Winnebago County, Wisconsin

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Winnebago County

| state = Wisconsin

| seal =

| named for = Winnebago people

| founded year = 1848

| founded date =

| seat wl = Oshkosh

| largest city wl = Oshkosh

| area_total_sq_mi = 579

| area_land_sq_mi = 434

| area_water_sq_mi = 144

| area percentage = 25%

| population_as_of = 2020

| population_total = 171730

| pop_est_as_of = 2023

| population_est = 171735 {{gain}}

| population_density_sq_mi = 395.1

| population_footnotes =

| web = www.co.winnebago.wi.us

| ex image = WinnebagoCountyWisconsinCourthouse.jpg

| ex image cap = Winnebago County Courthouse

| time zone = Central

| district = 6th

| district2 = 8th

}}

Winnebago County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,730. Its county seat is Oshkosh.{{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}} It was named for the historic Winnebago people, a federally recognized Native American tribe now known as the Ho-Chunk Nation. Chief Oshkosh was a Menominee leader in the area. Winnebago County comprises the Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Combined Statistical Area.

History

The region was occupied by several Native American tribes in the period of European encounter, including the Sauk, Fox, Menominee, and Ojibwa (known as Chippewa in the US). French traders from what is now Canada had early interaction with them, as did French Jesuit missionaries, who sought to convert them to Catholicism. European and American settlement encroached on their traditional territories, and the United States negotiated treaties in the mid-19th century to keep pushing the Indians to the west.

Winnebago County was created in 1840 by European Americans and organized in 1848.{{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 name Winnebago is of Algonquin origin, with variations used by the Fox and Potowatomi to refer to the Fox River below Lake Winnebago, which sometimes got muddy and full of fish.[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/winnebago "Winnebago"], Dictionary.com It means 'people dwelling by the fetid or ill-smelling water', which may also refer to a sulfur spring.{{cite news|title=Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/915335/wisconsin_county_names/|newspaper=The Post-Crescent|date=December 28, 1963|page=14|via = Newspapers.com|access-date=August 25, 2014}} {{Open access}} The county seat, Oshkosh, was incorporated as a city in 1853, when it already had a population of nearly 2,800.City of Oshkosh. [http://www2.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/about_us.asp About Us].

Chief Oshkosh was the namesake for the county seat. A leader of the Menominee in the region, he was successful in gaining authorization from the federal government for 2500 of his people to remain in Wisconsin, at a time when the government was pushing for their removal west of the Mississippi River.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|579|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|434|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|144|sqmi}} (25%) 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}}

=Adjacent counties=

Waupaca County - northwest
Outagamie County - northeast
Calumet County - east
Fond du Lac County - south
Green Lake County - southwest
Waushara County - west

=Major highways=

=Railroads=

=Buses=

=Airports=

Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Brennand Airport (79C) in the Town of Clayton is a major recreational aircraft hub year-round.

Commercial airline service for Winnebago County is provided by Appleton International Airport in the neighboring Outagamie County.

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1840= 135

|1850= 10167

|1860= 23770

|1870= 37279

|1880= 42740

|1890= 50097

|1900= 58225

|1910= 62116

|1920= 63897

|1930= 76622

|1940= 80507

|1950= 91103

|1960= 107928

|1970= 129931

|1980= 131703

|1990= 140320

|2000= 156763

|2010= 166994

|2020= 171730

|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}} 2010–2020{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/55139.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 24, 2014|archive-date=February 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224122205/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/55139.html|url-status=dead}}}}

=2020 census=

As of the census of 2020,{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census: Winnebago County, Wisconsin |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US55139&y=2020&d=DEC%20Redistricting%20Data%20%28PL%2094-171%29 |website=data.census.gov |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=July 3, 2022}} the population was 171,730. The population density was {{convert|395.1|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 76,046 housing units at an average density of {{convert|174.9|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 86.2% White, 3.3% Asian, 3.0% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.8% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 4.8% 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 156,763 people, 61,157 households, and 39,568 families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|357|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people |people|}}. There were 64,721 housing units at an average density of {{convert|148|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 94.92% White, 1.12% Black or African American, 0.46% Native American, 1.84% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 1.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 52.4% were of German, 6.2% Irish and 5.7% Polish ancestry. 94.6% spoke English, 2.5% Spanish and 1.0% Hmong as their first language.

There were 61,157 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.30% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% 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 2.99.

By age, 23.80% of the population was under 18, 11.80% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 99.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.80 males.

In 2017, there were 1,833 births, giving a general fertility rate of 56.5 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 15th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.{{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 19, 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 123 reported induced abortions performed on women of Winnebago 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

Government

Winnebago County is governed by the 36-member Winnebago County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors are elected to the board in a nonpartisan election held the first Tuesday of April in even numbered years and serve two-year terms. The board has several committees. It meets on the third Tuesday of each month at the Winnebago County Courthouse in Oshkosh.

=Politics=

{{PresHead|place=Winnebago County, Wisconsin|source1={{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=November 11, 2020}}|source2=In 1912, the leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 4,098 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 478 votes, Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 146 votes, and Independent candidate Arthur Reimer received 21 votes.}}

Winnebago County has become a swing county in recent decades. It has voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1980, except in 1992 when it supported George H. W. Bush, and in 2020, when it supported Donald Trump.

Communities

=Cities=

Appleton (mostly in Outagamie County and Calumet County)
Menasha (partly in Calumet County)
Neenah
Omro
Oshkosh (county seat)

=Villages=

=Towns=

=Census-designated places=

=Unincorporated communities=

=Ghost towns/neighborhoods=

Notable people

Martin Madison (born 1854, Winnebago County), South Dakota politician{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/maddock-magerman.html#842.44.72|title=Madison, Martin|publisher=Political Graveyard|accessdate=December 21, 2013}}

References

External links

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

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Winnebago County, Wisconsin

|North =

|Northeast = Outagamie County

|East = Calumet County

|Southeast =

|South = Fond du Lac County

|Southwest = Green Lake County

|West = Waushara County

|Northwest = Waupaca County

}}

{{Coord|44.06|-88.64|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-WI_source:UScensus1990}}