Cato is a town in Manitowoc 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 population was 1,616 at the 2000 census. A Manitowoc County park is located in the town; it is called "Cato Falls" for a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

on the Manitowoc River.

Communities

* Cato is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

located at the intersection of

US 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

and County Road J (the county road south of US 10 was WIS 148). * Cato Falls is an unincorporated community located north of the Manitowoc River at the intersection of Clark Mills Road and Leist Road. * Clark Mills is an unincorporated community located mostly north of the County Road J/JJ intersection on County Road J. * Grimms is an unincorporated community at the intersection of US 10 and County Road G. North Grimms is located a short distance away on County Road G. * Madsen is an unincorporated community located on County Road S north of the route's intersection at

US 151 U.S. Highway 151 (US 151) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The southern terminus for US 151 is at a junction with Interstate 80 (I-80) in Iowa County, Iowa, and its northern termin ...

History

A post office called Cato was established in 1870, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1998. The town was named after Cato, New York, the former hometown of an early settler.

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 35.3 square miles (91.6 km²), of which, 35.1 square miles (91.0 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) (0.62%) is water.

Demographics

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 2000, there were 1,616 people, 548 households, and 458 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 46.0 people per square mile (17.8/km²). There were 571 housing units at an average density of 16.3 per square mile (6.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.59%

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 ...

, 0.50% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 0.62% 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 people of any race were 1.67% of the population. There were 548 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.4% 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, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.24. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,462, and the median income for a family was $59,145. Males had a median income of $36,384 versus $23,750 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 town was $21,434. About 3.3% of families and 4.9% 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 5.7% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over. Image:CatoWisconsin.jpg, The unincorporated community of Cato Image:ClarksMillsWisconsin.jpg, Clarks Mills

Infrastructure and transport

Cato is bisected north to south by

U.S. Route 10 U.S. Route 10 or U.S. Highway 10 (US 10) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway located in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S. Despite the "0" as the last digit in the number, US 10 is no longer a cross- ...

, the main road in and out of the town. The Manitowoc River runs its course about two and a half miles south of Cato. The nearest

Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

Interstate 43 Interstate 43 (I-43) is a Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Wisconsin, connecting I-39/I-90 in Beloit with Milwaukee and I-41, U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) and US 141 in Green Bay. State Trunk Highw ...

, where an exit near Manitowoc Rapids links with US 10. Though Manitowoc County Airport is the nearest airport, it has no regularly scheduled commercial service, and airports serving Green Bay and

Appleton Appleton may refer to: People and fictional characters * Appleton (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Appleton family, an American political, religious and mercantile family * Appleton P. Clark Jr. (1865–1955), Am ...

such as Green Bay–Austin Straubel International Airport and

Appleton International Airport Appleton International Airport , formerly Outagamie County Regional Airport, is an airport located in Greenville, Wisconsin, Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, west of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton. It is included in the Federal Aviation Ad ...

provide the closest commercial service to Cato.

Notable people

* Maurice B. Brennan, Wisconsin State Representative and farmer, lived in the town * Peter J. Murphy, Wisconsin State Representative and farmer, born in the town'Wisconsin Blue Book 1915,' Biographical Sketch of Peter J. Murphy, pg. 518 * Thomas Thornton, Wisconsin State Representative and farmer, lived here and was treasurer and a member of the town school board *

Thorstein Veblen Thorstein Bunde Veblen (; July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929) was an American Economics, economist and Sociology, sociologist who, during his lifetime, emerged as a well-known Criticism of capitalism, critic of capitalism. In his best-known book ...

, a late 19th-century economist, born in the town

References

External links

Town of Cato
{{Coord, 44, 08, 34, N, 87, 51, 40, W, type:city_region:US-WI, display=title Towns in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin