Arkansaw ( ) is an unincorporated

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the eastern portion of the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Waterville, in Pepin 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. Located approximately west of Durand, it has the ZIP code of 54721. As of the 2020 census, its population was 194. From 1881 to 1886, the community was 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 Pepin County.

History

Arkansaw was founded in the early 1850s at a crossing of Arkansaw Creek, a tributary of the

Eau Galle River The Eau Galle River is a tributary of the Chippewa River in western Wisconsin in the United States. It is about 35 mi (56 km) long. Via the Chippewa River, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed. The Eau Galle River was named ...

. Initially built around lumbering, the first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

was opened in the community in 1852. The community was originally built near the center of three dams within a mile of each other on Arkansaw Creek. All three were wiped out in a flood in 1907. Arkansaw Creek was named in honor of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

. Today, the course of the creek runs through Arkansaw Creek Park.

Geography

The community lies at the junction of

U.S. Route 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

and Pepin County Trunk Highways D, N, O, and X. It has an area of ; of this is land, and is water.

Demographics

Religion

The community is home to three churches:

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

and

Community of Christ Community of Christ, known legally and from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement ...

Notable people

* Lucius Roy Holbrook -

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Major General *

Willard Ames Holbrook Major General Willard Ames Holbrook (July 23, 1860 – July 18, 1932) was a United States Army officer who served for almost forty years. Coming from a family with long military tradition, he was the father of future Brigadier General Willard Am ...

- U.S. Army Major General * Mary Laschinger - businesswoman * Samuel L. Plummer - Wisconsin State Representative

References

External links

U.S. Gazetteer's Arkansaw pageWisconsin Historical Society, Articles about Arkansaw, Wisconsin
{{authority control Census-designated places in Pepin County, Wisconsin Census-designated places in Wisconsin