Editing Ladysmith, Wisconsin

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Ladysmith, Wisconsin
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = State Bank of Ladysmith Wisconsin.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = [[State Bank of Ladysmith]]
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = File:Rusk County Wisconsin Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Ladysmith Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Ladysmith in Rusk County, Wisconsin.
| pushpin_map             = USA Wisconsin#USA
| pushpin_relief          = yes
| pushpin_label           = Ladysmith

<!-- 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        = [[Rusk County, Wisconsin|Rusk]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = Mayor
|leader_name1             = Robert Grotzinger
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           =<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_place_55.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 11.90
|area_land_km2            = 10.93
|area_water_km2           = 0.97
|area_total_sq_mi         = 4.59
|area_land_sq_mi          = 4.22
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.38

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_footnotes     =<ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=160XX00US5540850 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Ladysmith city, Wisconsin |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
|population_total         = 3216
|population_density_km2   = 294.2
|population_density_sq_mi = 762.1

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      =<ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_m              = 
|elevation_ft             = 1145
|coordinates              = {{coord|45|27|50|N|91|6|0|W|region:US-WI_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 54848
|area_code                = [[Area codes 715 and 534|715 & 534]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 55-40850<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1567715<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1567715}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.cityofladysmithwi.com}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
}}

'''Ladysmith''' is a city and the county seat of [[Rusk County, Wisconsin]], United States, along the [[Flambeau River]]. The population was 3,216 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2020"/>

==History==
The [[Ojibwe]] who travelled the Flambeau River called the area that would become Ladysmith {{lang|oj|Gakaabikijiwanan}} ("of cliffed rapids").

The city was founded in 1885 at the intersection of the [[Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad]] (Soo&nbsp;Line) with the [[Flambeau River]], initially named ''Flambeau Falls''. Robert Corbett, a logging and lumbering entrepreneur who was a strong influence on the city in its early years, renamed it Corbett, then Warner in 1891. On July 1, 1900 he named it Ladysmith, after the bride of Charles R. Smith, head of Menasha Wooden Ware Co.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Rusk County Historical Society|title=History of Rusk County, Wisconsin|date=1983|publisher=Taylor Publishing Company|location=Dallas, Texas|page=38|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/WI/WI-idx?type=div&did=WI.IHRuskCounty.i0008&isize=M|access-date=2015-08-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Adams|first1=Peter James|title=Charles R. Smith House|url={{NRHP url|id=79000122}}|access-date=2015-08-08|work=NRHP Inventory-Nomination Form|agency=National Park Service|publisher=US Dept. of the Interior|date=1979-04-08}}</ref>

===Flambeau Mine===
[[File:Chalcocite-181311.jpg|thumb|upright|Steely-blue [[chalcocite]] from the Flambeau Mine]]
The [[Flambeau Mine|Flambeau Copper Mine]] was operated by [[Kennecott Utah Copper|Kennecott]] from 1993 to 1997. This was a very rich [[volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposit]], so rich that the ore was shipped directly to the [[smelter]]. 

Flambeau Mine has since been closed and the site reclaimed and planted. It now has walking trails.<ref>[http://www.mindat.org/loc-4496.html Flambeau Mine] at [[Mindat.org]]</ref>

===2002 tornado===
On September 2, 2002, a tornado rated at [[Fujita scale|F3 strength]] destroyed much of Ladysmith's downtown area. Overall damage was estimated at $20 million, but there were no fatalities.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2002/2002-09-03-wisconsintornado_x.htm USA Today]</ref>

===2020 Kenosha unrest shooting firearm purchase===
On May 1, 2020, Dominick Black purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle at the Ace Hardware located in Ladysmith. This rifle would later be fired by 17-year-old [[Kyle Rittenhouse]] during [[Kenosha unrest|unrest in Kenosha]] following the [[shooting of Jacob Blake]]. Black purchased the weapon using money given to him by Kyle Rittenhouse, and had an agreement that Kyle would take possession of the rifle when he turned 18.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vielmetti|first=Bruce|date=November 2, 2021|title=Kyle Rittenhouse's friend Dominick Black testifies he bought the gun used in the killings in Kenosha|url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2021/11/02/friend-expected-lead-off-states-case-kyle-rittenhouse-trial/6244050001/|access-date=2023-11-12|website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|language=en-US|quote=Black testified that shortly after he got an AR-15-style rifle, Rittenhouse expressed interest in one. During a trip to Black's family's hunting property in May 2020, Black agreed to buy a rifle for Rittenhouse, who was 17 and couldn't lawfully buy or possess one.}}</ref>

==Geography==
Ladysmith is located at {{coord|45|27|50|N|91|6|0|W| region:US-WI_type:city}}. 
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has an area of {{convert|4.59|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, of which {{convert|4.21|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is land and {{convert|0.38|sqmi|sqkm|2}} is water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2012-11-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=2012-07-02 }}</ref>

[[U.S. Highway 8]] and [[Wisconsin Highway 27]] are the main routes in the community.

Ladysmith is along the [[Flambeau River]].
{{wide image|Ladysmith, Wisconsin-2.jpg|350px||100%|center
|alt=US-8 crossing the Flambeau River in Ladysmith, Wisconsin}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population|align=left
|1910= 2352
|1920= 3581
|1930= 3493
|1940= 3671
|1950= 3924
|1960= 3584
|1970= 3674
|1980= 3826
|1990= 3938
|2000= 3932
|2010= 3414
|2020= 3216
|estyear= 
|estimate= 
|estref= 
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2012-11-18}}</ref> of 2010, there were 3,414 people, 1,527 households, and 806 families living in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|810.9|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 1,667 housing units at an average density of {{convert|396.0|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.6% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.8% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.6% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.5% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.2% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.6% of the population.

There were 1,527 households, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.2% were non-families. 41.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.86.

The median age in the city was 43.8 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64; and 23% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.6% male and 54.4% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 3,932 people, 1,570 households, and 916&nbsp;families living in the city. The [[population density]] was 1,008.9 people per square mile (389.3/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 1,660 housing units at an average density of 425.9 per square mile (164.3/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the city was 96.31% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.48% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.56% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.48% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.13% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.10% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.94% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.76% of the population.

There were 1,570 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65&nbsp;years of age or older. The median age was 37&nbsp;years. For every 100&nbsp;females there were 87.4&nbsp;males. For every 100&nbsp;females age&nbsp;18 and over, there were 83.3&nbsp;males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,274, and the median income for a family was $40,526. Males had a median income of $26,725 versus $20,826 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,499. About 7.2% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.1% of those under age&nbsp;18 and 11.0% of those age&nbsp;65 or over.

==Transportation==
[[Rusk County Airport (Wisconsin)|Rusk County Airport]] (KRCX) serves Ladysmith.

The Rusk County Transit Commission provides transportation within Rusk County.

==Education==
[[File:Ladysmith High School.jpg|thumb|Ladysmith High School]]
Ladysmith is served by the Ladysmith School District, which administers Ladysmith High School and Ladysmith Elementary School. Ladysmith is also home to private schools Our Lady of Sorrows, a Catholic grade school, and [[North Cedar Academy]], a private [[college prep]] International boarding high school, providing "BluGold" study program, which allows students to earn up to 60 college credits within the high school.

Ladysmith was the home of [[Mount Senario College]], which closed in 2002. In the 2006–07 school year, part of the former campus was operated as Concordia Preparatory School, a private Christian high school. That institution also faced financial problems and closed. [[Holy Family College (Wisconsin)|Silver Lake College]] of [[Manitowoc, Wisconsin]], began offering courses at Mount Senario, renamed Mount Senario Education Center, in September 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mountsenario.com/ |title=Silver Lake College: Mount Senario Education Center's website |access-date=2009-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302103739/http://www.mountsenario.com/ |archive-date=2009-03-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Silver Lake itself closed in 2020, and [[North Cedar Academy]] now occupies Mount Senario's old campus, passed on its collaboration with the UW System and provides "BluGold" Guarantee Transfer Program.

==Notable people==
{{div col}}
* [[Gary Beecham]], artist
* [[Lois Capps]], member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[California]]
* [[Jorge A. Carow]], Wisconsin State Assembly
* [[Mark Hayes (composer)|Mark Hayes]], composer and arranger
* [[Donald J. Hoffman]], Air Force 4-star general
* [[Ron Kovic]], author, [[Vietnam War]] veteran
* [[Jim Leonhard]], [[NFL]] player
* [[Earl Maves]], NFL player
* [[A. R. Morlan]] (1958–2016), author
* [[Martin Reynolds (Wisconsin politician)|Martin Reynolds]], mayor of Ladysmith, Wisconsin State Assembly
* [[Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau]], filmmaker
{{div col end}}

==See also==
* [[List of cities in Wisconsin]]

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ladysmith, Wisconsin}}
* [http://www.cityofladysmithwi.com City of Ladysmith]
* [http://www.ladysmithchamber.com Ladysmith Chamber of Commerce]
* Ladysmith, Wisconsin is at coordinates {{coord|45|27|50|N|91|6|0|W| region:US-WI_type:city}}. 
* Sanborn fire insurance maps:  [http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/maps/id/6507 1902] [http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/maps/id/6515 1909] [http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/maps/id/6633 1914]

{{Rusk County, Wisconsin}}
{{Wisconsin county seats}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Cities in Rusk County, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:County seats in Wisconsin]]