Waupaca County, Wisconsin

Waupaca County
Waupaca County
County
	Waupaca County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
	Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 44°29′N 88°58′W / 44.48°N 88.97°W
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1853
Named for	Chief Waupaca
Seat	Waupaca
Largest city	New London
Government
• Mayor	Brian Smith
Area
• Total	765 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Land	748 sq mi (1,940 km2)
• Water	17 sq mi (40 km2) 2.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	51,812
• Density	69.3/sq mi (26.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	54981
Congressional district	8th
Website	www.co.waupaca.wi.us

Waupaca County (/wəˈpækə/ wə-PAK-ə)^[2] is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,812.^[3] The county seat is Waupaca.^[4] The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1853.^[5] It is named after the Waupaca River, a Menominee language name meaning 'white sand bottom', 'pale water', or 'tomorrow river'.^[6]^[7]

History

Ancient indigenous peoples constructed earthworks that expressed their religious and political concepts. An early European explorer counted 72 such earthen mounds in what is now Waupaca County, many of them in the form of effigy mounds, shaped like "humans, turtles, catfish and others."^[8] There were 52 mounds constructed around what is now called Taylor Lake. Most mounds were lost to agricultural development. One mound, shaped like a catfish, is still visible in a private yard along County Hwy. QQ, just east of Taylor Lake. The site was marked by a local women's club with a commemorative plaque installed on a large stone.^[8]

Under pressure from European-American development, the Menominee people ceded their title to the United States for these lands by treaty in 1852. Following that, the flow of new migrant settlers greatly increased from the East, with people moving from New England, New York, and Ohio. They developed the land primarily for agricultural use in the early decades, also quickly establishing sawmills on the rivers.

In the 1870s railroads were constructed in the county: the Wisconsin Central in 1872 and the Green Bay and Minnesota Railroad (later known as Green Bay, Minnesota & St. Paul) in 1873. These improved the county's connections to markets for its lumber and other products. For a period, entrepreneurs and merchants gained high profits from the lumber industry, establishing many fine homes in the larger cities.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 765 square miles (1,980 km²), of which 748 square miles (1,940 km²) is land and 17 square miles (44 km²) (2.3%) is water.^[9] The water includes 22 lakes that form the Waupaca Chain O' Lakes. These lakes are majority spring fed and connected by the Crystal River outlet.^[10] Waupaca County is also home to Partridge Lake on the Wolf River and the Waupaca River.

Major highways

Railroads

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	8,851	—
1870	15,539	75.6%
1880	20,955	34.9%
1890	26,794	27.9%
1900	31,615	18.0%
1910	32,782	3.7%
1920	34,200	4.3%
1930	33,513	−2.0%
1940	34,614	3.3%
1950	35,056	1.3%
1960	35,340	0.8%
1970	37,780	6.9%
1980	42,831	13.4%
1990	46,104	7.6%
2000	51,731	12.2%
2010	52,410	1.3%
2020	51,812	−1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census^[11] 1790–1960^[12] 1900–1990^[13] 1990–2000^[14] 2010–2020^[3]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020,^[1] the population was 51,812. The population density was 69.3 people per square mile (26.8 people/km²). There were 25,457 housing units at an average density of 34.0 units per square mile (13.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.2% White, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% Black or African American, 1.6% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 51,731 people, 19,863 households, and 13,884 families residing in the county. The population density was 69 people per square mile (27 people/km²). There were 22,508 housing units at an average density of 30 units per square mile (12 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.93% White, 0.17% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 53.1% were of German, 8.5% Norwegian and 6.8% Irish ancestry. 96.6% spoke English, 1.4% Spanish and 1.3% German as their first language.

There were 19,863 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01.

By age, 25.70% of the population was under 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.40 males.

In 2017, there were 505 births, giving a general fertility rate of 63.4 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 37th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 26 of the births occurred at home.^[16]

Government

County offices

County board chairman - Dick Koeppen
Vice Chair - David Morack
County clerk - Kristy K. Opperman
County sheriff - Timothy Wilz

Politics

United States presidential election results for Waupaca County, Wisconsin^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	18,952	65.06%	9,703	33.31%	475	1.63%
2016	16,209	62.12%	8,451	32.39%	1,435	5.50%
2012	14,002	54.19%	11,578	44.81%	260	1.01%
2008	12,232	47.95%	12,952	50.77%	327	1.28%
2004	15,941	59.10%	10,792	40.01%	241	0.89%
2000	12,980	56.92%	8,787	38.53%	1,037	4.55%
1996	8,679	45.10%	7,800	40.53%	2,764	14.36%
1992	10,252	44.27%	6,666	28.78%	6,241	26.95%
1988	11,559	61.62%	7,078	37.74%	120	0.64%
1984	13,097	68.33%	5,895	30.76%	175	0.91%
1980	12,568	61.71%	6,401	31.43%	1,397	6.86%
1976	10,849	60.13%	6,857	38.00%	337	1.87%
1972	11,040	70.13%	4,418	28.07%	284	1.80%
1968	10,606	67.13%	3,978	25.18%	1,215	7.69%
1964	8,381	54.46%	6,990	45.42%	18	0.12%
1960	12,247	72.61%	4,606	27.31%	14	0.08%
1956	11,798	78.64%	3,133	20.88%	72	0.48%
1952	13,693	81.38%	3,105	18.45%	28	0.17%
1948	8,764	67.51%	4,020	30.97%	198	1.53%
1944	11,495	74.44%	3,879	25.12%	68	0.44%
1940	11,099	69.95%	4,616	29.09%	151	0.95%
1936	6,680	45.88%	6,920	47.52%	961	6.60%
1932	5,082	37.54%	8,179	60.42%	275	2.03%
1928	8,928	72.32%	3,307	26.79%	110	0.89%
1924	3,654	33.89%	665	6.17%	6,462	59.94%
1920	8,302	83.04%	888	8.88%	807	8.07%
1916	4,492	69.85%	1,720	26.75%	219	3.41%
1912	2,204	37.66%	1,563	26.70%	2,086	35.64%
1908	4,785	71.93%	1,483	22.29%	384	5.77%
1904	5,471	81.34%	942	14.01%	313	4.65%
1900	5,284	76.29%	1,383	19.97%	259	3.74%
1896	5,472	75.19%	1,577	21.67%	229	3.15%
1892	3,397	57.23%	2,186	36.83%	353	5.95%

Waupaca County has long been one of the most Republican counties in Wisconsin. Only two Democrats have carried the county at the presidential level since the formation of the Republican Party – Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and Barack Obama in 2008, and in 1936 Roosevelt only won by plurality because of a sizeable vote for Union Party nominee William Lemke. It was one of only three Wisconsin counties, alongside Walworth and Waushara, to vote for Barry Goldwater over Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

In other statewide races, the county is equally Republican. The only Democratic gubernatorial candidate it has backed since at least 1908 is Albert Schmedeman in 1932.^[18] Senators Herb Kohl in 2006 and William Proxmire in 1976 and 1970 did carry Waupaca County when they swept every county in the state, but no other Democratic senatorial candidate has won the county since the Seventeenth Amendment.