The Town of Ruby is located in northeast Chippewa County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The population was 494 at the 2010 census. The unincorporated communities of Arnold and Ruby are located in the town.

Geography

The town of Ruby is wide and from north to south. It occupies the northeast corner of Chippewa County and is bordered by Rusk County to the north and Taylor County to the east. 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 , of which is land and , or 0.34%, is water.

History

The area that would become the town of Ruby was first surveyed in 1852 by two crews working for the U.S. government. From September into October a crew marked all the section corners in the northern of the

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

, walking through the woods and slogging through the swamps on foot, measuring with

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

and

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

. When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:

''This Township contains, but little land fit for cultivation, considerable Tamarac swamp, and but little Grass land(?) in Hay meddow. The surface is level except in a few places, where it is uneven(?) not Hilley. None of it above 3rd rate. Timber Hemlock,
Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
,
Birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and Balsom. The Pine on and near Fisher and Jump River is of the best quallity and in Considerable quantity.''

''Fisher River Enters the Township in section 25 and keeps a westerly direction across the Township, leaving it on section 18. The stream has a rapid current and Rockey bed. Jump River Enter on sec 5 and leaves on section 6. Rapid Rocky Stream. Some good Pine on its Banks.''

The town of Ruby was named for the only daughter of E. L. Hawn, who arrived in 1902 and founded the Ruby Lumber Company.

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 446 people, 152 households, and 120 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 . There were 197 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 99.55%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.22% from other 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 0.22% of the population. There were 152 households, out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.8% 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, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.25. The population was 33.4% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,208, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had a median income of $27,750 versus $22,813 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 $12,587. About 12.4% of families and 16.9% 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 22.8% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Towns in Chippewa County, Wisconsin Eau Claire–Chippewa Falls metropolitan area Towns in Wisconsin