The community originated in 1883 as a
flag station on the newly constructed Omaha railroad at the crossing of
Bear Creek within the town of Oak Grove, Barron County. A post office at
the site was named "Haugen" on December 5, 1889 after United States
Congressman Nils P. Haugen of River Falls, Wisconsin, a native of
Norway, who was a political ally of the famed "Fighting" Bob LaFollette.
The naming of the village is explained in Haugen’s autobiography,
"Pioneer and Political Reminiscences":
In 1918, the village became incorporated. The report of the
subsequent census of 1920 indicated a population of 426 persons, which
was the historical high point in the number of residents.
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