Curtiss is a village in Clark 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 216 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Curtiss is located at (44.953574, -90.433228). 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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the village has a total area of , all of it land.

History

Curtiss was established as a rural railroad station in 1882 and is named after the chief engineer who built the railroad. The village of Curtiss was platted November 17, 1882, having been surveyed by Edwin Parks. The surrounding area was occupied primarily by Norwegian and German emigrants. The primary industries were dairy farming and lumber. By the 1890s, several cheese factories were established in the surrounding townships of Mayville, Hoard and Colby. Additionally, A. D. Bass operated a large sawmill in the southern part of the village. An application for incorporation of the village was made to the State of Wisconsin on October 14, 1914: however, actual incorporation was not granted until March 30, 1917 (Curtiss Centennial Booklet). A two-room school served elementary grades until 1966 when the school was consolidated with the nearby Abbotsford Public Schools. Perhaps the most famous person to come out of the Village of Curtiss was Army Colonel Franklin Matthias, who oversaw the construction and early operation of the

Hanford Site The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States federal government on the Columbia River in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. The site has been known by many names, including SiteW ...

during World War II. The young Colonel Matthias was so proud of his work that he accompanied the first plutonium produced at Hanford to Los Alamos. On June 8, 1905, a hail storm damaged nearly every building in the village. On October 15, 1974, Curtiss was the site of a protest by the

National Farmers Organization The National Farmers Organization (NFO) is a producer movement founded in the United States in 1955, by farmers, especially younger farmers with mortgages, frustrated by too often receiving crop and produce prices that produced a living that paid ...

(NFO). NFO farmers slaughtered and buried in a trench 638 calves, mostly less than two weeks old. The protest was in response to the low price of

veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, ...

. At the time, veal calves were selling for $0.17 per pound, resulting in a net loss to the farmer due to high feed costs. Public backlash against the NFO and the protest was great, with President Ford weighing in to call it "shocking and senseless." In 1976, the US EPA aided the village with a grant to establish a municipal sewer and water system. The system was expanded in the 1990s and again in the 2000s to account for industrial growth related to the meat packing industry.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 216 people, 76 households, and 52 families living in the village. 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 . There were 82 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 58.3%

White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 1.4% Native American, and 39.8% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 51.9% of the population. There were 76 households, of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.6% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.48. The median age in the village was 30.5 years. 28.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 11% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.2% were from 25 to 44; 17.6% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.9% male and 49.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 198 people, 68 households, and 45 families living in the village. The

was 288.8 people per square mile (110.8/km²). There were 70 housing units at an average density of 102.1 per square mile (39.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 64.65%

, 0.51% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 33.84% from

or Latino of any race were 34.34% of the population. There were 68 households, out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were

living together, 2.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.70. In the village, the population was spread out, with 35.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 12.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $29,250, and the median income for a family was $34,167. Males had a median income of $25,000 versus $23,125 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 village was $11,061. About 7.7% of families and 14.4% 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 ...

, including 17.9% of those under the age of eighteen and 5.6% of those 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Villages in Wisconsin Villages in Clark County, Wisconsin