Waushara County, Wisconsin

Waushara County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,520.<ref name="2020-census-55137" /> Its county seat is Wautoma.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

Waushara County is located in central Wisconsin, about Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.8%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:I-39.svg Interstate 39
• File:US 51.svg U.S. Highway 51
• File:WIS 21.svg Highway 21 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 22.svg Highway 22 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 49.svg Highway 49 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 73.svg Highway 73 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 152.svg Highway 152 (Wisconsin)

Airports

• Wautoma Municipal Airport Template:Airport codes serves Waushara County and the surrounding communities
• Wild Rose Idlewild Airport Template:Airport codes 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

Template:Climate chart

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55137">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 24,520. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 14,710 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. 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

Template:Stack As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 23,154 people, 9,336 households, and 6,581 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 13,667 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, there were 10 reported induced abortions performed on women of Waushara County residence in 2017.<ref>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</ref>

Communities

File:Waushara County Wisconsin Historical Museum.jpg

Waushara County Historical Museum

Cities

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

Villages

• Coloma
• Hancock
• Lohrville
• Plainfield
• Redgranite
• Wild Rose

Towns

• Aurora
• Bloomfield
• Coloma
• Dakota
• Deerfield
• Hancock
• Leon
• Marion
• Mount Morris
• Oasis
• Plainfield
• Poy Sippi
• Richford
• Rose
• Saxeville
• Springwater
• Warren
• Wautoma

Census-designated places

• Pine River
• Poy Sippi
• Tustin

Unincorporated communities

• Auroraville
• Bannerman
• Borth
• Brushville
• Dakota
• Fountain Valley
• Heffron (partially)
• Metz (partial)
• Mount Morris
• Richford
• Saxeville
• Silver Lake
• Spring Lake
• West Bloomfield

Ghost towns

• Rodney

Politics

Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot 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; Obama only won the county by 98 votes in 2008. 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 2024, Donald Trump received the highest percentage of the vote for a Republican since 1960.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>

In other statewide races, the county is equally Republican. Waushara County has never backed a Democrat for Governor since before 1900.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Waushara County, Wisconsin

References

<references />

Further reading

• Portrait and Biographical Album of Green Lake, Marquette and Waushara Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Acme Publishing, 1890.

External links

• Waushara County website
• Waushara County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation