Richland Center is a city in

Richland County, Wisconsin Richland County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,304. Its county seat is Richland Center. The county was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1842 and organized in 1850. It is named f ...

, United States and is 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 ...

. The population was 5,114 at the 2020 census.

History

Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira S. Haseltine from Andover, Vermont, northwest of Brattleboro. He was drawn to the site because of its abundant water power, fertile prairies, and its juxtaposition to the geographical center of Richland County. Haseltine offered to donate land to the county if Richland Center was chosen in a vote as the county seat. In 1852 the Wisconsin Legislature formally declared Richland Center as the seat of justice for Richland County. The present Richland County courthouse was built in Richland Center in 1889. In 1876, a

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

railroad branch connected Richland Center with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at

Lone Rock, Wisconsin Lone Rock is a village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rura ...

, providing an outlet for the town's commerce. The line was originally constructed with maple rails, but it was rebuilt as a standard gauge iron railway in 1880. On October 8, 1882, the town's railway depot was destroyed when an early morning fire ignited two kegs of gunpowder stored inside, causing an explosion which tore the roof from the building and scorched several nearby rail cars. Another passenger depot, built in 1909, still stands today, serving as a visitor center for the community. Richland Center became an important location for the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

movement in Wisconsin after Laura Briggs James, Julia Bowen, and other residents founded the Richland Center Woman's Club in early 1882. The club quickly became the largest suffrage group in the state and was influential in organizing the movement throughout Wisconsin. Susan B. Anthony visited Richland Center in 1886. Later, Laura James' daughter Ada James became influential in the movement, helping to begin the Political Equality League in 1909 and advocating for women's rights, pacifism, birth control, and prohibition. The women's club was the driving force behind the construction of the Richland Center City Auditorium, which was the city hall from 1913 to 1998.

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 ...

was born in Richland Center in 1867. The A. D. German Warehouse, completed in 1921, is the only building designed by Wright in Richland Center and is an early representation of his

Mayan Revival Mayan Revival is a modern architectural style popular in the Americas during the 1920s and 1930s that drew inspiration from the architecture and iconography of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures. History Origins Though the name of the s ...

style.

The origin of General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) can be traced to the Richland Center Telephone Company. In 1918, three Wisconsin public utility accountants (Sigurd L. Odegard, John A. Pratt, and John F. O'Connell) purchased the Richland Center Telephone Company for $33,500. At that time, the modest company served only 1,466 telephones in southern Wisconsin. But in 1920, the three accountants formed the Commonwealth Telephone Company and engaged in an aggressive acquisition program, which dramatically expanded its services to more than 500,000 telephones in 25 states. Following bankruptcy during the Great Depression, the company reorganized into the General Telephone Corporation and continued to expand. After merging with Sylvania Electric Products in 1959, it again changed its name, this time to General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (GT&E, later GTE). By 1969, GTE provided service to 10 million telephones across the nation, making it the largest independent telephone company in the United States.

Geography

Richland Center is located at (43.337836, -90.384605). 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. The Pine River runs through the western part of the city.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 5,114. 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 2,541 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.6%

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 ...

, 1.3%

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 ...

, 1.0% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 2.5% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 5.7%

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. According to the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates for 2016-2020, the median income for a household in the city was $41,724, and the median income for a family was $57,813. Male full-time workers had a median income of $42,995 versus $35,221 for female workers. 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 $24,829. About 12.0% of families and 16.5% 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 20.2% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over. Of the population age 25 and over, 90.2% were high school graduates or higher and 21.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher.

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 5,184 people, 2,361 households, and 1,235 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 2,613 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.1%

, 0.7%

, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 3.3% of the population. There were 2,361 households, of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.4% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.7% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age in the city was 40 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 20.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.4% male and 53.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 5,114 people, 2,296 households, and 1,285 families residing in the city. The

was 1,164.6 people per square mile (449.8/km²). There were 2,470 housing units at an average density of 562.5 per square mile (217.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.22%

, 0.16%

, 0.25% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 0.92% of the population. There were 2,296 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were

living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.83. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males.

Transportation

Richland Airport (93C) serves the city and surrounding communities.

Education

The city was home to the

University of Wisconsin–Platteville Richland The University of Wisconsin–Platteville Richland (formerly University of Wisconsin-Richland) was a two-year campus of the University of Wisconsin System located in Richland Center, Wisconsin, United States. The college was a satellite campu ...

campus, which was a freshman-sophomore campus in the

University of Wisconsin System The University of Wisconsin System is a state public university system in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher-education systems in the country, enrolling more than 160,000 students each year and employing approx ...

. The college's last semester ended in May of 2023. The city is served by the Richland School District.

Notable people

Svetlana Alliluyeva Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva (née Stalina; 28 February 1926 – 22 November 2011), later known as Lana Peters, was the youngest child and only daughter of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his second wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva. In 1967, she bec ...

, only daughter of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

* James N. Azim Jr., Wisconsin State Representative * Levi H. Bancroft, Attorney General of Wisconsin, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly *

Lynda Barry Linda Jean Barry (born January 2, 1956), known professionally as Lynda Barry, is an American cartoonist. Barry is best known for her weekly comic strip '' Ernie Pook's Comeek''. She garnered attention with her 1988 illustrated novel ''The Good T ...

, cartoonist * Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice *

Raymond Leo Burke Raymond Leo Burke (born June 30, 1948) is an American Catholic prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta from 2014 to 2023. He previously served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 2004 to 2008 and ...

, Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal * J. E. Coffland, Wisconsin State Representative * Frank J. Cosgrove, Wisconsin State Representative * Robert H. DeLap, Wisconsin State Representative * Bradie Ewing, NFL player * William M. Fogo, Wisconsin State Representative * Joe Garden, author, writer for ''The Onion'' * Ada James, suffragist * Birney Maries Jarvis, Wisconsin State Representative * Clyde Jewett, Wisconsin State Representative * Joshua L. Johns, U.S. Representative * William H. Joslin, Wisconsin State Representative * Jay G. Lamberson, Wisconsin State Representative * Gilbert L. Laws, U.S. Representative * Harley A. Martin, Wisconsin State Representative * Jess Miller, Wisconsin State Senator * Oliver Munson, Wisconsin State Senator * Deborah Polaski, international opera singer * Daniel B. Priest, Wisconsin State Representative, lawyer * Dale Schultz, Wisconsin State Senator * Vernon Wallace Thomson, Governor of Wisconsin *

, architect

Sister cities

Richland Center has two

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

: * Santa Teresa, Carazo Department, Nicaragua *

Yueqing Yueqing () is a county-level city under the administration of Wenzhou, Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , im ...

, Zhejiang, China

Gallery

References

External links

City of Richland Center

Richland Center Chamber of Commerce
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
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{{Authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Richland County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin