Fountain City, Wisconsin

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Location of Fountain City, Wisconsin

Road sign

Gothic Revival and Queen Anne homes with second story balconies in Fountain City

WIS-35 through town

Bluffs overlooking the city

Downtown

Catholic Church

Fountain City is a city in Buffalo County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 983 at the 2000 census.

Fountain City was originally called Holmes' Landing, after Thomas Holmes, who settled there in 1839.^[1] Riverboats would stop at the landing to take on firewood, as well as water from springs not far from the river, leading to the name of Fountain City.

The economy has depended more recently on agriculture and tourism. Tourists are drawn to the picturesque river bluffs and the Mississippi River itself. Merrick State Park is located a short distance up Fountain City Bay, a slough of the river, providing a portal by which tourists can enter the peaceful backwaters. Fountain City is also known for the Monarch Tavern, which dates back to 1894 and still retains the original hand-carved oak back bar. ^[2]

The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a base on the north side of town. It was the longtime home of the dredge William A. Thompson, which the Corps used to maintain the 9-foot shipping depth of the Mississippi's Main Channel. ^[3]

1 Education
2 Geography
3 Transportation
4 Demographics
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Education

Fountain City is part of the Cochrane-Fountain City School district, whose school is located several miles north of town near the intersection of highways 35 and 88. The CFC Pirates are best known for their cross-country running team, which was the Wisconsin Division III state champion four consecutive years, 1994-1997.

[edit] Geography

Fountain City is located at 44°7′28″N, 91°42′34″W (44.124506, -91.709470)^GR1, at the intersection of highways 35 and 95.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.4 km² (5.6 mi²). 11.6 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 2.9 km² (1.1 mi²) of it (20.11%) is water.

The city is located on a bend in the Mississippi River, where the river flows right at the base of the bluffs on the east side of the valley. Eagle Creek and Waumandee Creek flow into Fountain City Bay northwest of the city limits. Eagle Creek flows around the base of Eagle Bluff, one of the tallest bluffs along the Mississippi. The steep bluffs are characteristic of the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa, a region that was not smoothed over by glacier like much of the rest of the midwest, but rather deeply cut runoff from the rapidly melting glaciers.

[edit] Transportation

Fountain City is located on Wisconsin Highway 35. The west termini of Wisconsin Highway 95 and Wisconsin Highway 88 are also located near the city.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 983 people, 444 households, and 241 families residing in the city. The population density was 85.1/km² (220.6/mi²). There were 470 housing units at an average density of 40.7/km² (105.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.49% White, 0.10% Native American, 0.10% Asian, and 0.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population.

There were 444 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.5% were non-families. 40.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,524, and the median income for a family was $47,692. Males had a median income of $31,488 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,396. About 2.8% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.