Catawba is a village in Price County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 141 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Catawba.

Geography

Catawba is located at (45.535969, -90.530445). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all of it land.

History

Before the railroad was built around 1884, the area that would become Catawba was a forested wilderness cut only by rivers and Indian trails. The federal government surveyed that wilderness in 1847 and 1855. In the final years before the railroad, a little pine was logged along the river and some Swedish immigrants settled near where highway 86 crosses the south fork of the

Jump River The Jump River is a small rocky river in north-central Wisconsin. In the late 19th century it was used to drive logs down to the Chippewa River (Wisconsin), Chippewa River. Today it is recreational, rambling through woods and farmlands, used mos ...

. The name ''Catawba'' is said to come from the wine - perhaps from a crew of railroad

gandy dancer Gandy dancer is a slang term used for early railroad workers in the United States and Canada, more formally referred to as ''section hands'', who laid and maintained railroad tracks in the years before the work was done by machines. The British ...

s who overindulged on the stuff, or perhaps from local lumberjacks who partook at a saloon in Kennan.Memories, p. 2. With the railroad came more lumber camps, more settlers, and a sawmill. The first school was operating by 1892, expanded to two rooms in 1902. By 1902 Peter Hammer's Red Birch Lumber Company had a sawmill running. He and his wife Isabelle also operated the Commercial Hotel, which largely served men working in the lumber business. Hammer also operated a company store called the ACA store. Other early businesses included a

lath A lath or slat is a thin, narrow strip of straight-grained wood used under roof shingles or tiles, on lath and plaster walls and ceilings to hold plaster, and in lattice and trellis work. ''Lath'' has expanded to mean any type of backing m ...

mill, the Bendixon butcher shop, the Hamm's Brewing Company saloon and pool hall, Stevens' barber shop, Swanson's

soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The machine combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...

, and Gruber's store and opera house. A Lutheran congregation was organized in 1903 - the cemetery around 1909. The Catholic church was built around 1908. The Catawba State Bank started in 1916. The town hall was built in 1921 and the village incorporated in 1922. At some point

Wisconsin Highway 14 State Trunk Highway 14 (often called Highway 14, STH-14 or WIS 14) was a number assigned to two different state highways in Wisconsin, United States: * Highway 14 from 1917 to 1926, assigned the U.S. Route 8 designation in 1926 * Highway 14 ...

joined the railroad passing through town. It was eventually upgraded to

U.S. Route 8 U.S. Highway 8 (US 8) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs primarily east–west for , mostly within the state of Wisconsin. It connects Interstate 35 (I-35) in Forest Lake, Minnesota, to U.S. Route 2, US 2 at Norway, Mi ...

, and paved in 1949.Memories, p. 30.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 110 people, 60 households, and 31 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 78 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 100.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 60 households, of which 13.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.3% were non-families. 41.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.83 and the average family size was 2.45. The median age in the village was 52 years. 13.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 2.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21% were from 25 to 44; 45.5% were from 45 to 64; and 17.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 149 people, 68 households, and 48 families living in the village. The

was 33.4 people per square mile (12.9/km²). There were 79 housing units at an average density of 17.7 per square mile (6.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.33%

, and 0.67% from two or more races. 38.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 15.9% Irish, 7.1%

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, 6.2% Norwegian and 5.3% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 68 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were

living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.58. In the village, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $28,125. Males had a median income of $29,063 versus $22,361 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $18,319. There were 4.3% of families and 6.0% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.0% of under eighteens and 5.4% of those over 64.

References

{{authority control Villages in Price County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin