Clark County, Wisconsin

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Clark County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,659.[1] The county seat is Neillsville.[2]

History

By the early 1800s, the land and streams that are now Clark County were the hunting grounds of the Chippewa, Dakota, Ho-Chunk, and possibly Menominee peoples. In 1836, these Indigenous groups were joined by a party of French-Canadian fur traders who established a temporary post for the American Fur Company on the East Fork of the Black River.[3]

The next European-American arrivals were likely Mormon loggers in 1844, who came to harvest pine logs from the forests along the Black River. They floated the logs downstream to a sawmill at Black River Falls, where the lumber was processed and transported further downriver for use in constructing the Mormon temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. The Mormons established logging camps along the river at sites including Mormon Riffle (about a mile below Neillsville), near Weston's Rapids, and south of Greenwood. This logging operation likely ended by 1846, when most of the Mormons left the area following the murder of Joseph Smith.[4]

In June 1845, James and Henry O'Neill led a party overland from Black River Falls, cutting a road through the brush. They used oxen to pull a wagon carrying tools and supplies. Upon arriving, they built a cabin on O'Neill Creek, followed by a sawmill. Lumber from the mill was rafted down the Black River to Black River Falls and then transported to Alexander O'Neill in Burlington, Iowa. However, a storm in June 1847 caused severe flooding of the Black River, destroying all the existing sawmills. Despite this setback, the settlers rebuilt.[5]

File:Clark County Wisconsin fairgrounds grandstands.jpg
Clark County fairgrounds

Clark County was founded in 1853 and officially organized the following year.[6] The county's name origin is uncertain—it was either named for A. W. Clark, an early settler,[7] or for General George Rogers Clark.[8][9]

Electricity became available in some towns and villages around 1900 through private power plants. For example, in 1902, the Paulsen mill began supplying electricity to the village of Withee. However, rural farms remained without electricity until the late 1930s. In 1937, the newly formed Clark Electric Cooperative, funded by a loan from the New Deal's Rural Electrification Administration, began installing power lines to serve the county's rural areas.[10]

In 1920, construction began on the Clark County Asylum, located two miles east of Owen. It was the last in a network of 35 county mental hospitals established in Wisconsin, designed to provide long-term care for patients unlikely to recover. Twelve patients from the Wausau asylum assisted with construction and became the facility’s first residents. The asylum operated a farm to keep patients engaged while supplying food for the institution. By 1924, patients cultivated 60 acres of corn, 25 acres of potatoes, 16 acres of barley, 40 acres of oats, 6 acres of buckwheat, and 3 acres of millet. A dairy herd was later introduced, along with hog farming and a slaughterhouse by 1948. Over time, the institution's mission shifted from a "custodial asylum" to a "treatment hospital" and eventually to a skilled nursing facility. Today, it is known as the Clark County Rehab and Living Center.[11]

Geography

File:Farmland in Hendren Clark County Wisconsin.jpg
Rolling farmland on the shoulders of North Bluff north of Willard

According to the United States Census Bureau, Clark County has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". is land and Script error: No such module "convert". (0.7%) is water.[12]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Railroads

Buses

Airport

Climate

Clark County
Climate chart (explanation)
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14
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43
 
 
6
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█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
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Source: [13]
Imperial conversion
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1.3
 
 
12
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18
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█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches

Demographics and religion statistics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
1860789—
18703,450Script error: No such module "String".%
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189017,708Script error: No such module "String".%
190025,848Script error: No such module "String".%
191030,074Script error: No such module "String".%
192035,120Script error: No such module "String".%
193034,165Script error: No such module "String".%
194033,972Script error: No such module "String".%
195032,459Script error: No such module "String".%
196031,527Script error: No such module "String".%
197030,361Script error: No such module "String".%
198032,910Script error: No such module "String".%
199031,647Script error: No such module "String".%
200033,557Script error: No such module "String".%
201034,690Script error: No such module "String".%
202034,659Script error: No such module "String".%
2024 (est.)34,801Script error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1790–1960[15] 1900–1990[16]
1990–2000[17] 2010[18] 2020[1] 2024[19]

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census,[1] the population of Clark County was 34,659. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. There were 14,755 housing units at an average density of Script error: No such module "convert"..

The racial makeup of the county was:

  • 92.2% White
  • 0.5% Native American
  • 0.3% Black or African American
  • 0.3% Asian
  • 3.4% from other races
  • 3.2% from two or more races

Additionally, 6.1% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

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File:USA Clark County, Wisconsin age pyramid.svg
2000 Census Age Pyramid for Clark County

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As of the 2000 census,[20] Clark County had a population of 33,557, with 12,047 households and 8,673 families residing in the county. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. There were 13,531 housing units at an average density of Script error: No such module "convert"..

The racial composition of the county was:

  • 98.05% White
  • 0.13% Black or African American
  • 0.48% Native American
  • 0.30% Asian
  • 0.01% Pacific Islander
  • 0.56% from other races
  • 0.47% from two or more races

Additionally, 1.20% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The most common ancestries reported were:

In terms of language, 6.62% of residents spoke German, Pennsylvania Dutch, or Dutch at home, while an additional 1.34% spoke Spanish.[21]

There were 12,047 households, of which:

  • 35.0% had children under 18 living with them
  • 61.2% were married couples living together
  • 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present
  • 28.0% were non-families

Additionally, 23.8% of all households consisted of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.73, while the average family size was 3.27.

The county’s population was distributed as follows:

  • 29.9% under the age of 18
  • 7.7% from 18 to 24
  • 26.2% from 25 to 44
  • 20.2% from 45 to 64
  • 16.0% aged 65 or older

The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.5 males. Among adults 18 and older, there were 98.7 males per 100 females.

In 2017, there were 554 births in the county, resulting in a general fertility rate of 99.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44—the second-highest rate among Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Of these, 184 births occurred at home, more than in any other county in the state.[22]

Religion

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In 2010, the largest religious groups by reported number of adherents in Clark County were:

  • Catholicism: 9,535 adherents
  • Missouri Synod Lutheranism: 2,459 adherents
  • ELCA Lutheranism: 2,281 adherents
  • Amish: 1,986 adherents
  • United Church of Christ: 959 adherents
  • Wisconsin Synod Lutheran: 891 adherents
  • United Methodist: 577 adherents.[23]

Communities

File:Clark County Wisconsin Sign WIS13.jpg
Clark County sign

Cities

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Villages

Towns

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Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

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Globe is a remnant of a rural farming community, with the church remaining.

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Ghost towns/neighborhoods

File:Weston Amish corn shocks.jpg
Along with modern farmers, the county is home to many Amish, who continue to farm using traditional methods.

In 2013, there were 16 Amish church districts in Clark County.[24]

Politics

Clark County has leaned Republican for much of its history, but it has voted for Democrats 6 times since 1950. The last Democrat to win the county was Barack Obama in 2008, and since then it has trended strongly Republican in every election. In 2020 and 2024, Donald Trump won the highest share of the vote for a Republican since Dwight Eisenhower's 1952 landslide.[25]

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Education

School districts include:[26]

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See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  4. ↑ Curtiss-Wedge, p. 36.
  5. ↑ Curtiss-Wedge, pp. 37–38.
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  11. ↑ [1], Marshfield News-Herald, July 15, 1983
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ QuickFacts Clark County, Wisconsin
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ thearda.com 2010 County Membership Report data
  24. ↑ Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, Steven M. Nolt: The Amish. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013, p. 142.
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". - Text list

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Further reading

External links

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