Waushara County, Wisconsin

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Waushara County

| state = Wisconsin

| seal =

| founded = 1852

| seat wl = Wautoma

| largest city wl = Berlin

| area_total_sq_mi = 637

| area_land_sq_mi = 626

| area_water_sq_mi = 11

| area percentage = 1.8%

| population_as_of = 2020

| population_total = 24520

| population_density_sq_mi = 39.2

| population_footnotes =

| pop_est_as_of = 2023

| population_est = 24934 {{gain}}

| web = http://www.co.waushara.wi.us/

| ex image = Waushara County Courthouse.jpg

| ex image cap = Waushara County Courthouse

| time zone = Central

| district = 6th

| named for = Ho-Chunk term meaning "good earth"

}}

Waushara County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,520. Its county seat is Wautoma.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}

Waushara County is located in central Wisconsin, about {{convert|80|mi|km}} north of Madison.

History

Waushara County was established by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature on February 15, 1851. It originally consisted of a single organized Town of Waushara. In 1852, the county achieved full organization.{{cite web|url=http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/WI_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|title=Wisconsin: Individual County Chronologies|website=Wisconsin Atlas of Historical County Boundaries|publisher=The Newberry Library|date=2007|access-date=August 15, 2015|archive-date=April 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414132220/http://publications.newberry.org/ahcbp/documents/WI_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm|url-status=dead}} The county seat was first located at Sacramento and was relocated to Wautoma in 1854 after a bitter fight between proponents of the two places. The name is of Ho-Chunk origin and is believed to mean "good land".{{cite news|title=Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/915335/wisconsin_county_names/|newspaper=Appleton Post-Crescent|date=December 28, 1963|page=14|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = August 25, 2014}} {{Open access}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8auCgAAQBAJ&q=Waushara+meaning&pg=PA346|title=The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names|first=Robert E.|last=Gard|date=September 9, 2015|publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society|isbn=9780870207082|via=Google Books}}

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|637|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|626|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|11|sqmi}} (1.8%) is water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_55.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 9, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}

=Major highways=

=Buses=

=Airports=

Wautoma Municipal Airport {{airport codes|||Y50}} serves Waushara County and the surrounding communities
Wild Rose Idlewild Airport {{airport codes|||W23}} also serves Waushara County and the surrounding communities

=Adjacent counties=

Portage County - north
Waupaca County - northeast
Winnebago County - east
Green Lake County - south
Marquette County - south
Adams County - west

Climate

{{climate chart

| Waushara County

| -13| -8| 48

| -13| -6| 57

| -6| 2| 70

| 1| 18| 132

| 8| 22| 131

| 14| 26| 133

| 18| 26| 64

| 16| 24| 116

| 12| 22| 73

| 5| 15| 116

| -1| 5| 54

| -11| -7| 46

|float=left

|clear=left

|source = {{Cite web |url= http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/dataset_index.php|title= NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index|access-date = January 30, 2016 |publisher= NASA}}

}}

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1860= 8770

|1870= 11279

|1880= 12687

|1890= 13507

|1900= 15972

|1910= 18886

|1920= 16712

|1930= 14427

|1940= 14268

|1950= 13920

|1960= 13497

|1970= 14795

|1980= 18526

|1990= 19385

|2000= 23154

|2010= 24496

|2020= 24520

|estyear=

|estimate=

|estref=

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 9, 2015}}
1790–1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=August 9, 2015}} 1900–1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wi190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=August 9, 2015}}
1990–2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=August 9, 2015}} 2010{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/55137.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 24, 2014}} 2020

}}

=2020 census=

As of the census of 2020,{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census: Waushara County, Wisconsin |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US55137&y=2020&d=DEC%20Redistricting%20Data%20%28PL%2094-171%29 |website=data.census.gov |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=July 9, 2022}} the population was 24,520. The population density was {{convert|39.2|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 14,710 housing units at an average density of {{convert|23.5|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 89.9% White, 1.6% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 6.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

=2000 census=

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2000, there were 23,154 people, 9,336 households, and 6,581 families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|37|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people}}. There were 13,667 housing units at an average density of {{convert|22|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 96.80% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.36% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 3.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.5% were of German, 9.1% Polish, 5.9% Irish, 5.7% American and 5.6% English ancestry. 94.5% spoke English, 3.4% Spanish and 1.4% German as their first language.

There were 9,336 households, out of which 27.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couples living together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.50% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 24.90% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.80 males.

In 2017, there were 222 births, giving a general fertility rate of 67.3 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 22nd highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 19 of the births occurred at home.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publication/p01161-2019-tb.xlsx|title=Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables|access-date=June 23, 2019|archive-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619175940/https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publication/p01161-2019-tb.xlsx|url-status=dead}} Additionally, there were 10 reported induced abortions performed on women of Waushara County residence in 2017.[https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p45360-17.pdf Reported Induced Abortions in Wisconsin], Office of Health Informatics, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Section: Trend Information, 2013-2017, Table 18, pages 17-18

Communities

File:Waushara County Wisconsin Historical Museum.jpg]]

=Cities=

Berlin (mostly in Green Lake County)
Wautoma (county seat)

=Villages=

=Towns=

=Census-designated places=

=Unincorporated communities=

=Ghost towns=

Rodney

Politics

{{PresHead|place=Waushara County, Wisconsin|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=August 14, 2018}}}}

{{PresRow|1924|Progressive (Wisconsin)|1,602|249|2,671|Wisconsin}}

Waushara County has long been one of the most Republican counties in Wisconsin. Only three Democrats have carried the county at a presidential level since the formation of the Republican Party – Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, Bill Clinton in 1996, and Barack Obama in 2008 – of whom only Roosevelt won an absolute majority. In 1936, when Roosevelt carried Wisconsin by a two-to-one majority, Alf Landon won Waushara County by double digits, while it was one of only three Wisconsin counties, alongside Walworth and Waupaca, to vote for Barry Goldwater over Lyndon Johnson in 1964. It has voted Republican since 2012.

In other statewide races, the county is equally Republican. Waushara County has never backed a Democrat for Governor since before 1900.{{cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=1964&fips=55&f=0&off=5&elect=0&type=state|publisher=Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas|title=Gubernatorial General Election Results Comparison – Wisconsin}} Senators Herb Kohl in 2006 and William Proxmire in 1976 and 1970 did carry Waushara County when they swept every county in the state, but no other Democratic senatorial candidate has won the county since the Seventeenth Amendment.

References

External links

[http://www.co.waushara.wi.us/ Waushara County website]
[http://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/waushara.pdf Waushara County map] from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Waushara County, Wisconsin

|North = Portage County

|Northeast = Waupaca County

|East = Winnebago County

|Southeast =

|South = Marquette County and Green Lake County

|Southwest =

|West = Adams County

|Northwest =

}}

{{coord|44.11|-89.24|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-WI_source:UScensus1990}}