James Huff Stout was born and grew up in Dubuque, Iowa. He entered his father's lumber business at age 19, spent some years in Read's Landing, Minnesota, and Washington, D.C., and then settled in Menomonie, Wisconsin, where he resided for the last 20 years of his life. Today the name Stout is readily associated with the University of Wisconsin-Stout and with the Knapp-Stout lumber company. While Stout's principle claim to fame lies in his laying a foundation for a great university, his prominence in other Wisconsin and national affairs has largely been forgotten.

 

The neglect of these contributions was due in part to his own unassuming posture and seeming avoidance of public praise. During his residence in Wisconsin, he accomplished a great deal in educational change, the development of libraries, the "good roads movement," and in other progressive enterprises. He was a civic leader and served as a state legislator.

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Admittedly, Stout was able to accomplish much of what he did by means of his wealth. The exploitation of the great white pine forest of northern Wisconsin yielded significant fortunes for the families involved in the Knapp, Stout & Co. Company. Stout used his money to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate.

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UW-Stout is a monument to the man and his ideas -- the only institution in the UW System named for an individual.