Hawkins is a village in Rusk County in north-central

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 331 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Hawkins.

History

Before the railroad came, the area around Hawkins was forested, cut by Main Creek and its tributaries, with swamp in the lowlands along those branches. In 1884 the

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (MStP&SSM; ) was a Class I railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Midwestern United States. Commonly known since its opening in 1884 as the Soo Line after the phonetic sp ...

(the Soo Line) built its line through the area, aiming to connect the grain of the Twin Cities with the shipping at

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

. The railroad created a station near where it crossed the south fork of Main Creek, which became Hawkins. The source of the name ''Hawkins'' is uncertain. The station was most likely named for Marsh P. Hawkins, who was the secretary and treasurer of the Minneapolis & St. Louis division of the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad in the 1880s. Or it may have been named for a lumberman named Hawkins who owned land in the area. There is also a suggestion that the Norwegian settlers may have named the town for King Haakon of Norway. An 1888 map of the township shows a siding and depot and a few other buildings north of the main rail line. It also shows a tote road along the south side of the railroad from the west, then on the east side of Hawkins turning south to head to the

Jump River The Jump River is a small rocky river in north-central Wisconsin. In the late 19th century it was used to drive logs down to the Chippewa River (Wisconsin), Chippewa River. Today it is recreational, rambling through woods and farmlands, used mos ...

. C.P. Crosby built the first sawmill in Hawkins in 1898. Other sawmills were added and the town grew, adding a store, a hotel, a boarding house, meat market, bank, hardware store, restaurants, and other businesses. Also added were a

lath A lath or slat is a thin, narrow strip of straight-grained wood used under roof shingles or tiles, on lath and plaster walls and ceilings to hold plaster, and in lattice and trellis work. ''Lath'' has expanded to mean any type of backing m ...

mill, a

planing mill A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and Wood drying, seasoned Wood, wooden boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the Thickness planer, planer and matcher, the Moulding plan ...

, a shingle mill, and a box factory that made piano crates,

Cream of Wheat Cream of Wheat is an American brand of farina (food), farina, a type of breakfast porridge mix made from wheat middlings. It looks similar to grits, but is smoother in texture since it is made with ground wheat berry, wheat kernels instead of gr ...

boxes, ammunition boxes, etc. Many of the businesses burned in the '20s and '30s, and most rebuilt. A 1914 map of Hawkins shows tidy blocks of residential lots with two churches, a school, and a rail spur arcing off into the yards of the Ellingson Lumber Co. Early on, the community had a small log school that accommodated 5 or 6 students. Another building was added in 1899, and in 1903 a 4-room, 2-story school was built. In 1916 Hawkins High School was built, and a graded elementary school was built in 1921. In 1920 a cheese factory opened and the town began a burst of growth. In 1922 Northern Sash and Door opened. The plant burned in 1967, but rebuilt and eventually became Norco and then Jeld-Wen. Toward the end Jeld-Wen employed about 340, but Hawkins' long-time major employer closed in 2024. In 1967 the Hawkins School District merged with Ladysmith and high school students were bussed from Hawkins to Ladysmith. In 2009 Hawkins detached from Ladysmith and joined the Flambeau district.

Geography

Hawkins is located at (45.512448, -90.713483). 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 is land and is water. Hawkins is along

U.S. Highway 8 U.S. Highway 8 (US 8) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs primarily east–west for , mostly within the state of Wisconsin. It connects Interstate 35 (I-35) in Forest Lake, Minnesota, to US 2 at Norway, Michigan. Excep ...

and County Road M.

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 305 people, 159 households, and 84 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 182 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.0%

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% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. There were 159 households, of which 18.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% 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, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.2% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.92 and the average family size was 2.56. The median age in the village was 47.5 years. 17.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 2.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.9% were from 25 to 44; 36.1% were from 45 to 64; and 21.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 52.5% male and 47.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 317 people, 138 households, and 92 families living in the village. The

was 144.8 people per square mile (55.9/km²). There were 147 housing units at an average density of 67.2 per square mile (25.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.11%

, 0.32% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. 0.00% 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. There were 138 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.5% were

living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.79. In the village, the population was spread out, with 19.2% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $29,286, and the median income for a family was $39,250. Males had a median income of $28,250 versus $23,393 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 $17,159. About 3.2% of families and 3.6% 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 none of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Village of Hawkins, Wisconsin website
{{authority control Villages in Rusk County, Wisconsin Villages in Wisconsin