Cato is a town in

Manitowoc County Manitowoc County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 81,359. Its county seat is Manitowoc. The county was created in 1836 prior to Wisconsin's statehood and organized in 1848. Manitowoc County ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Cato, Cato Falls, Clarks Mills,

Grimms GRIMMS was an English pop rock, comedy and poetry group, originally formed as a merger of The Scaffold with core members of the Bonzo Dog Band and the Liverpool Scene for two concerts in 1971 at the suggestion of John Gorman. The band's ...

, Madsen, and North Grimms are located within the town. A Manitowoc County park is located in the town which is called "Cato Falls" for a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

on the

Manitowoc River The Manitowoc River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed December 19, 2011 river in eastern Wisconsin in the United States. It flows into Lake Michigan at the city of Ma ...

History

A post office called Cato was established in 1870, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1998. The town was named after Cato, New York, the former hometown of an early settler.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of 35.3 square miles (91.6 km²), of which, 35.1 square miles (91.0 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.62%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 1,616 people, 548 households, and 458 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 46.0 people per square mile (17.8/km²). There were 571 housing units at an average density of 16.3 per square mile (6.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.59%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.50% Native American, 0.68%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.62% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.62% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.67% of the population. There were 548 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.24. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,462, and the median income for a family was $59,145. Males had a median income of $36,384 versus $23,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $21,434. About 3.3% of families and 4.9% of the population were 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 t ...

, including 5.7% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over. Image:CatoWisconsin.jpg, The unincorporated community of Cato Image:ClarksMillsWisconsin.jpg, Clarks Mills

Notable people

* Maurice B. Brennan, Wisconsin State Representative and farmer, lived in the town * Peter J. Murphy, Wisconsin State Representative and farmer, was born in the town'Wisconsin Blue Book 1915,' Biographical Sketch of Peter J. Murphy, pg. 518 * Thomas Thornton, Wisconsin State Representative and farmer, lived in and was Treasurer and a member of the town school board *

Thorstein Veblen Thorstein Bunde Veblen (July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was a Norwegian-American economist and sociologist who, during his lifetime, emerged as a well-known critic of capitalism. In his best-known book, ''The Theory of the Leisure Class'' ...

, a late 19th-century economist, was born in the town

References

External links

Town of Cato
{{Coord, 44, 08, 34, N, 87, 51, 40, W, type:city_region:US-WI, display=title Towns in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin