Oulu ( ) is a town 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 ...

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 560 at the 2020 census, up from 527 at the 2010 census. The town is named after

Oulu Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki, River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-regio ...

, the fifth most populous city of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

located in the

North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland (Finland), Lapland, Kainuu, Northern Savonia, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of ...

region.

History

Finnish immigrants were settling in the area around Oulu since 1889. Although other immigrants came, including German and Norwegian settlers, around 75% of the population were still Finnish immigrants.

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 , all of it land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 560 people, 313 housing units, and 221 families in the town. The racial makeup was 94.8%

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%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.0% Asian, 0.1% from some other race, and 4.2% from

two or more races Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially (cf. t ...

. Those of

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

origin made up 1.6% of the population. The ancestry was 21.6%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 10.7%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, 10.5% Norwegian, 9.0%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, 8.6% Irish, and 3.2%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

. The median age was 53.4 years old. 21.6% of the population were 65 or older, 17.8% were between 65 and 74, 3.4% were between 75 and 84, and 0.4% were 85 or older. 13.7% of the population were under 18, with 2.4% under 5, 7.7% between the ages of 5 and 14, and 3.6% between 15 and 17. The median household income was $77,625, families had $77,969, married couples had $78,281, and non-families had $77,000. 6.9% of people were in poverty.

2000 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 2000, there were 540 people, 192 households, and 134 families residing in the town. According to the 2000 census, 44.7% of the population claimed Finnish as their primary ancestry. 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 15.2 people per square mile (5.9/km²). There were 267 housing units at an average density of 7.5 per square mile (2.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.52%

, 0.56% Native American, 0.19% Asian, and 0.74% 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 of any race were 0.19% of the population. 44.7% were of Finnish, 16.8%

and 7.5% Irish ancestry. There were 192 households, out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% 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, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.46. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.2% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $45,750. Males had a median income of $32,321 versus $25,938 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 $15,017. About 7.5% of families and 11.4% 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 12.0% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

The Ostrobothnian-based Pudas House in town is the main building of the Oulu Cultural & Heritage Center. Oulu, Wisconsin is also the name of a single released on January 7, 2022, by Finnish Musician J. Karjalainen.

References

External links

Town of Oulu official websiteOulu Cultural and Heritage Center
{{authority control Towns in Bayfield County, Wisconsin Towns in Wisconsin Finnish-American history

Finnish-American culture in Wisconsin