Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin | |
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| County | Wood |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Mary Jo Carson |
| Area | |
| - City | 36.5 km² (14.1 sq mi) |
| - Land | 34.3 km² (13.2 sq mi) |
| - Water | 2.2 km² (0.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 18,435 |
| - Density | 536.8/km² (1,390.3/sq mi) |
| - Metro | 48,123 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
Wisconsin Rapids is a city in Wood County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 18,435 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wood County.GR6
Together with surrounding communities, the Wisconsin Rapids micropolitan area was, according to the 2000 census, home to 48,123 people. The city forms one of the core areas (the other is at Marshfield) of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Wood County (2000 population: 75,555).
Contents |
[edit] Geography and History
Wisconsin Rapids is located at (44.386805, -89.823078).GR1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.5 km² (14.1 mi²). 34.3 km² (13.3 mi²) of it is land and 2.2 km² (0.9 mi²) of it (6.02%) is water.
Although Europeans began to settle in this area in the 1830s, Wisconsin Rapids has been known by this name only since 1920. Prior thereto, the west side of the river-divided community was incorporated as Centralia and the east side as Grand Rapids. The two cities merged in 1900, and with the entire community taking the name Grand Rapids. The name was changed in 1920 to avoid mail and other goods from being misdirected to the much better known Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Wisconsin Rapids was the hometown of Philleo Nash, an advisor to presidents Harry S. Truman and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Urged to do so by Nash, Truman racially integrated the U.S. military. Nash and his wife, poet and educator Edith, were also among the founding parents of the Georgetown Day School, the first racially integrated school in the nation's capital. Edith Nash was the second director of this school.
Known for its papermaking manufacturing history, Wisconsin Rapids is also an important locale for the cranberry industry. Additionally, Wisconsin Rapids is the corporate home of the international educational software company, Renaissance Learning, Inc.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 18,435 people, 7,970 households, and 4,782 families residing in the city. The population density was 536.8/km² (1,390.0/mi²). There were 8,426 housing units at an average density of 245.3/km² (635.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.04% White, 0.34% African American, 0.80% Native American, 3.46% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.
There were 7,970 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,956, and the median income for a family was $43,594. Males had a median income of $36,098 versus $22,466 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,723. About 7.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Famous Residents
- Bonnie Bartlett , actress
- James Daly, actor
- Grim Natwick, animator and film director
- Philleo Nash, professor and anthropologist
- Bryan Reffner, NASCAR driver
- Dick Trickle, NASCAR driver
- Scott Scharff, NFL player
[edit] External links
- McMillan Memorial Library
- Wisconsin Rapids Wrestling
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
[edit] Resources
A digital collection of books, pamphlets and photographs from Wisconsin Rapids, Wood County and central Wisconsin. Titles include: 100 years of pictorial & descriptive history of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin by T. A. [Theodore Asa] Taylor (1939); History of Wood County, Wisconsin compiled by George O. Jones (1923); Grand Rapids : descriptive of Grand Rapids, Wood County, and the Wisconsin River by A. Decker (1907); Along the Wisconsin River : descriptive of the Wisconsin River Valley, its resources, industries and opportunities by A. Decker (1907); Art work of the Wisconsin River Valley (1901); Central Wisconsin's railroads : past and future by Ray Specht (1981); and Wood County place names by Robert S. Rudolph.
|
|
 |
|---|---|
| Surrounding municipalities (under 10,000) |
|
|
Biron‡ | Grand Rapids* | Nekoosa° | Port Edwards‡ | Port Edwards* | Saratoga* | Seneca |
|
| Wood County | |
| *town ‡village °city |
