Amherst is a village in Portage County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. The population was 1,117 in the 2020 census. Amherst is at the core of the Tomorrow Valley area.

History

The name Amherst was established in 1853 by Adam Uline, after General

Jeffery Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the ...

of Revolutionary fame and the fact he was native of

Amherst, Nova Scotia Amherst ( ) is a town in northwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin (Canada), Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, and south of the Northumberland Strait. The town sits on a height of land a ...

. The first known settler of Amherst was John F. Hillstrom, who arrived in 1851, while John and A. P. Een follow closely behind, arriving in August 1852.

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 , of which, of it is land and is water.

Demographics

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 1,035 people, 434 households, and 274 families living in the village. 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 471 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.9%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.2% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races.

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 were 2.5% of the population. There were 434 households, of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% 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, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.9% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the village was 35.1 years. 29% of residents were under the age of 18; 6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 22.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 964 people, 395 households, and 250 families living in the village. As of the end of 2006, there was villagewide estimate of over 1,000 residents living there. The

was 827.5 people per square mile (318.1/km²). There were 419 housing units at an average density of 138.3 persons/km² (359.7 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the village was 99.17% White, 0.41%

, 0.10% Native American, 0.00%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.10% from other races, and 0.21% from two or more races. 0.52% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 395 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were

living together, 8.9% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 36.5% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $40,125, and the median income for a family was $54,821. Males had a median income of $37,132 versus $24,375 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 $18,514. 10.8% of the population and 7.7% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 13.2% are under the age of 18 and 14.2% are 65 or older.

Public services

Amherst is served by the Tomorrow River School District, which has Amherst High School, Amherst Middle School, and Amherst Elementary School, all on one K-12 campus. Fire protection and ambulance service are provided by the Amherst Fire District. Police protection is provided by the Portage County Sheriff's Department. Other village services include a public library and the Lettie Jensen Community Center. There is a riverside park downtown along the Tomorrow River.

Transportation

Amherst connects to U.S. Highway 10 (US 10). The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

main line runs through the village, on an elevated grade.

Infrastructure

Amherst is home to the Amherst Telephone Company/Tomorrow Valley Communications. Amherst Telephone Company was incorporated on July 3, 1903. Capital to form the new company was provided by 62 area residents who pledged $25 each to buy a share of stock. The company provides copper and fiber service to Amherst and the surrounding communities of Rosholt, Amherst Junction, and Polonia.

Mill Pond

The Amherst Millpond is a 48-acre, hard water impoundment located in the village of Amherst. The mill pond was created by a dam on the Tomorrow River and was once used for power to the local feed mil. The pond has a maximum depth of five feet and a bottom consisting of sand covered with silt. The Tomorrow River is navigable above and below the dam, and there are two public access points on the east side of the pond; the boat landing and Cate Park. The pond has northern pike and panfish for fishing.

Fairgrounds

Amherst Speedway Four Cylinder race cars

Fairgrounds were built in 1917. Amherst hosts the Portage County Fair, an Amish craft fair, and other events at the fairgrounds.

Stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

began at the fairgrounds in 2013 under the name Amherst Speedway.

Notable people

* Tyler Biadasz, football player * Charles Couch, legislator * Charles F. Hanke, legislator * Herman H. Hoffman, legislator * Norman Myhra, businessman and legislator * Timothy Olson, ultrarunner * David Zenoff, Nevada Supreme Court justice

Images

File:Amherst Wisconsin Downtown Looking east.jpg, Looking east in downtown Amherst File:Amherst Wisconsin Welcome Sign.jpg, Welcome sign

References

External links

Village of Amherst websiteTomorrow River School DistrictLiving History Museum
*Sanborn fire insurance maps
189419011909
{{authority control Villages in Portage County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin