Menomonie, Wisconsin

This article is about the city. For the adjacent town, see Menomonie (town), Wisconsin.

See also Menomonee, Menominee, and Menomonie

Menomonie, Wisconsin
City
Dunn County Government Center, Menomonie
Location of Menomonie, Wisconsin
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Dunn
Area
• Total	15.47 sq mi (40.07 km2)
• Land	13.69 sq mi (35.46 km2)
• Water	1.78 sq mi (4.61 km2)
Population (2010)
• Total	16,264
• Estimate (2012)	16,261
• Density	1,188.0/sq mi (458.7/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	715 & 534
Website	www.menomonie-wi.gov

The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts originally named The Mabel Tainter Memorial Building.

Wilson Place Museum

Menomonie is a city in and the county seat of Dunn County in the western part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city's population was 16,264 as of the 2010 census.

Named for the historic Native American tribe, the Menominee, inhabitants who pre-dated the state, the city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Menomonie Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Dunn County (2010 population: 43,857). The Menomonie MSA and the Eau Claire metropolitan area to the east form the Census Bureau's Eau Claire-Menomonie Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city center is located at the south end of Lake Menomin, a reservoir on the Red Cedar River.

History

The earliest known residents of the area were people from the Trempealeau Hopewell Culture of the Middle Woodland Period (1-400 AD). Evidence from their culture includes a mound from the Wakanda Mounds Group in Wakanda Park, along the western shore of Lake Menomin. Most of these mounds are thought to be from Effigy Mound cultures from this time period. Artifacts from the Late Woodland Period (400-1000 AD) have also been uncovered. It is theorized that agricultural villages supported the population during summer months, transitioning to hunting and gathering from fall through spring. The next known population group is the Santee Dakota in the 1600s and 1700s, who engaged in conflicts with the Ojibwe people, who migrated west as refugees. Armed with European weapons, the Ojibwe pushed westward, eventually winning at the Battle of Kathio in 1770. The two tribes continued their warfare, eventually signing the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, which made a border between the two just north of Menomonie, with the Dakota claiming the southern lands.

In 1788, French-Canadian fur trader and schoolmaster Jean Baptiste Perrault established a trading post and fort on the Red Cedar River very near Menomonie.

The lumber industry brought Menomonie permanent settlement and economic prosperity in the 1800s. The Wisconsin Milling Company set up shop at the confluence of Wilson Creek and the Red Cedar River, which was purchased by Hardin Perkins, backing fur traders James H. Lockwood and Joseph Rolette in 1822 and subsequently washed away by a sudden overflow in the river. Working with Indian Agent General Street, Perkins, Lockwood and Rolette began a legal battle over the authority of the local native American people to grant permissions of this sort, exchanging land for payment of blankets, beads, whiskey, and other merchandise to Chief Wabashaw and the other Ojibwe chiefs. In 1830 they received permission from the federal government to rebuild their lumber operation. This was the first permanent settlement on the land that became the city of Menomonie.

Lockwood built a second mill and dam on the west side of the Red Cedar River, at the confluence of Gilbert Creek. He sold this to Hiram S. Allen, a lumberman from Vermont. In 1839, Hiram S. Allen built a new sawmill in its place, which he sold to the McCann brothers, settlers from Ohio who later became the first permanent residents of Eau Claire. In 1849, the Gilbert Creek Mill became the site of the first post office.

Lockwood and Rolette sold their original operation to James Green in 1841, who turned over the deed to William Black in 1842. In 1846, William Wilson and John Holly Knapp jointly purchased the mill, naming it Black & Knapp Mill. Wilson and his family settled in the area, eventually building what is now the Wilson Place Museum in 1859. Wilson founded the city of Menomonie and became its first mayor, as well as a Wisconsin State Senator.

Captain Andrew Tainter and Henry L. Stout acquired 1/3 interest in Wilson and Knapp's company, forming Knapp, Stout & Co. in 1853, the company that would come to define the town for generations. Tainter was a silent partner, whose duties included shipping lumber down to the Mississippi River and returning with supplies. By 1873, Knapp, Stout & Co. had grown into the largest lumber corporation in the world. In 43 years, its output grew from 100,000 to 5,706,602 feet of lumber. It had 1,200 employees and owned 115,000 acres of pine forest. The post office was moved to the site of the Knapp, Stout & Co. Company in 1855, with Wilson as postmaster.

Menomonie was incorporated as a city in 1882.

The Mabel Tainter Memorial Building, a local landmark, was built in 1890 by Tainter in honor of his daughter Mabel, who had died in 1886 at the age of 19. In 1891, Wisconsin State Senator James Huff Stout, son of Henry L. Stout, founded a manual training school, the first of several educational enterprises he launched in Menomonie. These educational programs were combined into the Stout Institute in 1908, and still stand as the University of Wisconsin–Stout.

In 1901, the water mill shut down and Knapp, Stout & Co. closed operations in the area. The Wisconsin Power Company and Submerged Electric Motor Co. acquired some of the company's facilities, the latter to house the world's first outboard motor factory. In 1902, the Wilson-Weber Lumber Company took over retail operations of the Knapp, Stout & Co. That same year, Menomonie founded the first agricultural high school in the United States, the Dunn County School of Agriculture and Domestic Economy.

Geography

Menomonie is located at (44.879336, -91.918333).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.47 square miles (40.07 km²), of which, 13.69 square miles (35.46 km²) is land and 1.78 square miles (4.61 km²) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	2,589		—
1890	5,491		112.1%
1900	5,655		3.0%
1910	5,036		−10.9%
1920	5,104		1.4%
1930	5,595		9.6%
1940	6,582		17.6%
1950	8,245		25.3%
1960	8,624		4.6%
1970	11,112		28.8%
1980	12,769		14.9%
1990	13,547		6.1%
2000	14,937		10.3%
2010	16,264		8.9%
Est. 2014	16,237		−0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 16,264 people, 5,743 households, and 2,455 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,188.0 inhabitants per square mile (458.7/km²). There were 6,234 housing units at an average density of 455.4 per square mile (175.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.9% White, 0.8% African American, 0.5% Native American, 4.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 5,743 households of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 57.3% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% 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 2.87.

The median age in the city was 23.4 years. 13.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 42% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.5% were from 25 to 44; 14.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 14,937 people, 5,119 households, and 2,370 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,160.7 people per square mile (448.1/km²). There were 5,441 housing units at an average density of 422.8 per square mile (163.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.79% White, 0.76% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 3.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,119 households out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.7% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.5% under the age of 18, 40.4% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 12.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,103, and the median income for a family was $44,458. Males had a median income of $30,893 versus $21,898 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,994. About 9.1% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bowman Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

Menomonie is served by Menomonie High School.

The city is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Stout and a campus of Chippewa Valley Technical College.

Media

• The Menomonie Times, a weekly newspaper published 1876-1909, LCCN sn86-86695
• The Menomonie Badger, a weekly newspaper published in 1903 and 1904
• The Dunn County News

Honors

Menomonie was ranked #15 in Smithsonian Magazine's "The 20 Best Small Towns in America" in 2012.

Notable natives and residents

• G. H. Bakke, Wisconsin legislator
• Alvin J. Baldus, U.S. Representative.
• Wilfred Duford, NFL player
• Rockwell J. Flint, Wisconsin state legislator and newspaper editor
• Vern Fuller, MLB player
• Neil Gaiman, writer and screenwriter
• Wilson Hall, half of the comedy duo God's Pottery
• Lorenzo D. Harvey, educator
• Luke Helder, University of Wisconsin - Stout student who attempted to create a smiley-face on the US map with pipe bombs.
• Warren S. Johnson, founder of Johnson Controls, was a school principal in Menomonie in the late 19th century
• Reynold Kraft, NFL player.
• Robert Macauley, Wisconsin legislator and jurist
• Harry Miller, "the greatest creative figure in the history of the American racing car".
• Tom Neumann, professional football player.
• Richard Shoemaker, Wisconsin legislator
• James Huff Stout, legislator and businessman
• Jeremiah Burnham Tainter, engineer
• Aaron Yonda, comedy video producer, co-founder of Blame Society Productions

In popular culture

• Caddie Woodlawn, a Newbery Award-winning novel, was based on the girlhood adventures of Caroline Augusta Woodhouse, who lived about 10 miles south of Menomonie. The novel was written by Woodhouse's granddaughter, Carol Ryrie Brink and published in 1936. There is a historical marker in the wayside park near the Woodhouse house.

Further reading

• Shaw, Adele Marie. "The Ideal Schools of Menomonie", The World's Work, 1904.

External links

• City of Menomonie