The Town of Ruby is located in northeast Chippewa County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. The population was 494 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Arnold and Ruby are located in the town.

Geography

The town of Ruby is wide and from north to south. It occupies the northeast corner of Chippewa County and is bordered by Rusk County to the north and Taylor County to the east. 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 town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.34%, is water.

History

The area that would become the town of Ruby was first

surveyed Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Two-dimensional space#In geometry, two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of ...

in 1852 by two crews working for the U.S. government. From September into October a crew marked all the section corners in the northern of 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, C ...

, walking through the woods and slogging through the swamps on foot, measuring with chain 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 wit ...

. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:

''This Township contains, but little land fit for cultivation, considerable Tamarac swamp, and but little Grass land(?) in
Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
meddow. The surface is level except in a few places, where it is uneven(?) not Hilley. None of it above 3rd rate. Timber Hemlock,
Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
,
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 ...
Sugar and Balsom. The Pine on and near Fisher and Jump River is of the best quallity and in Considerable quantity.''

''Fisher River Enters the Township in section 25 and keeps a westerly direction across the Township, leaving it on section 18. The stream has a rapid current and Rockey bed. Jump River Enter on sec 5 and leaves on section 6. Rapid Rocky Stream. Some good Pine on its Banks.''

The town of Ruby was named for the only daughter of E. L. Hawn, who arrived in 1902 and founded the Ruby Lumber Company.

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 446 people, 152 households, and 120 families residing in the town. 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 8.3 people per square mile (3.2/km²). There were 197 housing units at an average density of 3.7 per square mile (1.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.55%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.22% 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 ...

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 0.22% of the population. There were 152 households, out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.8% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.25. The population was 33.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,208, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had a median income of $27,750 versus $22,813 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 $12,587. About 12.4% of families and 16.9% 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 22.8% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Chippewa County, Wisconsin Eau Claire–Chippewa Falls metropolitan area Towns in Wisconsin