Because of the scenery of the dells of the Wisconsin River, Kilbourn City (whose name would be changed to Wisconsin Dells to help better identify itself to tourists) quickly became a very popular travel destination.

H.H. Bennett established his photography studio in 1875. Bennett took photos of sandstone formations, and many stereoscopic views. The distribution of these photos across the United States made Kilbourn City an even more desirable destination for sightseers. Realizing the potential of his photos, Bennett began offering souvenir pictures of visitors to the Dells.

Fun Facts!
In 1856 Leroy Gates began giving the first boat tours in the Wisconsin Dells.
In 1908 the Kilbourn Dam was installed.
June 16, 1911 was the day a 722-gram meteorite impacted and damaged a barn in rural Columbia County.
In 1931, Kilbourn city was officially renamed Wisconsin Dells.
1946 was the year The Original Wisconsin Ducks began offering tours.
In 1952, the "Tommy Bartlett Water Ski & Jumping Boat Thrill Show" came to Lake Delton on one of its stops. When the show reached more than expected popularity its owner, Tommy Bartlett, decided to permanently base it in the Dells.

Wisconsin Dells, WI is now a highly popular tourist destination, with over 5 million visitors each year. Wisconsin Dells gets its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River. The Dells was formed during the last ice age approximately 15,000 years ago, although the rock itself is much older, dating from the Cambrian approximately 510-520 million years ago when the area of Wisconsin was at the bottom of a shallow sea.

The cliffs, some over 100 feet (30 m) high, and side canyons are closed to the public to protect sensitive ecological features. The viewing of the rock formations by water is a popular tourist attraction in the area. The nearby city of Wisconsin Dells is the center of summer tourist activity, much of it in the form of the theme parks unrelated to the river features.

Approximately 19,000 years ago, the Dells was at the extreme eastern margin of the continental glacier. However, the Dells itself was never covered by glacial ice sheets - it was part of the large Driftless Zone that was bypassed by the ice. The melting of the glacier formed Glacial Lake Wisconsin, a lake about the size of Great Salt Lake in Utah and as deep as 150 feet (45 m). The lake was held back by an ice dam of the remaining glacier. The eventual bursting of the ice dam unleashed a catastrophic flood, dropping the lake's depth to 50 feet (15 m) and cutting deep, narrow gorges and unusual rock formations into the sandstone seen today.