Black River Falls, Wisconsin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,618 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County^GR6.

The Ho-Chunk Nation has its administrative center in Black River Falls.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Local Media
4 Trivia
5 Education
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Location of Black River Falls, Wisconsin

Black River Falls is located at 44°17′50″N, 90°50′57″W (44.297166, -90.849263)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²). 8.2 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.08%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,618 people, 1,563 households, and 886 families residing in the city. The population density was 442.1/km² (1,146.4/mi²). There were 1,679 housing units at an average density of 205.1/km² (532.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.37% White, 0.19% African American, 4.73% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.

There were 1,563 households out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,555, and the median income for a family was $46,222. Males had a median income of $31,481 versus $18,519 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,532. About 3.7% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Local Media

Despite its rather small size, Black River Falls has two newspapers, both published weekly: the Banner-Journal and the Jackson County Chronicle.

WWIS Radio operates the only radio stations located in Black River Falls, WWIS 1260AM and WWIS 99.7FM. The AM station only operates during daytime hours.

[edit] Trivia

Black River Falls is depicted in Michael Lesy's book Wisconsin Death Trip (1973), which uses photographs and newspaper cuttings to highlight the harshness of life in the town during the late nineteenth century and the effects it had on the psychology of the inhabitants. The book was made into a film in 2000 which also includes images from the town as it is today.

Those passing through the town often visited a large orange moose statue that perches over Interstate 94 for a candid picture with the animal replica. The "Orange Moose," as the locals have affectionately dubbed it, appears in photographs on many Web sites.

[edit] Education

Black River Falls High School is the city's high school within the Black River Falls School District.
Western Technical College offers classes in Black River Falls.