Mercer, Wisconsin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mercer is a town in southern Iron County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,732 at the 2000 census.
Mercer identifies itself as the "Loon Capital of the World" in order to promote tourism. This is based off of a wildlife study that found Mercer had the highest concentration of common loons in the world. In front of the Mercer Chamber of Commerce's information center, there is 16-foot, 2,000 pound statue named "Claire de Loon". In addition, Mercer hosts an annual "Loon Day" festival which features a large arts and crafts fair, live music and a Loon Calling contest. [1] In the 1930's Mercer was known to be frequented by the Capone brothers, Al, Ralph, George, and Matte. Ralph Capone eventually returned to Mercer, built a home, and ran a tavern called "The Rex Bar" until the early 70's. He was said to be one of Mercer's most respected, well-liked residents who was always ready to help his fellow townspeople.
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[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 478.5 km² (184.8 mi²). 435.2 km² (168.0 mi²) of it is land and 43.3 km² (16.7 mi²) of it (9.05%) is water.
[edit] Tourism
Mercer's main industry is seasonal tourism. Most tourism is based on the large amounts of undeveloped land and secluded waterways.
Summer tourism is often based on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage and other bodies of water like Tank Lake (Grand Portage Lake), former home to weekly waterski shows, and Spider Lake. Fishing and other water sports include Water Skiing and JetSkis.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 1,732 people, 820 households, and 519 families residing in the town. The population density was 4.0/km² (10.3/mi²). There were 1,926 housing units at an average density of 4.4/km² (11.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.96% White, 0.12% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 820 households out of which 17.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% 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 2.63.
In the town the population was spread out with 16.7% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 25.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.7 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,413, and the median income for a family was $39,402. Males had a median income of $29,911 versus $22,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,087. About 8.7% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.
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