Many lakes exist in the county of Polk. Earlier in time, there was a lake surrounded by a forest of pine, maple, birch and butternut trees, know only to the Chippewa Indians. They knew this lake as Pic-o-nock-akonk which is believed to man "Butternut" because of the abundance of butternut trees that grew in the area. Therefore, this territory was called Butternut, before it was named Luck.

Obtaining the land by preemption for two dollars an acre, William Foster became the first white person to settle here in 1857.

There are several legends concerning the naming of the Luck area. The most popular one being that if you were a traveler going by wagon on the St. Croix Falls to Clam Falls Trail, and you reached Butternut Lake by nightfall, you were considered to be in luck!

Danish immigrants organized a township on November 8, 1869. The village of Luck was not incorporated until 1905, due to the division created over the emergence of two towns.

The coming of the railroad to Luck in 1901, brought problems, as well as benefits. It meant a new town which was for a short time called Lawson City and ultimately a complete change of location for Luck. Mr. Nelson Lawson had purchased much of the land around the railroad right-of-way. He laid out a new town site, with a new business street along which stores were erected to create a new Main Street.

The election for incorporating the two villages was held on April 18, 1905. When the road was completed between the east and west ends in 1910, moving of the buildings began. The buildings were moved either with wide logging sleds or skids in the winter or with a winch, horse and rollers in summer. Originally founded as a stagecoach stop on the St. Croix Trail for lumber workers and immigrants heading to northwest Wisconsin, today Luck boasts woodworking industries, and is a center of commerce, recreation, employment and entertainment.