The Wood County Board of Supervisors created the Wood County Training School in 1903 under provisions of chapter 373 of the Laws of Wisconsin of 1901. As provided by the law, a Board of three, consisting of the County Superintendent of Schools and two County Board-appointed members, governed the School. A combination of County and State funds supported school operations. The School's name changed to County Rural Normal School in 1923, County Normal School in 1927, and County Teachers College in 1955. The County Board, through resolutions dated April 21, 1964 and August 8, 1964, abolished the College and disposed of its property.
The County Teachers College and its predecessors prepared teachers for service in rural elementary schools. The office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction exercised general supervision over the College educational program. The College gradually expanded from a staff of one until, during the 1920s and 1930s it employed three teachers and enrolled twenty to forty students and expended an annual budget of eight to ten thousand dollars. The school budget for 1964-1965 was approximately $80,000.
The Wood County Board created the County School of Agriculture and Domestic Science in 1914 to provide training to County residents in these subjects. The Agricultural School received County, State, and Federal funds with total budget and enrollment roughly similar to the Normal School. The Agriculture and Normal schools were very closely related. The same Board governed each school, they shared a common building, and, until 1924, they shared the same principal. Growing difficulties with the agricultural school program, including transportation of rural students and quality of instruction, forced its abandonment in the fall of 1942. The school system of the City of Wisconsin Rapids purchased much of the agricultural school equipment and leased its building space in 1942 for its own agricultural classes.
