Brighton is a town in Marathon 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. It is part of the Wausau,

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 620 at the 2020 census.

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 town has a total area of 34.2 square miles (88.7 km²), of which 34.2 square miles (88.6 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.06%, is water.

History

The six mile square that would become Brighton was first surveyed in September of 1851 by a crew working for the U.S. government. In December 1853 and January 1854 another crew marked its section corners, walking through the woods and wading the streams, 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 ...

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 No ...

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

''This Township contains but few swamps. The land being generally good 2nd(?) Rate quality. The surface generally level. There are but few streams in this Township. The streams are all lined with
Alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
, and in many places would make good meadows(?). The Prevailing(?) Timber is Hemlock. The
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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
is of Poor quality and scattering.''

Demographics

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 611 people, 197 households and 159 families residing in the town. 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 17.9 per square mile (6.9/km²). There were 205 housing units at an average density of 6.0 per square mile (2.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.89%

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 ...

, 2.29% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.65% 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 0.82% of the population. There were 197 households, of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% 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, 4.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.10 and the average family size was 3.46. 32.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.2 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two 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 und ...

was $80,833 and 76.8% of Brighton's population is employed according to the 2022 American Community Survey. 10.7% are Local, state, and federal government workers in Marathon County, Wisconsin.

Notable people

* William McNeight, Wisconsin farmer and legislator, was born in the town

References

{{authority control Towns in Marathon County, Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin