Price County, Wisconsin

File:Timms Hill, Wisconsin.JPG

Timms Hill, the highest natural point in Wisconsin, at 1951.5 feet, is located in the Town of Hill, Price County.

Price County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,054.<ref name="2020-census-55099" /> Its county seat is Phillips.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Price County was created on March 3, 1879, when Wisconsin Governor William E. Smith signed legislation creating the county. The county was later organized in 1882.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> William T. Price (1824–1886), for whom Price County was named,<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> was President of the Wisconsin Senate and an early logger in Price County; he later was elected to the U.S. Congress.<ref>William Thompson Price, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.</ref> The county was formed from portions of Chippewa and Lincoln counties.

The first white settler in what is now Price County was Major Isaac Stone, who located on the Spirit River in 1860 to engage in lumbering.<ref>Historical and Biographical Album of the Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin, A. Warner, 1891–1892, p. 353.</ref> Price County continues today to be a large producer of raw timber.<ref>Template:Cite web</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 (1.9%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The highest natural point in Wisconsin, Timms Hill at Template:Convert, is located in Price County.

Adjacent counties

• Ashland - northwest
• Iron - northeast
• Lincoln - southeast
• Oneida - east
• Rusk - west
• Sawyer - west
• Taylor - south
• Vilas - northeast

Major highways

• File:US 8.svg U.S. Highway 8
• File:WIS 13.svg Highway 13 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 70.svg Highway 70 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 86.svg Highway 86 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 102.svg Highway 102 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 111.svg Highway 111 (Wisconsin)
• File:WIS 182.svg Highway 182 (Wisconsin)

Railroads

• Watco

Buses

• Bay Area Rural Transit

Airports

• KPBH - Price County Airport
• KPKF - Park Falls Municipal Airport
• 5N2 - Prentice Airport

National protected area

• Chequamegon National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,<ref name="2020-census-55099">Template:Cite web</ref> the population was 14,054. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 10,735 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% White, 0.9% Pacific Islander, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.5% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.3% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 15,822 people, 6,564 households, and 4,417 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 9,574 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 98.22% White, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 44.4% were of German, 6.5% Norwegian, 5.9% Swedish, 5.4% Polish, 5.2% Irish and 5% Czech ancestry.

There were 6,564 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99 males.

In 2017, there were 127 births, giving a general fertility rate of 71.4 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 13th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear left

Communities

File:Phillips Wisconsin.JPG

Phillips, Wisconsin is located in Price County.

Cities

• Park Falls
• Phillips (county seat)

Villages

• Catawba
• Kennan
• Prentice

Towns

• Catawba
• Eisenstein
• Elk
• Emery
• Fifield
• Flambeau
• Georgetown
• Hackett
• Harmony
• Hill
• Kennan
• Knox
• Lake
• Ogema
• Prentice
• Spirit
• Worcester

Census-designated place

• Ogema

Unincorporated communities

• Cranberry Lake
• Clifford (partial)
• Brantwood
• Dover
• Fifield
• Lugerville
• Pennington
• Spirit
• Worcester

Ghost towns/neighborhoods

• Coolidge
• Kaiser
• Kennedy
• Knox Mills
• Sassen

Politics

Price County was originally a Republican stronghold which became a swing county beginning in the Depression years. Recently, starting in 1988 it saw a Democratic trend through 2012 (with the exception of 2000). Several of these elections were particularly close; in 2004, Democrat John Kerry won the county by a narrow plurality of 37 votes. While the county swung strongly Democratic in 2008 to support Barack Obama, the best such performance since 1964, in 2012 Obama lost ground and only carried the county by 3 votes. In 2016 the county swung hard to the right in support of Donald Trump, who became the first Republican to carry it by over 60% since Warren G. Harding in 1920. Trump improved his margins in both 2020 and 2024.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>

See also

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

External links

• Price County
• Old plat maps: 1873 1880 1888 1910 1920 ca. 1925
• Price County map at Wisconsin Department of Transportation
• Price County Historical Society