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Rusk County, Wisconsin
Ladysmith Carnegie Library
Former Ladysmith Carnegie Library, designed by Claude and Starck. It is now a bed and breakfast inn.
Map of Wisconsin highlighting Rusk County
Location in the state of Wisconsin
Map of the U.S
Wisconsin's location in the U.S.
Founded 1901
Named for Jeremiah McLain Rusk
Seat Ladysmith
Largest city Ladysmith
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

931 sq mi (2,411 km²)
914 sq mi (2,367 km²)
17 sq mi (44 km²), 1.9%
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

14,188
Congressional district 7th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.ruskcounty.org

Rusk County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,188.[1] Its county seat is Ladysmith.[2]

History[]

Founded in 1901, Rusk County was originally named Gates County after Milwaukee land speculator James L. Gates.[3] It was renamed Rusk County in 1905 after Jeremiah M. Rusk, governor of Wisconsin and the first U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.[4] It was formed out of the northern portion of Chippewa County.[5]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 931 square miles (2,410 km2), of which 914 square miles (2,370 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (1.9%) is water.[6]

Adjacent counties[]

Major highways[]

  • US 8 U.S. Highway 8
  • WIS 27 Highway 27 (Wisconsin)
  • WIS 40 Highway 40 (Wisconsin)
  • WIS 73 Highway 73 (Wisconsin)

Railroads[]

  • Canadian National
  • Watco

Buses[]

  • List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

Airport[]

  • KRCX - Rusk County Airport serves the county and surrounding communities.

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1910 11,160
1920 16,403 47.0%
1930 16,081 −2.0%
1940 17,737 10.3%
1950 16,790 −5.3%
1960 14,794 −11.9%
1970 14,238 −3.8%
1980 15,589 9.5%
1990 15,079 −3.3%
2000 15,347 1.8%
2010 14,755 −3.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9]
1990–2000[10] 2010–2020[1]
USA Rusk County, Wisconsin age pyramid

2000 Census Age Pyramid for Rusk County

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 15,347 people, 6,095 households, and 4,156 families residing in the county. The population density was 17 people per square mile (6/km2). There were 7,609 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.69% White, 0.51% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.7% were of German, 13.6% Polish, 9.0% Norwegian, 6.8% Irish, 6.2% American and 5.6% English ancestry.

There were 6,095 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.90% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.80% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.

In 2017, there were 134 births, giving a general fertility rate of 66.0 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 25th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.[12] Additionally, there were no reported induced abortions performed on women of Rusk County residence in 2017.[13]

Communities[]

City[]

  • Ladysmith (county seat)

Villages[]

  • Bruce
  • Conrath
  • Glen Flora
  • Hawkins
  • Ingram
  • Sheldon
  • Tony
  • Weyerhaeuser

Towns[]

  • Atlanta
  • Big Bend
  • Big Falls
  • Cedar Rapids
  • Dewey
  • Flambeau
  • Grant
  • Grow
  • Hawkins
  • Hubbard
  • Lawrence
  • Marshall
  • Murry
  • Richland
  • Rusk
  • South Fork
  • Strickland
  • Stubbs
  • Thornapple
  • True
  • Washington
  • Wilkinson
  • Willard
  • Wilson

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Apollonia
  • Bear Lake
  • Imalone
  • Island Lake
  • Murry
  • Port Arthur
  • South Fork
  • Strickland
  • Thornapple

Ghost towns[]

  • Atlanta
  • Big Bend
  • Crane
  • Egypt
  • Horseman (Varner)
  • Jerome
  • Kalish
  • Mandowish (Manedowish)
  • Poplar / Beldonville
  • Pre Bram
  • Shaws Farm
  • Teresita
  • Tibbets
  • Vallee View / Walrath
  • West Ingram
  • Wilson Center / Dogville (Starez)

Politics[]

United States presidential election results for Rusk County, Wisconsin[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 5,257 66.66% 2,517 31.92% 112 1.42%
2016 4,564 64.39% 2,171 30.63% 353 4.98%
2012 3,676 51.12% 3,397 47.24% 118 1.64%
2008 3,253 44.73% 3,855 53.01% 164 2.26%
2004 3,985 50.27% 3,820 48.19% 122 1.54%
2000 3,758 51.02% 3,161 42.91% 447 6.07%
1996 2,219 33.40% 2,941 44.27% 1,483 22.32%
1992 2,430 30.50% 3,376 42.37% 2,161 27.12%
1988 3,063 43.73% 3,888 55.51% 53 0.76%
1984 4,061 50.90% 3,843 48.16% 75 0.94%
1980 3,704 47.52% 3,584 45.98% 507 6.50%
1976 2,724 39.15% 4,050 58.21% 183 2.63%
1972 3,007 47.89% 3,075 48.97% 197 3.14%
1968 2,666 44.74% 2,559 42.94% 734 12.32%
1964 2,214 34.57% 4,176 65.20% 15 0.23%
1960 3,094 45.48% 3,692 54.27% 17 0.25%
1956 3,433 53.68% 2,929 45.80% 33 0.52%
1952 4,134 59.36% 2,777 39.88% 53 0.76%
1948 2,623 42.04% 3,401 54.51% 215 3.45%
1944 3,092 48.40% 3,238 50.69% 58 0.91%
1940 3,484 48.66% 3,578 49.97% 98 1.37%
1936 2,453 36.18% 3,877 57.18% 450 6.64%
1932 1,942 35.90% 3,194 59.04% 274 5.06%
1928 3,524 63.62% 1,925 34.75% 90 1.62%
1924 1,932 39.11% 272 5.51% 2,736 55.38%
1920 2,609 77.60% 441 13.12% 312 9.28%
1916 989 47.59% 926 44.56% 163 7.84%
1912 575 33.78% 522 30.67% 605 35.55%
1908 1,431 67.82% 532 25.21% 147 6.97%
1904 1,415 81.51% 247 14.23% 74 4.26%



See also[]

  • Flambeau Mine
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Rusk County, Wisconsin

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/55/55107.html. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  3. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 135. https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA135. 
  4. ^ "Here's How Iron Got Its Name". The Rhinelander Daily News: p. 2. June 16, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/909510/wisconsin_county_names/.  open access
  5. ^ Rusk County Museum Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_55.txt. 
  7. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  8. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  9. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wi190090.txt. 
  10. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  11. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  12. ^ "Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables". https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publication/p01161-2019-tb.xlsx. 
  13. ^ Reported Induced Abortions in Wisconsin, Office of Health Informatics, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Section: Trend Information, 2013-2017, Table 18, pages 17-18
  14. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

Further reading[]

External links[]

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Coordinates: 45°29′N 91°08′W / 45.48, -91.14

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Rusk County, Wisconsin. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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