Washburn, Wisconsin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are also the Town of Washburn in Clark County and the Town of Washburn in Bayfield County.

Washburn is a city in Bayfield County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 2,280 at the 2000 census. The city is just east of and adjacent to the Town of Washburn. It is in northern Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Superior's Chequamegon Bay.

Founded in 1879, the city was named for Cadwallader C. Washburn, Republican governor of Wisconsin from 1872 until 1874.

Initially, the city's economy was based on lumbering, with sawmills lining the busy waterfront. In 1905, the DuPont company opened an explosives plant just outside town, providing an important source of employment as timber resources were growing scarce. The closing of the DuPont plant in 1971 was a severe blow to the local economy.

Currently, the city's economy focuses primarily on the tourist industry and its position as county seat.

[edit] Geography

Washburn is located at 46°40′26″N, 90°53′51″W (46.673989, -90.897674)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.0 km² (6.2 mi²). 10.2 km² (3.9 mi²) of it is land and 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²) of it (36.30%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,280 people, 938 households, and 589 families residing in the city. The population density was 224.6/km² (581.5/mi²). There were 1,004 housing units at an average density of 98.9/km² (256.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.06% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 5.61% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.

There were 938 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,257, and the median income for a family was $40,781. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $23,235 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,331. About 7.5% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.