Owen is a city in

Clark County, Wisconsin Clark County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,659. The county seat is Neillsville. History By the early 1800s, the land and streams that are now Clark County were the hunting grounds of ...

, United States. The population was 940 at the 2010 census. Owen is located directly east of the village of Withee, which is about half the size of Owen.

History

In 1880 the Wisconsin Central Railroad built its line through what would become Owen, on its way from Abbotsford to

Chippewa Falls Chippewa Falls () is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,731 in the 2020 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa County. The city's name orig ...

. In 1893 the John S. Owen Company of

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

managed to buy from J.D. Spaulding 400 square miles of virgin timber that ran from the current site of Owen north through Taylor County and into Rusk County. Near where the railroad crossed Brick Creek and that creek flowed into the Popple River, the company built a warehouse, a boarding house, and five log buildings clustered around the rail line. They dammed Brick Creek to make a

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...

and built a sawmill, 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 ...

, and a company store. A one-room school was built in 1894. Early on, John's son Aloney moved to the settlement to oversee local operations. In 1904 the Village of Owen incorporated, with 315 people. In 1906 the Owen Company started the Owen Box and Crating factory, the Woodland Hotel, and began providing electrical service within the village of Owen. In 1907 the Owens organized the State Bank of Owen, headed by J.G. Owen. By 1914, Owen's population was 1,000. The Owens organized the State Bank of Withee, headed by A.R. Owen. The Owens also had a hand in a bottling works, a theater, a telephone company, and three hotels. They donated land for a city park and churches. In 1915 the company opened a retail lumber store. By 1918 the Owen Company was running 25 miles of railroad in Clark and Taylor Counties, hauling logs from their timber holdings in to their sawmill. At one point they thought their supply might last for five or six years, but it ended up lasting 40. The last log was sawed in 1932.

Geography

Owen is located at (44.948330, -90.564740). 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 , of which, is land and is water.

Climate

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 940 people, 419 households, and 252 families living in the city. 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 485 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.7%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 2.0% from other races, and 0.5% 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 3.8% of the population. There were 419 households, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% 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, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.9% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the city was 40.4 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 19.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 936 people, 412 households, and 255 families living in the city. The

was 510.9 people per square mile (197.5/km²). There were 455 housing units at an average density of 248.4 per square mile (96.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.61%

, 0.64%

, 0.43% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.21% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.43% of the population. There were 412 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were

living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.6% 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 2.84. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,368, and the median income for a family was $37,955. Males had a median income of $27,431 versus $20,547 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 $14,981. About 9.4% of families and 13.4% 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 19.4% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

City of Owen
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Clark County, Wisconsin