Ashland County, Wisconsin
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Ashland County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
located in the U.S. state of
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 ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,027. Its
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 ...
is Ashland. The county was formed on March 27, 1860, from La Pointe County. The county partly overlaps with the reservation of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians.


History

Ashland County was named in honor of the Lexington estate of
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
statesman
Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...
, as one of the founders of the city of Ashland was an admirer of Clay.


Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (54%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Wisconsin by total area. The
Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Isl ...
are a small group of islands in
Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...
, off the Bayfield Peninsula with the majority of the islands located in Ashland County — only Eagle, Sand, York and Raspberry Islands are in Bayfield County.


Adjacent counties

* Iron County – east * Price County – southeast * Sawyer County – southwest * Bayfield County – northwest * Lake County, Minnesota – northwest *
Cook County, Minnesota Cook County is the easternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,600, making it Minnesota's seventh-least populous county. Its county seat is G ...
– north *
Ontonagon County, Michigan Ontonagon County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,816, making it Michigan's third-least populous county. The coun ...
– northeast *
Gogebic County, Michigan Gogebic County ( or ) is a County (United States), county in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,380. The county seat is Besse ...
– northeast


Major highways


Railroads

* Watco


Buses

* Bay Area Rural Transit * Indian Trails


Airports

* John F. Kennedy Memorial Airport (KASX) serves the county and surrounding communities. * Major Gilbert Field Airport (4R5) enhances county service.


National protected area

* Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (part) * Chequamegon National Forest (part)


Demographics


2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 16,027. 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 9,407 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.8%
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 ...
, 13.0% Native American, 0.7%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
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 ...
, 0.5% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.3% from other races, and 5.6% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.4%
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.


2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,157 people living in the county. 84.6% were
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 ...
, 11.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.3% of some other race and 3.3% of two or more races. 1.9% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 25.6% were of German, 7.6% Finnish, 6.8% American, 6.5% Irish and 5.3% Norwegian ancestry.


2000 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 2000, there were 16,866 people, 6,718 households, and 4,279 families living in the county. 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 8,883 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.10%
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 ...
, 0.21%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
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 ...
, 10.35% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.29% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. 1.11% of the population were
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. 27.8% were of German, 8.4% Finnish, 7.4% Polish, 7.4% Norwegian, 7.3% Swedish and 5.4% Irish ancestry. 96.6% spoke English as their first language. The reservation of the Bad River Chippewa Band is partially located in the county. There were 6,718 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.60% 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, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.30% were non-families. 30.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males. In 2017, there were 194 births, giving a general fertility rate of 73.1 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the eleventh highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were no reported induced abortions performed on women of Ashland County residence in 2017.


Communities


Cities

* Ashland (county seat; partly in Bayfield County) * Mellen


Village

* Butternut


Towns

* Agenda * Ashland * Chippewa * Gingles * Gordon * Jacobs * La Pointe * Marengo * Morse * Peeksville * Sanborn * Shanagolden * White River


Census-designated places

* Bayfront * Birch Hill * Clam Lake * Diaperville * Franks Field * Glidden * Jolmaville * Marengo * New Odanah * Odanah


Unincorporated communities

* Ballou *
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 3 ...
* Cayuga * Foster Junction * Highbridge * Holts Landing * La Pointe * Middleport * Minersville * Morse *
North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...
* Old Fort * Peeksville * Penokee * Petes Landing * Sanborn * Sedgwick * Shanagolden * White River


Politics

Ashland County is consistently Democratic. It has voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since 1932, with the exceptions of 1952 and 1956 when it backed Republican
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
's two successful bids for the presidency. The Democratic margin has narrowed in recent elections since the Obama era, with
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's 2024 performance of over 46% being the best by a Republican since
Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
in 1972. This was also the first time since 1972 that a Democrat carried the county by only a single-digit margin.https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ Despite Ashland County's Democratic leanings, three consecutive district attorneys of Ashland County in the 1990s and early 2000s, each elected as Republicans, went on to hold major positions in state or federal politics. J.B. Van Hollen, district attorney from 1993 to 1999, later served as United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin in the administration of President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and as Attorney General of Wisconsin from 2007 to 2015. Van Hollen's successor as district attorney, Michael Gableman, who served from 1999 to 2002, was later a justice of the
Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...
from 2008 to 2018. Gableman's successor as district attorney,
Sean Duffy Sean Patrick Duffy (born October 3, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, former prosecutor, and former television personality who has served as the 20th United States Secretary of Transportation, United States secretary of transportation sinc ...
, who served from 2002 to 2010, served as the U.S. representative for
Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...
from 2011 to 2019 and is the current
United States Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...
.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Ashland County, Wisconsin *
List of counties in Wisconsin There are 72 County (United States), counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The land that eventually became Wisconsin was transferred from British to American control with the 1783 signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris. It wa ...


References


External links


Ashland County
* Old plat maps
ca 1898189819051917

Ashland County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation {{authority control 1860 establishments in Wisconsin Populated places established in 1860