Let’s take a look at Wisconsin’s best wooden toy brands — Made in Wisconsin, for Wisconsinites by Wisconsinites
But first a quick fact!
Wisconsin’s official state tree is the sugar maple (acer saccharum) — and it should be known — official state love for the sugar maple is shared by New York, Vermont, and West Virginia.
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Wisconsin’s Top 3 Wooden Toy Companies
- (01) Wisconsin Wagon Company – Janesville, WI
- (02) Fine Hardwood Toys – Madison, WI
- (03) Tree Blocks LLC – Viroqua, WI
(01) Wisconsin Wagon Company
Made in Janesville, WI, the Wisconsin Wagon Company continues a legacy of timeless craftsmanship. Their Tag-A-Long wagon embraces old-world sturdiness — not as ergonomic as any Radio Flyer on the market, and more rigid than a plastic-molded Fisher Price.
Wagons and more — their rideable children’s rocker carry the major classic spirit — in horse and airplane shapes — while their working wooden snow sleds endure a lifetime of Wisconsin winters. Try some cheese on your way to friendly Janesville — heirloom quality stands sturdy in opposition to the fast-fashion toy industry. (Careful, their website might be insecure, but we hope it’s running safe soon!)
Visit the Wisconsin Wagon Company official website.
(02) Fine Hardwood Toys (John Michael Linck)
Continuing a 150-year family tradition rooted in Germany’s Black Forest tradition uprooted to Madison, WI — John Michael Linck has become somewhat of a local celebrity for his traditional wooden toys. Crafting heirloom wooden toys using only local hardwoods and natural walnut oil finishes, his creations have a deep respect for children and the earth.
Linck’s signature pieces include a wooden toy train with two-dozen interchangeable cars, pull toys, sturdy block wagons filled with exactly 100 unit blocks, nutcrackers, and a child’s treasure chest for-e-ver — a deep respect for children and the earth.
See Fine Hardwood Toys on Etsy.
Visit the Fine Hardwood Toys official website.
(03) Tree Blocks LLC
Reclaimed, recycled, and responsibly harvested since 1995, Tree Blocks is a pioneer in sustainable toy wooden making. It’s a California business, but the woodwork happens in hometown Viroqua, WI.
A few different U.S. brands have picked up the idea — in Texas, Colorado, and Maine — but “Tree Blocks” are bark-on branch columns and larger tier pieces that let children build natural storyscapes completely open-ended.
Their “Cottage Set” is partially assembled almost like a dollhouse — with ladders, staircases, swings, and woolen fairy dolls for slightly less open-ended play. And finally for little ones — safety-first bark-free baby blocks chunkier to grasp and easier to stack.
Visit the Tree Blocks LLC official website.
(04) Wisconsin Wood Chuck
One craftsman in Rhinelander, WI turns makes wooden vehicle and machinery toys so inventive — they deserve treasury in a museum archive. Collectors, take note — Wisconsin Wood Chuck’s play as toys just as well as they display on mantels.
From logging trucks, military carriers, and Apache helicopters — to classic cars as oddly specific as the 1929 Ford Stakebed and the 1957 Chevy Belair — every model is an artistic creation made with masterful woodmanship. Children love the moving school bus with passengers that go up and down, while collectors admire the graders, excavators, dump trucks, and even paddle boats and sleighs.
See Wisconsin Wood Chuck on Etsy.
Read a blog by makers associated with Wisconsin Wood Chuck.
(05) DK Wood Toys
Handcrafted in Sparta, WI by a family with names that all start with the letter “D” — DK Wood Toys workshop creates sturdy wooden vehicles — simply built, safe for children, always toxin-free.
Their collection ranges from farm tractors, tow trucks, and steam rollers to graders, semis, and garbage trucks. Extra clean and minimal, left unpainted just beautifully composited wood pieces — you won’t forget their log hauler with real bark-on logs in the back, their trains with decipherable cars in a line, or their F15 fighter to near perfect proportions.
Visit the DK Wood Toys official website.
A Wisconsin Toy Making Time Capsule
- Rapid Racers — Until some time before 2025, Rapid Racers specialized in pine wood derby cars. These Stoughton, WI made racing rollers were so streamlined that boy scouts checked Rapid Racers latest model before they showed up at the derby — a sleek-and-modern new era of non-mechanical, small-scale racing.
- Chickory Wood Products — Operating from Mequon, WI until the early 2020s, Chickory Wood Products made classic wooden toys — think trains, planes, and boats for their own kids, then turned it into a business. Goes to prove not all wooden toys need Montessori in their marketing! In Wisconsin, heritage remains strong.
