Rib Lake is a town 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. The population was 768 at the 2000 census. The village of Rib Lake is completely surrounded by the town.

History

Most of the edges of the six by six squares that would become Rib Lake were surveyed in October 1861 by a crew working for the U.S. government. In early 1862, the same crew marked all the section corners in the

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

, walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

and

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description for the six by six square that now contains the village of Rib Lake:

''The Surface of this Township is generally rolling. Soil Fair 2nd Rate and good for agricultural purposes. Timber Hemlock
Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
and White Pine of good quality. It is well watered by numerous Small Lakes and Streams of pure water.''

The area was logged from the 1880s on, with a large mill on the banks of Rib Lake. Bark from the hemlock mentioned above was another important early product, supplying the tannery in the village of Rib Lake. A good portion of the town is still forest, much of it Taylor County Forest. Rustic Road #1, a scenic drive that winds over hills and around lakes and Wisconsin's first official

Rustic Road Rustic may refer to: *Rural area *Pastoral Architecture * Rustication (architecture), a masonry technique mainly employed in Renaissance architecture * Rustic architecture, an informal architectural style in the United States and Canada with sever ...

, was dedicated in 1975.

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 74.9 square miles (193.9 km²), of which 74.0 square miles (191.7 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²) (1.14%) is water. Much of Rib Lake is hilly, with small

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

s. It lies within the Perkinstown terminal moraine, which is described under Taylor County.

Demographics

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 768 people, 278 households and 212 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 10.4 per square mile (4.0/km²). There were 466 housing units at an average density of 6.3 per square mile (2.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.31%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 1.17%

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 ...

, 0.13% from other races, and 0.26% from two or more races. 0.52% of the population were

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. There were 278 households, of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.9% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.08. 27.2% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 116.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...

was $38,393, and the median family income was $43,295. Males had a median income of $29,250 versus $21,103 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 $15,641. About 4.8% of families and 9.7% 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 12.4% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Camp Forest Springs
Bible Camp on James Lake. {{authority control Towns in Taylor County, Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links