The boundaries of districts have changed over history. Previous politicians of a specific numbered district have represented a different geographic area, due to
redistricting. After the fifth (1852) session of the state legislature, the Wisconsin Senate was expanded to 25 members. The first member for the 25th District was
James T. Lewis, of
Columbus (later a
Governor of Wisconsin). The district at that time consisted of
Columbia County. This was true until 1872, when the district became the counties of the counties of
Green Lake,
Marquette and
Waushara (Columbia County was now the
Twenty-Seventh District). In 1876, the Senate was again redistricted: the Twenty-Fifth now consisted of the City of
Madison, and various other
Towns and
Villages in
Dane County, Wisconsin (more or less the previous
Seventh District); while what had been the 25th was now the
Ninth District. In 1883, the Twenty-Fifth now consisted of
Eau Claire,
Pepin and
Pierce Counties (three of the eleven counties which had made up the
Seventh District); Dane County became the
Twenty-Sixth District. From 1887 to 1891, the district consisted of
Clark and Eau Claire Counties. The short-lived redistricting of 1891 left the district consisting of Clark,
Price,
Taylor, and
Wood Counties. From 1892 to 1895, the district once again consisted of Clark and Eau Claire Counties. From 1896 to 1910, the district consisted of Clark and
Marathon Counties. From 1911 to 1922, the district consisted of
Langlade and Marathon Counties. From 1923 to 1954, the district consisted of
Lincoln and Marathon Counties. After the 1954 redistricting, the district had completely changed, and now consisted of
Ashland,
Bayfield, and
Douglas Counties (Lincoln and Marathon Counties had been split between the new 12th and 29th Districts). The 1960 federal census showed that this district, at 74,293 people, was the least populous of Wisconsin's 33 districts, 38.0% below the average; in the wake of
Baker v. Carr, a redistricting would be necessary. After a great deal of litigation, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court created a redistricting map promulgated on May 14, 1964. The new Twenty-Fifth District added Iron, Price,
Rusk and Sawyer Counties to the district. The 1972 redistricting took away Rusk County and a southern portion of Price County, adding the eastern part of Barron County instead; but left the district mostly unchanged. The 1982 redistricting removed Price County entirely, and modified the Barron County portion, as well as adding
one Rusk County township. In 1992, the latest court-ordered redistricting added the remainder of Barron County, while dropping the Rusk County township once more. The 2002 court-ordered redistricting added part of Burnett County for the first time, while taking away segments of Sawyer and Barron Counties. The new 2011 redistricting bill took away most of Sawyer, but added for the first time
a single township in Vilas County, and a township from both Dunn and Saint Croix Counties, and Price County in whole. ==Past senators==