Whitehall is a city 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 ...

Trempealeau County, Wisconsin Trempealeau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,760. Its county seat is Whitehall. History Patches of woodland are all that remain of the brush and light forest that once covere ...

, United States, along the Trempealeau River. The population was 1,645 at the 2020 census. Whitehall is situated on the former

Green Bay and Western Railroad The Green Bay and Western Railroad served central Wisconsin for almost 100 years before it was absorbed into the Wisconsin Central Ltd., Wisconsin Central in 1993. For much of its history the railroad was also known as the Green Bay Route. At t ...

midway between

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

and

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

History

Whitehall was started in 1860 or 1861, in an area later known as Old Whitehall about a mile from the center of the current city, by Ole Knudtson. He came to Whitehall June 25, 1860, and opened a hotel and blacksmith shop. The proprietors of the town site were Benjamin Franklin Wing and Mr. Georges. A post office called Whitehall was first established in 1861. The city was named by Benjamin F. Wing, possibly after

White Hall, Illinois White Hall is a city in Greene County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,295 at the 2020 census. History A post office called White Hall has been in operation since 1827. In 1830 a David Barrow was the first person to build and in a ...

and

Whitehall, New York Whitehall is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 4,023 at the 2020 census. The Town of Whitehall contains a village also named Whitehall. H ...

. The Green Bay railroad was built through the valley of the Trempealeau River in 1873. "The tracks were laid through the wheat field that is now Whitehall, on Sept. 2, 1873. ... Where the courthouse now stands, the harvesters were gathering wheat. ... On New Year's Day, 1874, the first passenger train passed Whitehall on regular schedule. That same day the lumber was unloaded for the first depot ..." Whitehall was incorporated in 1887.

Geography

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 , 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 1,558 people, 665 households, and 382 families living in the city. 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 741 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.9%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 1.5% from other races, and 0.6% 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 4.2% of the population. There were 665 households, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.8% 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, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.6% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in the city was 42 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 19.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,651 people, 693 households, and 415 families living in the city. The

was 991.2 people per square mile (381.7/km²). There were 733 housing units at an average density of 440.1 per square mile (169.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city- fairly typical for its locality- was 99.64%

, 0.12%

, 0.06% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.06% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.30% of the population. There were 693 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% 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 2.95. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,958, and the median income for a family was $48,047. Males had a median income of $28,643 versus $21,332 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 $17,743. About 4.1% of families and 7.3% 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 7.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Whitehall School District operates area public schools.

Infrastructure

Whitehall previously had passenger rail service at the Whitehall Depot.

Notable people

* Hans A. Anderson, jurist and politician * Kathy Charmaz, educator *

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...

, musician * Mary Forsythe, Minnesota State Representative *

Callista Gingrich Callista Louise Gingrich (Birth name, née Bisek; born March 4, 1966) is an American diplomat, businesswoman, author, and documentary film producer who served as List of ambassadors of the United States to the Holy See, United States ambassador t ...

United States Ambassador to the Holy See The ambassador of the United States to the Holy See is the Ambassadors of the United States, official representative of the United States, United States of America to the Holy See, the leadership of the Catholic Church. The official representati ...

and wife of

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

Steve Gunderson Steven Craig Gunderson (born May 10, 1951) is an American former politician who was a Republican U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district from 1981 to 1997, when he was succeeded by Democrat Ron Kind. After leaving office, ...

, U.S. Representative *

John F. Hager John F. Hager (January 8, 1873 – November 2, 1955) was an American businessman and politician. Born in Frontenac, Goodhue County, Minnesota, Hager moved with his parents to a farm in Maiden Rock, Pierce County, Wisconsin in 1879. Hager we ...

, Wisconsin State Representative * Rodney C. Moen, Wisconsin State

References

External links

*
Whitehall Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin