Pepin ( ) is a village in Pepin 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 731 at the 2020 census. The village is surrounded within the borders of the Town of Pepin.

History

By the mid-17th century, the French had begun to send expeditions into Wisconsin via the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and Saint Lawrence River. King Louis XIII of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

is believed to have granted a huge area of land in the Upper Mississippi River Valley to two brothers, Etiene Pepin de la Fond and Guillaume dit Tranchemontagne. Two of Guillaume’s sons, Pierre Pepin and Jean Pepin du Cardonnets, later explored and traded in this area, and their surname became attached to the lake, and ultimately to the village and the county.

Geography

Pepin is located at (44.442724, -92.147884). 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 village has a total area of , all of it land.

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 837 people, 399 households, and 226 families living in the village. 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 490 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.9%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, and 0.2% 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 0.2% of the population. There were 399 households, of which 18.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.4% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.58. The median age in the village was 53.9 years. 14.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.4% were from 25 to 44; 33.8% were from 45 to 64; and 28% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 878 people, 381 households, and 241 families living in the village. The

was 1,238.1 people per square mile (477.5/km²). There were 430 housing units at an average density of 606.4 per square mile (233.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.29%

, 0.11%

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 ...

, 0.34% Native American, 0.57% Asian, and 0.68% from two or more races. There were 381 households, out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.74. In the village, the population was spread out, with 17.3% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 28.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $36,319, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $31,393 versus $22,875 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 village was $17,755. About 2.0% of families and 5.8% 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 7.5% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Nathaniel O. Murray, steamboat owner and Wisconsin state legislator, lived in Pepin. *The author

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series ''Little House on the Prairie'', published between 1932 and 1 ...

was born in the Pepin area, near Lund, Wisconsin, where her family lived. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum is in the village. The Little House Wayside, a rest stop on the land where Wilder was born, is located seven miles northwest of the village, in the town of Pepin.Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum
/ref> A replica of the house her father built, in which she was born, stands on the site, and is open to visitors except during the snows of Winter.

References

External links

Pepin, Wisconsin
{{authority control Villages in Wisconsin Villages in Pepin County, Wisconsin Wisconsin populated places on the Mississippi River