Lancaster is a city in and the

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 ...

of Grant County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,907 at the 2020 census.

History

Lancaster originated as a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

to serve as the county seat for Grant County. Anticipating the county's establishment in 1836, Major Glendower M. Price, a Cassville merchant and land speculator, purchased the site of Lancaster for its central location in the county. Major Price platted the town on a compass-aligned grid in 1837, reserving a large central square for the new county government. He was persuaded to name the city Lancaster by a relative who migrated from Lancaster,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Maj. Price and Daniel Banfill contracted to construct the first county courthouse, which stood on the square from 1838–1851. A second courthouse was constructed in 1852–1853 and enlarged in 1865. The present, third courthouse was constructed on the site in 1902. Pleasant Ridge, one of the first African-American communities in Wisconsin, was founded just outside Lancaster by the Shepard family in 1849 and settled in the 1850s. Lancaster was the home of the first governor of Wisconsin, Nelson Dewey.

Geography

Lancaster is located at (42.848505, −90.710430). Lancaster is located in the unglaciated "

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau, is a topographic and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme ...

" of southwest Wisconsin whose

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

is strikingly different from that of the rest of the state. 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 city has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 3,907. 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 1,800 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.3%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.4%

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

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 3,868 people, 1,659 households, and 1,037 families living in the city. The

was . There were 1,805 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.3%

, 0.5%

, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.3% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population. There were 1,659 households, of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% 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, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.5% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the city was 41.2 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 19.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 4,070 people, 1,706 households, and 1,079 families living in the city. The

was 1,441.1 people per square mile (557.2/km²). There were 1,799 housing units at an average density of 637.0 per square mile (246.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.24%

, 0.07%

, 0.29% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.29% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population. There were 1,706 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were

living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $32,723, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $30,683 versus $22,331 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 city was $17,797. About 6.4% of families and 8.9% 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 8.9% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Architecture

Lancaster calls itself the "City of the Dome" after the octagonal glass and copper-clad dome of the Grant County Courthouse, which was designed by Armand Koch and built in 1905. In the spandrels of the courthouse dome are four allegorical murals painted by Franz Edward Rohrbeck. The Municipal Building (1922) is an example of

Prairie School Prairie School is a late 19th and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped i ...

early modern architecture, which, like the courthouse, has been placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The L. J. Arthur House, noted for its architecture, is also listed on the National Register. The Lancaster Post Office contains a Depression-era mural, painted under the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

program in 1940. The stone and wood Patrick and Margaret Kinney House in Lancaster was designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

, one of 45 Wright structures in Wisconsin.

Education

Lancaster Community School District is the public school district for the community. The town also has a Catholic school.

Transportation

* U.S. Route 61 (Madison Street) passes north–south through the center of the city. *

Highway 35 The following highways are numbered 35: The Karakoram Highway (Urdu language, Urdu: شاہراہ قراقرم, ''Śāhirāh-i Qarāquram''), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (Urdu language, Urdu: قومی شاہراہ ۳۵), N-35, and ...

enters east on South Harrison Street and Cherry Street, then follows US 61 (Madison Street) * Highway 29 bypasses the city to the east * County Trunk Highway A, passes east–west through the center of the city Lancaster Municipal Airport (73C) serves the city and surrounding communities. Until 1980, the village was served by a Chicago and North Western branch line from Madison The village was the end of the branch line.

Notable people

* J. Allen Barber – lawyer, U.S. Representative 1871–1875; lived and died in Lancaster * George Barnett – Commandant of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

* Charles H. Baxter – Wisconsin State Senator *

Lisle Blackbourn Lisle William "Liz" Blackbourn (June 3, 1899 – June 14, 1983) was an American football coach in Wisconsin, most notably as the third head coach of the Green Bay Packers, from 1954 Green Bay Packers season, 1954 through 1957 Green Bay Packers se ...

– NFL head coach * John Benton Callis – U.S. Representative from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

* William Carter – Wisconsin State Representative * John G. Clark (1825–1917) – Associate Justice of Oklahoma Territory Supreme Court (1898–1903), returned to Lancaster for the rest of his life * Nelson Dewey – first Governor of Wisconsin; lived in Lancaster * Hugh A. Harper – Wisconsin State Representative * John Chandler Holloway – President Pro Tem of the Wisconsin State Senate * A. H. Kemper – South Dakota politician * William John McCoy – Wisconsin State Representative * Thomas McDonald, Jr. – Wisconsin State Representative * Joseph Trotter Mills – Wisconsin State Representative *

Roger P. Murphy Roger P. Murphy (October 17, 1923 – July 11, 2009) was an American jurist and politician. Born in Lancaster, Wisconsin, Murphy graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison and received his law degree from University of Wisconsin L ...

– Wisconsin State Senator and jurist * Carson Abel Roberts – U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General * Dave Schreiner – member of the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

* David Schreiner – Wisconsin State Representative * Reuben B. Showalter – Wisconsin State Representative * William Simon U'Ren – Oregon politician * Arthur W. Worth – Wisconsin State Representative

References

External links

* * Sanborn fire insurance maps
1894189919051912
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Grant County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin Populated places established in 1837 1837 establishments in Wisconsin Territory