Waukesha County, Wisconsin

Waukesha County (wok-USH-aww) is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 389,891,[1] making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat is Waukesha.[2]

Waukesha County, Wisconsin
County
Waukesha County Courthouse
Flag
Seal
Motto(s): 
"Leading the way!"
Map of Wisconsin showing Waukesha County
Wisconsin's location in the contiguous United States
Country United States
State Wisconsin
Incorporated1846
County seatWaukesha
Largest cityWaukesha
Area
 • Total581 sq mi (1,500 km2)
 • Land550 sq mi (1,400 km2)
 • Water31 sq mi (80 km2)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total389,891
 • Estimate 
(2019)
404,198
 • Rank3rd largest county in Wisconsin
 • Density670/sq mi (260/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (Central)
Area codes262, 414
Congressional districts1st, 5th
Interstates
U.S. Routes
State Routes
AirportsWaukesha County Airport Capitol Airport
Websitehttp://www.waukeshacounty.gov/
Waukesha County sign on WIS 59

Waukesha County is included in the Milwaukee–Waukesha–West Allis, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The part of Wisconsin that Waukesha County occupies was a part of Michigan Territory when Milwaukee County was organized in September 1834.[3] On July 4, 1836, the Wisconsin Territory was formed, which included land that is now in the state of Minnesota.[3] In January 1846, part of Milwaukee County was split off into Waukesha County.[4][5] Curtis Reed was the first county chairman.[4] When a vote decided the county seat, Waukesha defeated Pewaukee by two votes.[4] The name is derived from the Potawatomi word for 'fox' because the streams in the lower part of the county drain into the Fox River.[6]

Waukesha was a New England settlement, and Waukesha's founders were settlers from New England, particularly Connecticut, rural Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, as well as from upstate New York who were born to parents who had migrated there from New England shortly after the American Revolution. These people were "Yankees" descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. They were part of a wave of New England farmers who headed west into what was the wilds of the Northwest Territory during the early 1800s. Most arrived as a result of the completion of the Erie Canal as well as the end of the Black Hawk War.

When they arrived in what is now Waukesha County, there was nothing but dense virgin forest and wild prairie. The New Englanders built farms, roads, government buildings and established post routes. They brought many of their Yankee New England values, such as a passion for education that led to the establishment of many schools as well as staunch support for abolitionism. They were mostly members of the Congregationalist Church, though some were Episcopalian. Due to the second Great Awakening some converted to Methodism, and others became Baptists before moving to what is now Waukesha County. Waukesha, like much of Wisconsin, would be culturally very continuous with early New England culture for most of its early history.[7]

2011 Supreme Court Election

In 2011, the initial unofficial statewide tally in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election had Democratic challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg defeating incumbent justice David Prosser by a 204-vote margin. On the Thursday after the election, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus reported, among other smaller errors, a failure to report votes in the Waukesha city of Brookfield. The newly reported votes gave Prosser the lead, and he retained his seat.[8] Media reports stemming from this incident referred to the county as "crucial Waukesha County," and as of 2017, the phrase has continued to be widely used in U.S. political media as an in-joke.[9][10][11]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 581 square miles (1,500 km2), of which 550 square miles (1,400 km2) is land and 31 square miles (80 km2) (5.3%) is water.[12]

Lake country

Because of its large number of lakes, the northwestern corner of Waukesha County is referred to as "Lake Country" by local residents. It includes Pewaukee, Delafield, Hartland, Merton, Nashotah, Chenequa, Okauchee Lake, Oconomowoc, Summit, and Lac La Belle.

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
185019,258—
186026,83139.3%
187028,2745.4%
188028,9572.4%
189033,27014.9%
190035,2295.9%
191037,1005.3%
192042,61214.9%
193052,35822.9%
194062,74419.8%
195085,90136.9%
1960158,24984.2%
1970231,36546.2%
1980280,32621.2%
1990304,7158.7%
2000360,76718.4%
2010389,8918.1%
Est. 2019404,198[13]3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1790–1960[15] 1900–1990[16]
1990–2000[17] 2010–2019[1]
2000 Census Age Pyramid for Waukesha County

2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 389,891 people, 152,663 households, and 108,810 families living in the county. The population density was 672 people per square mile (260/km²). There were 160,864 housing units at an average density of 277 per square mile (107/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.3% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.0003% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. 4.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[18] Of the 152,663 households 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.8% of households were one person and 10.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.00.

The age distribution was 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males.

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 360,767 people, 135,229 households, and 100,475 families living in the county. The population density was 649 people per square mile (251/km²). There were 140,309 housing units at an average density of 252 per square mile (98/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.77% White, 0.73% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.87% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. 2.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 44.5% were of German, 9.2% Polish, 7.5% Italian, and 7.7% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.3% spoke English, 2.2% Spanish and 1.2% German as their first language.[18] Of the 135,229 households 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 20.90% of households were one person and 8.10% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.08.

The age distribution was 26.30% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.

The median household income was $62,839 and the median family income was $71,773 (these figures had risen to $71,907 and $85,116 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[19]). Males had a median income of $49,232 versus $31,643 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,164. About 1.7% of families and 2.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Elected officials
  • County Executive: Paul Farrow
  • County Board Chair: Paul Decker
  • County Clerk: Meg Wartman (interim)
  • Treasurer: Pamela F. Reeves (R)
  • Register of Deeds: James Behrend (R)
  • Clerk of Circuit Court: Kathy Madden (R)
  • District Attorney: Susan Opper (interim)
  • Sheriff: Eric Severson (R)

Departments

There are 12 departments in Waukesha County, with most located in the Administration Center.

  • Administration

The Department of Administration has five divisions that provide administrative services to the county: the finance division, the human resources division, the information technology division, the purchasing and risk management division, and the administrative services division.

  • Aging and Disability Resource Center

The Aging and Disability Resource Center of Waukesha County (ADRC) provides information, assistance, counseling and supportive services regarding adults age 60 and above, adults with physical or developmental disabilities; and adults with mental health or substance abuse concerns. It also provides publicly funded long-term care to county residents.[20]

  • Airport

The Waukesha County Airport serves commercial and private aircraft and is supervised by the Airport Commission.

The Bridges Library System works in partnership with 16 public libraries in Waukesha County to cooperatively provide library services. This includes the purchase of shared electronic databases, summer library programming, and circulation services. Bridges also oversees Internet access for member libraries.

  • Health and Human Services
  • Medical Examiner

The Medical Examiner investigates suspicious or unexplained deaths or deaths that result from a homicide, suicide, or accident. The office also generates statistics for the county.

  • Parks and Land Use

The Department of Parks and Land Use (PLU), oversees six divisions that design and maintain county parks. The division also works with state and federal agencies. The planning division administers permits for construction and landscaping activities. The land conservation division works to educate on and regulate soil and water issues. Most programs look to control water runoff and soil erosion. The recycling and solid waste division oversees recycling and disposal programs. It also performs educational outreach on topics such as composting and waste reduction. The official mascot of the recycling division is Recycle Raccoon. The environmental health division oversees animal welfare issues, food safety, and air, water and sewage, and safety issues (such as radon testing, well testing, and septic system monitoring). The land information systems division coordinates databases of information relating to land use and development.

  • Public Works
  • Sheriff
  • University of Wisconsin Extension

The University of Wisconsin-Extension is a partnership with Waukesha County and brings the research of the UW System to families, businesses, governments, and organizations through educational outreach programs. The UW-Extension office also houses 180° Juvenile Diversion, a non-profit organization that rehabilitates first-time young offenders in Waukesha County.

  • Veterans

Politics

Waukesha County is the largest Republican-leaning county in Wisconsin and has been one of the GOP's most solid suburban strongholds for many years. It has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964, and has only supported a Democrat four other times since 1892. While other non-Southern suburban counties (with an exception being the Atlanta metropolitan area) have moved towards Democrats since the 1990s, Waukesha and other Milwaukee suburbs have continued to vote solidly Republican.[21] The county is split between 10 state assembly districts, all but one of which is held by a Republican, and six state senate districts, all held by Republicans.

In 2008, Senator John McCain carried the county by a 25.7% margin over then-Senator Barack Obama, when Obama won Wisconsin by 13.9% over McCain.[22]

Presidential election results
Presidential election results[23]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 60.0% 142,543 33.3% 79,224 6.7% 15,826
2012 66.8% 162,798 32.3% 78,779 0.9% 2,279
2008 62.3% 145,152 36.6% 85,339 1.0% 2,406
2004 67.3% 154,926 32.0% 73,626 0.8% 1,811
2000 65.3% 133,105 31.6% 64,319 3.1% 6,310
1996 55.4% 91,729 34.7% 57,354 9.9% 16,389
1992 51.0% 91,461 28.1% 50,270 20.9% 37,451
1988 60.8% 90,467 38.7% 57,598 0.6% 828
1984 65.7% 92,426 33.6% 47,313 0.7% 921
1980 58.3% 81,059 33.5% 46,612 8.3% 11,477
1976 58.2% 70,418 39.3% 47,487 2.5% 3,048
1972 60.9% 59,399 35.4% 34,573 3.7% 3,650
1968 55.0% 47,557 36.9% 31,947 8.1% 7,000
1964 47.1% 35,502 52.8% 39,796 0.2% 131
1960 57.6% 39,380 42.3% 28,963 0.1% 76
1956 68.9% 35,212 30.3% 15,496 0.7% 376
1952 65.6% 30,238 34.2% 15,756 0.3% 117
1948 54.2% 17,324 43.7% 13,952 2.1% 674
1944 57.4% 17,995 41.6% 13,038 0.9% 293
1940 55.9% 16,726 42.9% 12,859 1.2% 358
1936 35.4% 8,921 59.5% 14,982 5.1% 1,291
1932 37.8% 8,538 59.7% 13,487 2.6% 584
1928 60.2% 12,218 38.6% 7,846 1.2% 247
1924 45.5% 7,026 12.7% 1,965 41.8% 6,468
1920 71.6% 8,665 22.8% 2,759 5.6% 673
1916 45.2% 3,768 50.3% 4,192 4.5% 375
1912 36.9% 2,714 48.8% 3,594 14.3% 1,055
1908 55.9% 4,758 37.7% 3,206 6.4% 546
1904 62.6% 5,247 32.1% 2,693 5.2% 438
1900 60.9% 5,127 35.8% 3,016 3.3% 275
1896 60.9% 5,411 36.0% 3,192 3.1% 277
1892 47.5% 3,600 48.0% 3,635 4.5% 337

Communities

Cities

Villages

Towns

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns/Neighborhoods
Note – for zoning purposes, a single acre of Waukesha County was annexed by the city of Milwaukee in 2003 to accommodate the Ambrosia Chocolate Factory.[24]

Climate
Waukesha County
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
102
 
 
−6
−14
 
 
96
 
 
−4
−12
 
 
69
 
 
5
−5
 
 
160
 
 
18
3
 
 
102
 
 
23
9
 
 
148
 
 
25
14
 
 
95
 
 
27
17
 
 
105
 
 
26
17
 
 
70
 
 
22
13
 
 
95
 
 
15
5
 
 
66
 
 
8
−1
 
 
79
 
 
−2
−11
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [25]
gollark: The Raffle cometh.
gollark: Good idea. With the current state of S/R it should be easy to.
gollark: I want to reply... but my post count is at a nice round 256...
gollark: It's somewhat funny that the people saying "no, the existing rules describe it fine" seem to now be perfectly happy with the rules actually being slightly written out now.
gollark: I've mentioned it on the thread, meaning the issue will be ignored until... 2069.

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. Barquist, Barbara; Barquist, David (1987). "The Beginning". In Haley, Leroy (ed.). The Summit of Oconomowoc: 150 Years of Summit Town. Summit History Group. p. 6.
  4. Barquist, Barbara; Barquist, David (1987). "The Beginning". In Haley, Leroy (ed.). The Summit of Oconomowoc: 150 Years of Summit Town. Summit History Group. p. 7.
  5. Barquist, Barbara; Barquist, David (1987). "The Early Years". In Haley, Leroy (ed.). The Summit of Oconomowoc: 150 Years of Summit Town. Summit History Group. p. 37.
  6. "Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe". The Post-Crescent. December 28, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin: Containing an Account of Its Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources; an Extensive and Minute Sketch of Its Cities, Towns and Villages--their Improvements, Industries, Manufactories, Churches, Schools and Societies; Its War Record, Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Prominent Men and Early Settlers; the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, Statistics of the State, and an Abstract of Its Laws and Constitution and of the Constitution of the United States Western Historical Company, 1880 pages 173, 232, 233
  8. Stein, Jason; Walker, Laurel; Glauber, Bill (April 7, 2011). "Corrected Brookfield tally puts Prosser ahead after 7,500-vote gain". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  9. Gallitz, Sean (5 April 2016). "The Wisconsin county that could stop Donald Trump". CBS News. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  10. Kondik, Kyle (5 May 2014). "10 Maps That Explain the 2014 Midterms". POLITICO. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  11. Gehrke, Joel (February 20, 2015). "Ron Johnson, Ready Already for 2016". National Review. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  12. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  13. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  14. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  15. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  16. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  17. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  18. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  19. "Waukesha County, Wisconsin – Fact Sheet – American FactFinder". Factfinder.census.gov. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
  20. Mission Statement from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. Cohn, Nate (May 6, 2014). "The Curious Case of Milwaukee's Suburban Voters". New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  22. 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Results
  23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  24. Mike Mulvey. "Colleges squaring off over taxes". Milwaukee Sentinel, May 18, 1991, part 1, p. 6.
  25. "NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index". NASA. Retrieved 30 January 2016.

Further reading

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