at WIS 73 south of Vesper to US Highway 10 (US 10) and WIS 13 in Auburndale. The highway is located entirely within Wood County. Like all Wisconsin state highways, WIS 186 is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT).
Route description
WIS 186 begins south of Vesper at a four-way intersection with WIS 73. South of the intersection, the road continues as County Trunk Highway D (CTH-D). WIS 186 heads north toward Vesper and enters the village from the south as Wisconsin Street. It turns northwest in the middle of the village and leaves it as Cameron Avenue. Outside of Vesper, WIS 186 turns north again before curving west towards Arpin. The highway continues west until it is south of Arpin, at which point it turns north and passes through the village.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Wisconsin Highway 186” as state highway in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as state highway in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q840848. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Wisconsin Highway 186”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Wisconsin Highway 186 primary sources, Wisconsin Highway 186 archive and Wisconsin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wisconsin Highway 186”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Wisconsin Highway 186” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.