Ellsworth is a village in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Pierce County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,348 at the 2020 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Ellsworth and now incorporates the formerly separate district known as East Ellsworth. The municipality of Ellsworth and its surroundings are slowly becoming incorporated into the Twin Cities Metro Area.

History

Settlement in the area that now comprises the village of Ellsworth began with the arrival of several families in 1857. The village was officially platted in 1862, then incorporated in 1887. The village was initially called Perry, in honor of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

hero, Oliver Hazard Perry, but was renamed in 1866 in honor of Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, the first Union officer to die in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. A close friend of Pres.

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

, Ellsworth died while removing a highly visible Confederate flag from the roof of a hotel overlooking the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. The incident received national attention, and at least one other town, Ellsworth, Michigan, was named in his honor. Downtown Ellsworth's location atop a steep hill is the result of an 1861 dispute between Pierce County's two major towns, Prescott and River Falls, over which should be county seat. The compromise reached was to draw lines on a map connecting the corners of the county, northwest to southeast and northeast to southwest. The intersection of these lines at a densely forested site at the top of a ridge determined the placement of the new town. A log building was hastily erected to serve as a courthouse, then replaced by a wood-frame structure about two years later. The current Pierce County Courthouse, built 1905, was designed by the noted St. Paul firm of Buechner & Orth. The structure exhibits characteristics of both the neoclassical and Beaux-Arts styles, topped by a large dome above a five-story hexagonal rotunda.

Geography

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. Ellsworth is located at (44.73261, -92.480177). Ellsworth is along U.S. Highways 10 and 63, and Wisconsin Highways 65 and 72.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 3,348. 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 1,467 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 93.2%

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 ...

, 0.7%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 3.0%

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 of any race.

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 3,284 people, 1,331 households, and 827 families residing in the village. The

was . There were 1,434 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.6%

, 0.3%

, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 1,331 households, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% 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, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.9% were non-families. 31.6% 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 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age in the village was 35.7 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.8% were from 25 to 44; 23.7% were from 45 to 64; and 14.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 income statistics

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the village was $42,604, and the median income for a family was $51,286. Males had a median income of $36,069 versus $25,000 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 $18,661. About 2.6% of families and 5.4% 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 ...

, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

East Ellsworth

The steep grades approaching Ellsworth's hilltop location proved an insurmountable challenge to railroad construction. When the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ("Omaha Road") surveyed a branch line to the locale in 1885, it bypassed the village and constructed a depot about one mile away at the foot of the grade. The businesses that grew up by the station coalesced into the independent village of East Ellsworth. The Isabelle River runs through East Ellsworth.

Economy

* Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery

Cheese Curd Festival

Ellsworth is known as the cheese curd capital of Wisconsin, due to the cheese curds produced by its namesake creamery. The last weekend in June is reserved for a town festival which celebrates the cheese curd.

Notable people

* Leon D. Case, former

Michigan Secretary of State The Michigan Department of State is a principal executive department of the government of Michigan. It is responsible for administering Election, elections, regulating Notary public, notaries public, and maintaining records of statutes and the S ...

, was born in Ellsworth. * William Walter Clark, former member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

and

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

, attended school in Ellsworth. * Charles H. Crownhart, former Justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

, practiced law in Ellsworth. * Franklin L. Gilson, Wisconsin State Assembly and jurist, practiced law in Ellsworth. * George Thompson, former Attorney General of Wisconsin, was born in Ellsworth. *

Hans Warner Hans Bertel Warner (born Hans Bertel Pederson; July 12, 1844August 18, 1896) was a Norwegian American immigrant, farmer, and Republican politician. He was the 12th Secretary of State of Wisconsin and served four years in the Wisconsin State Sen ...

, Wisconsin Secretary of State and Wisconsin State Senator, lived in Ellsworth. * Dempster Woodworth, Wisconsin State Senator and physician, lived in Ellsworth.

References

External links

Ellsworth, WisconsinEllsworth Chamber of Commerce
*Sanborn fire insurance maps
189419001912
{{authority control Villages in Pierce County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin