Waupaca ( ) is a city in and 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 ...

Waupaca County, Wisconsin Waupaca County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,812. The county seat is Waupaca. The county was created in 1851 and organized in 1853. It is named after the Waupaca River, a Menomi ...

, United States. The population was 6,282 at the 2020 census. The city is located mostly within the Town of Waupaca, and it is politically independent of the town. A portion extends west into the adjacent Town of Farmington, and there is also a noncontiguous area of the city in the Town of Lind to the south. The city is divided into natural areas, city areas, and industrial areas.

History

Native American

mound builders Many pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to specific people or archaeological culture but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks that in ...

lived in the area prior to European settlement. At one time there were 72 earthwork mounds in the area, some of them ancient prehistoric works. “Waupaca” is an Menominee word, Wāpahkoh, which means Place of Tomorrow Seen Clearly. For more than 10,000 years, the Menominee occupied about 10 million acres, including Waupaca and the Chain O’Lakes area. The Menominee in the Waupaca area moved between large villages on Taylor and Otter Lakes and camps along the falls on the Waupaca River. In a series of seven treaties, the Menominee ceded their lands to the United States. The final treaty, in 1848, relinquished the last of the Menominee's land, which included Waupaca. The first white settlers, five men from Vermont, came to Waupaca looking for “the falls” in 1849. The settlers made camp near the end of what is now North Main Street with plans to harness the power of the falls and establish a community. By 1852, a post office had been established and the settlement was officially named Waupaca. Waupaca was incorporated as a village on May 4, 1857, by an act of the

Wisconsin State Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

. This act was repealed on April 7, 1862, but revived on June 17 of the same year. Waupaca was incorporated as a city by the legislature on March 5, 1875. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing to the present, the city has expanded its population and area through annexation.

Geography

Waupaca is located at (44.354922, -89.081775). 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

Transportation

From 1899 to 1926,

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

service was provided by the Waupaca Electric Light and Railway Company.

Airport

*KPCZ - Waupaca Municipal Airport

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 6,282. 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 3,066 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.3%

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 ...

, 1.1%

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, 0.6% Native American, 1.4% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 4.0%

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.

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 6,069 people, 2,702 households, and 1,356 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 2,996 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.6%

, 0.9%

, 0.7% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.3% of the population. There were 2,702 households, of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.9% 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, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 49.8% were non-families. 42.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the city was 40.1 years. 22.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 20.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

2000 census

At the 2000

, there were 5,676 people, 2,364 households and 1,302 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 2,543 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.26%

, 0.33%

, 0.86% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.39% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 3.42% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 2,364 households, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were

living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.9% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 3.01. Age distribution was 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $31,095, and the median family income was $45,128. Males had a median income of $32,488 versus $21,651 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 $18,890. About 7.1% of families and 10.5% 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 12.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

Business and industry

Waupaca Foundry is the largest employer in the city, employing over 1500 workers in three plants in or around the city. Most of the employees live within of the city. Gusmer Enterprises, Inc., with a manufacturing plant on Ware Street, produces products for the food and beverage, industrial and pharmaceutical markets.

Notable people

* Edward E. Browne, United States Representative * Edward L. Browne, legislator * Daniel F. Burnham, legislator * George H. Calkins, legislator and physician *

Clarence Ekstrom Clarence Eugene Ekstrom (March 10, 1902 – January 11, 1986) was a naval aviator and vice admiral in the United States Navy, who served during World War II. Biography Ekstrom was born in Waupaca, Wisconsin, and graduated from the United Sta ...

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Vice Admiral * Fred R. Fisher, legislator * Robert Frederick Froehlke, lawyer and government official * Brock Jensen, NFL quarterback * Greg Johnson, curler * Edwin J. Larson, legislator * Alfred R. Lea, legislator * Reid F. Murray, United States Representative *

Clay Perry Clair Willard Perry (1887–1961), called Clay Perry, was an American writer and outdoorsman. He coined the term " spelunker". Biography Born in 1887 in Waupaca, Wisconsin, Perry moved to western Massachusetts as a young man. A novelist, short st ...

, writer, coined the word " spelunker" * Kevin David Petersen, legislator * Brian Rafalski, NHL defensemen * Richard E. Peterson, legislator, lawyer * Myron Reed, legislator, lawyer * Lyall Schwarzkopf, Minnesota state legislator * Milan H. Sessions, legislator, lawyer * Joseph H. Woodnorth, legislator

Sister cities

Waupaca 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 ...

: *

Hochheim am Main Hochheim am Main (, ; Old English: Hockamore) is a town in the Main-Taunus district of the German state of Hesse. It is located near the right bank of the river Main three miles above its confluence with the Rhine, as well as on the German Timbe ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

* Mitoyo,

Kagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Pr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Images

Image:WaupacaWisconsinPublicLibrary.jpg, Library Image:WaupacaWisconsinPostOffice.jpg, Waupaca Post Office, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Image:WaupacaWisconsinAirport.jpg, Waupaca Municipal Airport Image:MainStreetHistoricDistrictWaupacaWisconsinYellowstoneTrail1.jpg, A portion of the Main Street Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places Image:United Lutheran Bible Camp, Waupaca, Wis., R. No. 2 (81493).jpg, Postcard from c. 1930—1945 for Pine Lake Camp

References

External links

Waupaca Historical SocietyCity of Waupaca

Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce

Waupaca Area Public Library
* Sanborn fire insurance maps
18851891189519011909
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Waupaca County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin