Rib Lake is a village in Taylor 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 located at the junction of Wisconsin Highway 102 and Taylor County Highway D. The population was 910 at the 2010 census. The village is completely surrounded by the Town of Rib Lake.

History

In 1881, J. J. Kennedy hauled sawmill machinery with oxen from the railroad at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

to the bank of Rib Lake and built a sawmill called the Rib Lake Lumber Company. The next year a railroad spur was built to the mill from the Wisconsin Central Railway at Chelsea. The community was originally called Kennedy Mills. The original mill burned in about a year, (and possibly burned again in 1898) and was destroyed by another fire on July 23, 1914. In 1891, Fayette Shaw started a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

in Rib Lake, which used

tannic acid Tannic acid is a specific form of tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity ( pKa around 6) is due to the numerous phenol groups in the structure. The chemical formula for commercial tannic acid is often given as C76H52O46, which corresp ...

from locally harvested hemlock bark to tan hides from as far away as South America to make leather. The tannery operated until 1923. The 1890s saw much growth, with the beginning of Methodist, Catholic and Lutheran congregations. In 1897 the Rib Lake Herald newspaper began publishing and a Dr. Werner started a practice. The village of Rib Lake was incorporated in 1902. The last pine cut for the Rib Lake Lumber Company came from a general location near the last camp #28, and was cut on February 26, 1948. The company ceased operations shortly thereafter.

Geography

Rib Lake is located at (45.318834, -90.206025). 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 t ...

, the village has a total area of , of which, of it is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

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 in ...

of 2010, there were 910 people, 371 households, and 220 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was . There were 432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.7%

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 o ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.2%

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 ...

, and 0.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 1.0% of the population. There were 371 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.7% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the village was 39.7 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.1% male and 52.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 878 people, 356 households, and 206 families residing in the village. The

was 470.5 people per square mile (181.3/km²). There were 394 housing units at an average density of 211.2 per square mile (81.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.86%

, 0.11%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

, 0.23% Native American, 0.34%

, 0.23% 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 0.23% from two or more races. 0.34% of the population were

of any race. There were 356 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.02. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,222, and the median income for a family was $41,667. Males had a median income of $30,268 versus $18,750 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 village was $14,571. About 7.7% of families and 12.1% 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 15.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

Images

File:Rib Lake Public Library.jpg, Public library File:Rib Lake Volunteer Fire Department.jpg, Fire station File:Rib Lake Welcome Sign.jpg, Welcome sign

References

External links

Rib Lake, Wisconsin
official website.
History of the Rib Lake Area
has more info and some old photos.
Rib Lake Public Library

Rib Lake School District
{{authority control 1902 establishments in Wisconsin Villages in Taylor County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin