La Pointe is a

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 ...

in Ashland 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. The town includes all of 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 ...

except for the westernmost four, which lie in the towns of Bayfield and Russell in

Bayfield County Bayfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population is 16,220. Its county seat is Washburn. The county was created in 1845 and organized in 1850. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chipp ...

. While the area encompassing the Town of La Pointe is made up of the entire

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, the residents of the community live on the western shore of Madeline Island, the largest of the

because it is the only Apostle Island open to commercial development.Madelineisland.com
The population was 428 at the 2020 census. Downtown La Pointe is adjacent to the Madeline Island Ferry dock. Neighborhoods include Middleport and Old Fort. La Pointe has a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

with ZIP code 54850. Its name in the

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algon ...

is ''Mooningwanekaaning,'' meaning "The Home of the Golden Breasted Woodpecker".

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 , of which, of it is land and of it (0.50%) is water. Madeline Island is part of the Town of La Pointe. County Highway H serves as a main route. Nearby is Chequamegon Bay, an

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

of Lake Superior.

History

According to William Whipple Warren's ''History of the Ojibway People'' (18xx), ''Moningwunakuaning'' "is the spot on which the Ojibway tribe first grew, and like a tree it has spread its branches in every direction, in the bands that now 885occupy the vast extent of the Ojibway earth; and also that 'it is the root from which all the far scattered villages of the tribe have sprung.'" La Pointe was originally the site of a

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

French

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

from 1693 to 1698 and from 1718 to 1759. The current city began to develop in the late 18th century as an

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

outpost under the leadership of Michel Cadotte. Warren, whose mother was French-Ojibwa, learned from maternal tribal elders that the Ojibwa originally lived near the mouth of the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

. At the time of great sickness and death, the Great Spirit interceded through Manabosho, a common uncle of the Anishinubag (spontaneous people). Through the discovery of the snakeroot they were granted the rite, enabled through their Medawe (religion), "wherewith life is restored and prolonged." The great Megis (seashell) showed itself as a glossy thing reflecting on the sea. It led them first to a place near Montreal where they stayed for some time. Next it led them to Boweting (Sault Ste. Marie); again they stayed for some time. At last it led them to Moningwunakauning (La Pointe, Madeline Island), "where it has ever since reflected back the rays of the sun, and blessed our ancestors with life, light and wisdom," says Warren. So the flickering shaft of light is the Megis, and La Pointe is the center of the Earth for the Ojibwa.

Kechewaishke Chief Buffalo (Ojibwa language, Ojibwe: Ke-che-waish-ke/''Gichi-weshkiinh'' – "Great-renewer" or Peezhickee/''Bizhiki'' – "Buffalo"; also French, Le Boeuf) (1759? – September 7, 1855) was a major Ojibwa leader, born at La Pointe (township) ...

, commonly known as ''Chief Buffalo'', was an

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

leader born at La Pointe in 1759. Recognized as the principal chief of the Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwa) for nearly a half-century until his death in 1855, he led his nation into a treaty relationship with the

United States Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

, signing treaties in 1825, 1826, 1837, 1842, 1847, and 1854. He was also instrumental in resisting the efforts of the United States to remove the Ojibwa and in securing permanent reservations for his people near Lake Superior. Licensed Indian traders operated at this location and nearby stores at Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation and other convenient places. Today, the town's history is preserved at Madeline Island Historical Museum.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 428. 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 848 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.1%

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 ...

, 3.5%

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 ...

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 ...

, 1.4% Native American, 0.7% from other races, and 6.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.6%

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.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 246 people, 125 households, and 66 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 692 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.72%

, 1.63% Native American, 0.41%

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 ...

, 0.41% from other races, and 2.85% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population. There were 125 households, out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 4.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.4% were non-families. 40.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.64. In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 2.8% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 34.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,500, and the median income for a family was $42,708. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $31,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,352. None of the families and 4.6% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 2.1% of those over 64.

Government

Local government

La Pointe is governed by an elected five-person board of supervisors and an appointed town administrator, along with several boards of volunteers; in addition, some decisions are made by the voters directly through town meetings. the town administrator is Lisa Potswald, the chair of the board of supervisors is , . The town employs a police and fire department and has a public library and elementary school; from sixth grade on, students attend school in Bayfield.

Federal and state representation

La Pointe is in

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 ...

, represented by Tom Tiffany ( R); the 25th

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

district, represented by Romaine Quinn ( R); and the 74th

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

district, represented by Chanz Green (R).

Tourism

Tourism makes up a large part of the local economy. La Pointe, like Bayfield (on the mainland), has become a popular tourist destination during the summer, when many local events are scheduled. Downtown La Pointe offers many bars,

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

, and other amenities. These include indigenous restaurant Miijim, whose owner and chef, Bryce Stevenson, was a 2024 semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's national award for emerging chef. Camping, swimming, hiking, and other outdoor recreational activities are abundant and popular on the island.

Travel

Madeline Island and the town of La Pointe are accessible by the Madeline Island Ferry line. The steel-hulled car/passenger ferries depart from Bayfield on a set schedule. Many attractions on the island are within walking distance of the ferry dock, such as the museum and library. It may be necessary to bring a vehicle to reach attractions that are farther away, such as Big Bay State Park. County Highway H serves as a main route in the community. There is also a public boat marina near the ferry dock. Ground transportation to the island during the winter (late December through February) is by way of an

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...

, which is open when ice levels are safe enough for vehicles to pass. The Major Gilbert Field Airport is a general aviation airport that features a 3,000-foot by 75-foot landing strip, as well as overnight tie-downs and an array of other services. The airport is publicly-owned by the Town of La Pointe.

Notable people

, Native American leader * Michel Cadotte, prominent fur trader * Ozhaguscodaywayquay, noted Native American businesswoman * Thomas D. O'Brien, Justice of the

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Supreme Court * William Whipple Warren,

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota and the w ...

legislator

Gallery

File:Mad Ferry 4.jpg, Vehicles loading onto the Madeline Island

ferry boat A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

File:Mad Ferry 2.jpg, The ''Island Queen''

File:Mad Ferry3.jpg, Madeline Island

File:BuffaloGrave.jpg, Headstone of Great Buffalo, in the '' La Pointe Indian Cemetery''.

References

External links

Jalbert, Andrew J. ''Schooner Lucerne: Lessons from a Great Lakes Shipwreck'' (July 27, 2007) SEA HISTORY magazine, The Wreck of the Schooner Lucerne.Official website for the Town of La PointeMadeline Island Chamber of CommerceMadeline Island
from Wisconsin Historical Society
Madeline Island Ferry LineBig Bay State Park
{{authority control Towns in Ashland County, Wisconsin Former county seats in Wisconsin Piers in Wisconsin Apostle Islands Towns in Wisconsin