Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
| Eau Claire County, Wisconsin | |
 Location in the state of Wisconsin |
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 Wisconsin's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1856[1] |
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| Seat | Eau Claire |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
645 sq mi (1,671 km²) 638 sq mi (1,652 km²) 8 sq mi (21 km²), 1.18% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
98,736 145/sq mi (56/km²) |
| Website | www.co.eau-claire.wi.us/ |
Eau Claire County (Eau Claire is French for Clear Water) is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2011, the population estimate was 99,879.[2] Its county seat is Eau Claire.[3]
The United States Census Bureau's Eau Claire Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Eau Claire County (as well as Chippewa County to the north). Together with the Menomonie Micropolitan Statistical Area (which includes all of Dunn County) to the west, the Eau Claire metropolitan area, forms the Census Bureau's Eau Claire-Menomonie Combined Statistical Area, which had a consolidated 2011 population of 206,628.
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[edit] Attractions
Attractions include the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Dells Mill Museum in Augusta, Dells Mill Water Powered Museum in Augusta, the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp in Eau Claire, and the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Eau Claire.[4]
[edit] History
Eau Claire county was originally set off as the Town of Clearwater in Chippewa County, in 1855. The name was changed to the Town of Eau Claire on March 31, 1856. The entire town was separated as Eau Claire County by an act of the Wisconsin State Legislature on October 6, 1856.[5][6]
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 645 square miles (1,670.5 km2), of which 638 square miles (1,652.4 km2) is land and 8 square miles (20.7 km2) (1.18%) is water.
[edit] Government
The legislative body of Eau Claire County is the Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors. The board consists of 29 supervisors, including the chair and vice-chair.[7] The main political parties are the Democratic Party of Eau Claire County[8] and the Republican Party of Eau Claire County[9]
Eau Claire County contains portions of the Wisconsin State Senate districts 23 and 31, represented by Terry Moulton (R) and Kathleen Vinehout (D) respectively. It also contains portions of Wisconsin State Assembly districts 68 (Kathy Bernier [R]), 69 (Scott Suder [R]), 92 (Mark Radcliffe [D]), and 93 (Warren Petryk [R]). At the federal level, the entire county is contained within Wisconsin's third congressional district, which is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Ron Kind (D).
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Chippewa County - north
- Clark County - east
- Jackson County - southeast
- Trempealeau County - south
- Buffalo County - southwest
- Pepin County - west
- Dunn County - west
[edit] Major highways
[edit] Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 31,692 |
|
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| 1910 | 32,721 | 3.2% | |
| 1920 | 35,771 | 9.3% | |
| 1930 | 41,087 | 14.9% | |
| 1940 | 46,999 | 14.4% | |
| 1950 | 54,187 | 15.3% | |
| 1960 | 58,300 | 7.6% | |
| 1970 | 67,219 | 15.3% | |
| 1980 | 78,805 | 17.2% | |
| 1990 | 85,183 | 8.1% | |
| 2000 | 93,142 | 9.3% | |
| 2010 | 98,736 | 6.0% | |
| WI Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 93,142 people, 35,822 households, and 22,281 families residing in the county. The population density was 146 people per square mile (56/km²). There are 37,474 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile (23/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.96% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.4% were of German, 21.5% Norwegian and 7.0% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.2% spoke English, 1.6% Hmong, 1.6% Spanish and 1.0% German as their first language.
There were 35,822 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males.
[edit] Cities, villages, and towns
Cities
- Altoona*
- Augusta
- Eau Claire* (part)
Villages
- Bridge Creek
- Brunswick*
- Clear Creek
- Drammen
- Fairchild
- Lincoln
- Ludington
- Otter Creek
- Pleasant Valley*
- Seymour*
- Union*
- Washington*
- Wilson
* indicates a municipality considered part of the Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan area.
[edit] Unincorporated communities
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‡ Historical community
§ Now part of the City of Eau Claire
[edit] Ghost towns
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Taken from Wisconsin Blue Book 1991-1992 p. 731; cited there as from "Wisconsin Historical Records, Origin and Legislative History of County Boundaries in Wisconsin, 1942."
- ^ http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&geo_id=05000US55081&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US55%7C05000US55081&_street=&_county=eau+claire+county&_cityTown=eau+claire+county&_state=04000US55&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=050&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null®=null:null&_keyword=&_industry=
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ http://www.wisconline.com/cgi-bin/find_attractions.pl?typ=cou&county=Eau%20Claire
- ^ Dictionary of Wisconsin History accessed 1 January 2007.
- ^ When Counties Originated from rootsweb.com's Oconto County, Wisconsin webpage.
- ^ http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/county.cfm&id=55035
- ^ www.eauclairedemocrats.org
- ^ eauclairegop.com
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Eau Claire County official website
- History of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
- History of Eau Claire County
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Special Collections and Archives
- Chippewa Valley Museum
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Chippewa County | |
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| Dunn County and Pepin County |  |
Clark County | ||
 Eau Claire County, Wisconsin  |
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| Buffalo County | Trempealeau County | Jackson County |
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