Douglas County, Wisconsin

Douglas County, Wisconsin
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 8, 1854
Seat	Superior
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,480 sq mi (3,833 km²) 1,309 sq mi (3,391 km²) 171 sq mi (442 km²), 11.54%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	43,287 33.07/sq mi (12.77/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.douglascountywi.org

Douglas County is a county located at the north-west corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 43,287. Its county seat is Superior.^[1]

A portion of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is in the county.

History

Douglas County, named after Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, was established on February 8, 1854, from the larger La Pointe County, Wisconsin, and the City of Superior was immediately selected as the county seat.^[2]

In Wisconsin's 1952 U.S. Senate primary, Douglas County was one of two counties (out of 71 in the state at the time) that Sen. Joe McCarthy did not carry.^[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,480 square miles (3,833.2 km²), of which 1,309 square miles (3,390.3 km²) is land and 171 square miles (442.9 km²) (11.54%) is water.

Douglas County Courthouse in Superior

Adjacent counties

• Bayfield County – east
• Sawyer County – southeast
• Washburn County – south
• Burnett County – southwest
• Pine County, Minnesota – southwest
• Carlton County, Minnesota – west
• St. Louis County, Minnesota – northwest

Major highways

U.S. Highway 2 U.S. Highway 53 Interstate Highway 535 Wisconsin Highway 13

Wisconsin Highway 27 Wisconsin Highway 35 Wisconsin Highway 105 Minnesota Highway 23

National protected area

• Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (part)

Demographics

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Douglas County.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	36,335		—
1910	47,422		30.5%
1920	49,771		5.0%
1930	46,583		−6.4%
1940	47,119		1.2%
1950	46,715		−0.9%
1960	45,008		−3.7%
1970	44,657		−0.8%
1980	44,421		−0.5%
1990	41,758		−6.0%
2000	43,287		3.7%
2010	44,159		2.0%
WI Counties 1900-1990

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 43,287 people, 17,808 households, and 11,272 families residing in the county. The population density was 33 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 20,356 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.35% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 1.82% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.8% had German, 13.5% Norwegian, 11.5% Swedish, 8.5% Irish, 8.2% Finnish, 6.8% Polish and 5.1% United States or American ancestry. 96.7% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language.

There were 17,808 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.10% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.70% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.

Cities, villages, and towns

Cities and Villages	Towns	Unincorporated Communities		Ghost Towns
Lake Nebagamon Oliver Poplar Solon Springs Superior (city) Superior (village)	Amnicon Bennett Brule Cloverland Dairyland Gordon Hawthorne Highland Lakeside Maple Oakland Parkland Solon Springs (town) Summit Superior (town) Wascott	Anton Bellwood Bennett Black River Blueberry Borea Boylston Boylston Junction Brule Carnegie Chaffey Cloverland Cozy Corner Dairyland Dedham Dewey Dobie Foxboro Gordon	Hawthorne Hillcrest Hines Maple Middle River Moose Junction Parkland Patzau Pokegama South Range Sunnyside Wascott Wentworth Winneboujou	Beebe Cutter Merriam Millcrest Morrison (Allouez) † New Bristol (Martinson)	Nutt Pokegama Junction Rockmont Saunders Sauntry Steele Troy Walbridge Way Wiehe

† Annexed by the City of Superior

See also

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

Notes

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ Douglas County: County History
3. ^ "The Wisconsin Primary," Time, 22 September 1952
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Douglas County website
• Superior–Douglas County Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Superior–Douglas County Chamber of Commerce
• Map of Douglas County, Wisconsin Department of Transportation

Coordinates: 46°27′N 91°55′W / 46.45°N 91.91°W / 46.45; -91.91