| Saint Croix County, Wisconsin | |
Location in the state of Wisconsin |
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Wisconsin's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1840 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Hudson, Wisconsin |
| Largest city | Hudson, Wisconsin |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
736 sq mi (1,906 km²) 722 sq mi (1,870 km²) 14 sq mi (36 km²), 1.90% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
84,345 |
| Website | co.saint-croix.wi.us |
St. Croix County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2010, the population was 84,345. Its county seat is Hudson[1]. St. Croix County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is the fastest growing county in Wisconsin.[2]
Contents |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 736 square miles (1,910 km2), of which 722 square miles (1,870 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (1.90%) is water.
St. Croix County was created on August 3, 1840[3] by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory. It was named after the river on its western border. Sources vary on the origin of the name; the St. Croix River may have been named after Monsieur St. Croix, an explorer who drowned at the mouth of the river late in the seventeenth century. Another account credits Father Hennepin with giving this region the French name Ste Croix (Holy Cross) because of the burial markers located at the mouth of the river.[4]
La Pointe County (now extinct, see Bayfield County) was created from the northern portions of Wisconsin Territory's St. Croix County on February 19, 1845.[5] When Wisconsin was admitted into the union as a state on May 29, 1848, the territorial St. Croix County was further divided, with the territory from the Mississippi River to the current border of Minnesota continuing as de facto Wisconsin Territory until on March 3, 1849,[6][7][8] it and unorganized federal territory lying north of Iowa were used in the creation of the Minnesota Territory.[9] Itasca, Washington, Ramsey and Benton Counties were created by the Minnesota Territory on October 27, 1849[10] from the de facto Wisconsin Territory that had been separated from the Wisconsin Territory's La Pointe County.
The part of St. Croix County allocated to Wisconsin became the parental county to Pierce and Polk Counties, and formed significant portions of Dunn, Barron, Washburn and Burnett Counties.
On June 12, 1899, a deadly F5 tornado struck New Richmond. The tornado's damage path was 300 yards (270 m) wide and 30 miles (48 km) long. It killed 117 people and injured 200 others, making it the 8th deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 26,830 |
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| 1910 | 25,910 | −3.4% | |
| 1920 | 26,106 | 0.8% | |
| 1930 | 25,455 | −2.5% | |
| 1940 | 24,842 | −2.4% | |
| 1950 | 25,905 | 4.3% | |
| 1960 | 29,164 | 12.6% | |
| 1970 | 34,354 | 17.8% | |
| 1980 | 43,262 | 25.9% | |
| 1990 | 50,251 | 16.2% | |
| 2000 | 63,155 | 25.7% | |
| 2010 | 84,345 | 33.6% | |
| WI Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 63,155 people, 23,410 households, and 16,948 families residing in the county. The population density was 88 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 24,265 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.85% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.4% were of German, 19.3% Norwegian, 8.2% Irish and 5.4% Swedish ancestry.
There were 23,410 households out of which 38.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county, the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 9.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.
| Polk County | Barron County | |||
| Washington County, Minnesota | Dunn County | |||
| St. Croix County, Wisconsin | ||||
| Pierce County |
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