as a city in 1909, Spooner's history is closely interlaced with that of railroad history. In 1879, the North Wisconsin Railway was constructed north of the present-day city of Spooner. Following that, the operations of that railroad were moved south where it joined the Chicago and North Western at what was then called Chicago Junction.

The community, then initially only a station, was named by the general superintendent for the Chicago and North Western, Edwin W. Winter,