Editing Big Flats, Wisconsin

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Big Flats, Wisconsin
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = 
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =
|pushpin_map = Wisconsin#USA
|pushpin_label =Big Flats
<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = Adams County Wisconsin incorporated and unincorporated areas Big Flats highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 260px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Adams County, Wisconsin|Adams County]] and the state of [[Wisconsin]].

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{flag|United States}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Wisconsin}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Wisconsin|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Adams County, Wisconsin|Adams]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = Town Board<ref name="town">{{cite web|title=Town of Big Flats |publisher=Adams County |access-date=November 30, 2007 |url=http://www.co.adams.wi.gov/default.asp?id=60&mnu=60 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818190925/http://www.co.adams.wi.gov/default.asp?id=60&mnu=60 |archive-date=August 18, 2007 }}</ref>
|leader_title             = Town Chairman
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = Town Supervisor 1
|leader_name1             = 
|leader_title2            = Town Supervisor 2
|leader_name2             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020"/>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 124.5
|area_land_km2            = 124.1
|area_water_km2           = 0.4
|area_total_sq_mi         = 
|area_land_sq_mi          = 
|area_water_sq_mi         =

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="Census 2020"/>
|population_total         = 948
|population_density_km2   = 7.6
|population_density_sq_mi = 19.8

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|elevation_m              = 305
|elevation_ft             = 1001
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|6|26|N|89|47|57|W|region:US-WI|display=inline}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]
|postal_code              = 54613
|area_code                = [[Area code 608|608]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 55-07300<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1582809<ref name="GR3" />
|website                  = {{URL|bigflatswi.com}}
|footnotes                = 
}}
'''Big Flats''' is a town in [[Adams County, Wisconsin|Adams County]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Wisconsin]]. The population was 948 at the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=060XX00US5500107300 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Big Flats town, Adams County, Wisconsin |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=March 22, 2024}}</ref>

The [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] of '''Big Flats''' is located in the town. Big Flats is located at the junction of [[Wisconsin Highway 13]] and County Highway C {{convert|10|mi|km}} north of [[Friendship (village), Wisconsin|Friendship]].<ref>{{cite map| url= http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/maps/docs/counties/adams.pdf| format= pdf| title= Adams County| publisher= [[Wisconsin Department of Transportation]]| accessdate= May 22, 2011| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110516131903/http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/travel/maps/docs/counties/adams.pdf| archivedate= May 16, 2011| url-status= dead| df= dmy-all}}</ref>

==History==
The town of Big Flats was created on November 15, 1861, and the name was changed from Brownsville.<ref>[http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=6662&keyword=big+flats Wisconsin Historical Society-Big Flats, Wisconsin]</ref> The community of Big Flats once had a [[post office]], which opened in August 1862; John W. Potter was the first postmaster. The community most likely takes its name from [[Big Flats, New York]].<ref name="Callary">{{cite book |last1=Callary |first1=Edward |title=Place Names of Wisconsin |date=2016 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison, Wisconsin |isbn=9780299309640 |page=29}}</ref>

===Big Flats tornado===
On August 27, 1994, the town of Big Flats was hit by an [[Fujita scale|F3]] tornado. It touched down at 8:41 [[12-hour clock|P.M.]] [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CDT]] and was on the ground for 16 minutes. The tornado's path was {{convert|10.5|mi}} long and {{convert|850|yd}} wide.<ref name="noaa">{{cite web | title=Adams County (WI) Tornadoes 1850-2006 | last=Boyne | first=Jeff | publisher=NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office | date=January 22, 2006 | access-date=November 29, 2007 | url=http://www.crh.noaa.gov/arx/tornado/adams.php}}</ref> The tornado killed two people and injured 22. It destroyed 24 homes, caused major damage to 8, and light to moderate damage to 160. It destroyed the Big Flats Fire Department, the Town Hall, and a thrift store. Seventy cows were crushed when a barn roof and an upper floor containing 16,000 bales of hay collapsed. The tornado caused $1 million in damage.<ref name="noaa"/>

===Cottonville Forest Fire===
Big Flats was the site of a devastating wildfire, the Cottonville Forest Fire, on May 5, 2005.<ref name="DNRAnvsry">{{cite press release|title=Cottonville fire anniversary sign unveiling at Big Flats |publisher=Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources |date=April 20, 2006 |access-date=November 28, 2007 |url=http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/rbnews/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=128 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211065548/http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/news/rbnews/BreakingNews_Lookup.asp?id=128 |archive-date=February 11, 2007 }}</ref> It started when a man lit a fire within a [[fire ring]] constructed of concrete blocks, attempting to burn off dead grass. The fire jumped out of the ring and began burning the grass in the surrounding area.<ref name="crimnalComplaint">{{cite news|title=Text of wildfire criminal complaint |newspaper=Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune |date=May 26, 2005 |access-date=November 28, 2007 |url=http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/WRT0101/51212034/1982 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070813123616/http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/WRT0101/51212034/1982 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 13, 2007 }}</ref> Smoke from the fire was spotted by the fire tower in [[Rome, Adams County, Wisconsin|Rome's]] Dyracuse Park.<ref name="tower">{{cite news|last=Madden |first=Karen |newspaper=Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune |title=Towers first line of wildfire defense |date=May 26, 2005 |access-date=November 28, 2007 |url=http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/WRT0101/51212033/1982 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The fire spread in a north-northeast direction,<ref name="crimnalComplaint"/> along Roche A Cri Creek.<ref name="js">{{cite news|title=Man using fire to clear land ignited Cottonville blaze |last=Johnson |first=Annysa |author2=Bergquist, Lee |author3=Benson, Dan |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=May 7, 2005 |access-date=November 29, 2007 |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=324074 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922093734/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=324074 |archive-date=September 22, 2008 }}</ref> Smoke from the fire was visible from {{convert|60|mi}} away.<ref name="js"/> About 177 firefighters from 20 fire departments responded. [[Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]] (DNR) firefighters came from as far away as [[Hayward, Wisconsin|Hayward]]. Two DNR planes used to drop foam flew in from [[Minnesota]].<ref name="bigone">{{cite news|last=Madden |first=Karen |title=Fire chief describes 'the big one' |newspaper=Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune |date=May 11, 2005 |access-date=November 28, 2007 |url=http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/WRT0101/51212031/1982 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> By the time it was contained 11 hours later, the flames had spread northward about {{convert|10|mi}}.<ref name="srcIDd">{{cite news|title=15 homes destroyed, fire source ID'd |newspaper=Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune |date=May 6, 2005 |access-date=November 28, 2007 |url=http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/WRT0101/51212028/1982 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> It burned approximately {{convert|3410|acre|km2}}, destroying 30 residences. Approximately 60 other out-buildings were also destroyed.<ref name="crimnalComplaint"/>

It was the biggest forest fire in Wisconsin since the Ekdall Church and Oak Lake Fires burned more than {{convert|16000|acre|km2}} in [[Washburn County, Wisconsin|Washburn]] and [[Burnett County, Wisconsin|Burnett]] counties April 21–22, 1980.<ref name="js"/><ref name="dnrEkdall">{{cite web | title=Ekdall Church-Oak Lake Fires | publisher=Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | date=July 30, 2007 | access-date=November 29, 2007 | url=http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/fire/prevention/wui/ekdall.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112233907/http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/fire/prevention/wui/ekdall.htm | archive-date=November 12, 2007 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Thomas Barnhart was charged with setting a fire which became a forest fire, a [[misdemeanor]].<ref name="crimnalComplaint"/> He pleaded [[Nolo contendere|no contest]] and was sentenced to a local jail term of 90 days, which was stayed, with two years of [[probation]], 100 hours of [[community service]], and $150 per month of [[restitution]] which is applied to uninsured expenses of the victims.<ref name="ccapChg">{{cite web | title=State of Wisconsin vs. Thomas J. Barnhart Charge(s)/Sentence(s) | publisher=Wisconsin Court System | date=January 6, 2006 | access-date=November 28, 2007 | url=http://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetails.do;jsessionid=AAB2BEF9D592CBFF0C8964866CB61FB5.render2?countyNo=1&caseNo=2005CM000207&cacheId=7ED86883B13B81CC59B62B279C93FF07&recordCount=24&offset=11&mode=charges}}</ref> On November 13, 2006, the total amount of restitution owed was set at $1,436,504.<ref name="ccapEvnts">{{cite web | title=State of Wisconsin vs. Thomas J. Barnhart Court Record Events | publisher=Wisconsin Court System | date=November 13, 2006 | access-date=November 28, 2007 | url=http://wcca.wicourts.gov/courtRecordEvents.xsl;jsessionid=AAB2BEF9D592CBFF0C8964866CB61FB5.render2?caseNo=2005CM000207&countyNo=1&cacheId=7ED86883B13B81CC59B62B279C93FF07&recordCount=24&offset=11&linkOnlyToForm=false&sortDirection=ASC | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718150038/http://wcca.wicourts.gov/courtRecordEvents.xsl%3Bjsessionid%3DAAB2BEF9D592CBFF0C8964866CB61FB5.render2?caseNo=2005CM000207&countyNo=1&cacheId=7ED86883B13B81CC59B62B279C93FF07&recordCount=24&offset=11&linkOnlyToForm=false&sortDirection=ASC | archive-date=July 18, 2011 }}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|124.5|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|124.1|km2|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.4|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 0.34%, is water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_cousubs_55.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 22, 2024}}</ref>

==Demographics==
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 946 people, 402 households, and 270 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 19.7 people per square mile (7.6/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 797 housing units at an average density of 16.6 per square mile (6.4/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 97.36% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.53% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.63% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.53% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.95% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 2.11% of the population.

There were 402 households, out of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $27,800, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $31,583 versus $21,806 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,629. About 6.9% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
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==External links==
*[http://bigflatswi.com Town of Big Flats official website]

{{coord|44|06|43|N|89|48|28|W|type:city_region:US-WI|display=title}}

{{Adams County, Wisconsin}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Adams County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Towns in Wisconsin]]