Sigel is a town in 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 1,044 at the 2010 census, up from 825 at the 2000 census.

History

The area that became Sigel was first surveyed in the fall of 1848 by crews working for the U.S. government. In September 1849 another crew marked all the section corners of the eastern half of Sigel, walking the woods and 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:

''The Surface in this Township is generally level and a fair proportion good fertile soil. It is well watered by numerous small Streams, none of which, however, afford any water power. A large part of the township is well timbered with
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 ...
, Ash,
Elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
,
Lind Lind is a surname of both Swedish and Estonian origin. In Swedish, it is the word for the linden tree. In Estonian, it is the word for bird. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.1% of all known bearers of the surname ''Lind'' were resid ...
,
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 ...
,
Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
,
Ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English ma ...
and Some
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 ...
.''

For a surveyor's description of the six mile square that includes the west half of Sigel, see Lafayette. The town was founded on January 3, 1863, presumably named after

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

, a colonel in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Geography

The town of Sigel is located in southern Chippewa County, bordered to the east by the Town of Edson, and to the south by

Eau Claire County Eau Claire County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,710. Its county seat is Eau Claire. The county took its name from the Eau Claire River. Eau Claire County is included in ...

. It is bordered to the north by the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

and the village of Cadott. The Yellow River is a west-flowing tributary of the Chippewa River. 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 ...

, Sigel has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.38%, is water.

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 825 people, 294 households, and 239 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 23.1 people per square mile (8.9/km²). There were 307 housing units at an average density of 8.6 per square mile (3.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.18%

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 ...

, 0.12%

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 ...

, 0.48% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.73% 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 0.24% of the population. There were 294 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% 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 18.4% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.1% 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 3.07. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,639, and the median income for a family was $40,833. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $21,071 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 $15,635. About 5.0% of families and 7.1% 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 8.3% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Sigel is served by the

School District of Cadott Community The School District of Cadott Community is a school district in southwestern Chippewa County, Wisconsin. The district serves the village of Cadott as well as all or part of the towns of Sigel, Arthur, Goetz, Lafayette, Edson, Delmar, Anso ...

References

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