Wausau ( or Wə-sə) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Wisconsin River in central Wisconsin and had a population of 39,994 at the 2020 census. The Wausau metropolitan statistical area, consisting solely of Marathon County, had a population of 138,013.
The Wausau area was inhabited by various indigenous peoples, including the Ojibwe. It was settled by European immigrants in the mid-19th century and developed as a lumbering center due to its access to pine forests and river transport. Cultural and recreational attractions in Wausau include the Grand Theater, Granite Peak Ski Area, Rib Mountain State Park, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and the Wisconsin River.
History
Establishment and early history
This area has for millennia changed hands between various indigenous peoples. The Ojibwe (also known in the United States as the Chippewa) occupied it in the period of European encounter. They had a lucrative fur trade for decades with French colonists and French Canadians. After the French and Indian War this trade was dominated by British-American trappers from the eastern seaboard.
The Wisconsin River first drew European-American settlers to the area during the mid-19th century as they migrated west into the Great Lakes region following construction of the Erie Canal in New York State. This provided a route for products from the region to the large New York and other eastern markets. The area had been called "Big Bull Flats" or "Big Bull Falls" by French explorers, who were the first Europeans here. They named it for the long rapids in the river, which created many bubbles, called bulle in French. By an 1836 treaty with the United States, the Ojibwe ceded much of their lands in the area to federal ownership. It was sold to non-Native peoples. Wausau, from Ojibwe “waasa”, means "a faraway place".
George Stevens, the namesake of the city of Stevens Point south of Wausau, began harvesting the pine forests for lumber in 1840 and built a sawmill. Lumbering was the first major industry in this area, and other sawmills along the Wisconsin River were quickly constructed by entrepreneurs. By 1846, Walter McIndoe arrived and took the lead in the local business and community. His efforts helped to establish Marathon County in 1850. Word of Stevens's success in the region spread across the country throughout the logging industry.
By 1852, Wausau had been established as a town and continued to grow and mature. German immigration into the area following the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states brought more people, and by 1861, the settlement was incorporated as a village.
Churches, schools, industry and social organizations began to flourish. The state granted the city a charter in 1872, and elections are held the first Tuesday in April. The residents elected August Kickbusch as their first mayor in 1872. Five years earlier, Kickbusch had returned to his homeland of Germany and brought back with him 702 people, all of whom are believed to have settled in the Wausau area. Kickbusch founded the A. Kickbusch Wholesale Grocery Company, a family business carried on by his grandson, August Kickbusch II. In 1917, Kickbusch II bought a modest four-square-style house at 513 Grant Street. He made extensive additions, adding two sunrooms, arcaded windows, a tiled porch in the Mediterranean style, a formal classical entrance, and ornate custom-designed chimney crowns. The home is on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Andrew Warren Historic District.
When the railroad arrived in 1874, Wausau became more accessible to settlers and industry. This enabled the city to develop alternatives to the lumber industry, which was in decline since the clear-cutting of many forests. By 1906 the lumber was gone, but the city continued to grow and flourish.Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State By Federal Writers' Project page 381 Other villages and towns in the area declined because of over-harvesting of the forests and lumber mills closed down.
20th century to present
Wausau's location on the Wisconsin River was partly responsible for its survival. The economy was diversified in the early 20th century, led by Employers Insurance of Wausau, now a part of Liberty Mutual. Its logo, first introduced in 1954, was the downtown Milwaukee Road railroad depot set against the backdrop of the community's skyline.
The Wall Street crash of 1929 had a major effect on the Wausau area. Many industries were forced to cut back by laying off and dismissing workers or by closing altogether. After decades of growth, the city virtually ground to a halt. But after World War II Wausau was significantly modernized and it continued to grow in industry, education, recreation, and retail, more than in population.
After the fall of Saigon, Hmong refugees from Southeast Asia who fought alongside the CIA immigrated to Wausau at the end of the 1970s. Wausau church organizations (Catholic and Lutheran) helped Hmong refugees adapt to American life.
In 1983, the Wausau Center shopping mall opened. By the mid- to late-1990s, Wausau began to buy and develop parts of West Industrial Park to meet the needs of the expanding economy and companies. In the late 1990s, the city demolished several aging buildings on a square in the center of downtown, creating what is known as the 400 Block, an open, grassy block with paved sidewalks crossing it. The square is a focal point for summer festivals. In recent years Wausau has redone the 400 Block, adding a permanent stage and other renovations that cost $2 million.
By the end of the 20th century, Wausau began to implement the Wausau Central Business District Master Plan, which included redevelopment and economic restructuring of downtown Wausau. The tallest commercial building in Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee is in Wausau: the 241-foot Dudley tower.
Geography
Wausau is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. The city is at an altitude of . Wausau is close to the center of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere. Just west of Wausau, 45°N meets 90°W (), which is exactly halfway between the equator and the north pole and a quarter of the way around the world from the prime meridian.
Climate Wausau's climate is classified as warm summer humid continental (Dfb). It is built on or around a hemiboreal forest, which has some of the characteristics of a boreal forest and shares some of the features of the temperate zone forests to the south. Coniferous trees predominate in the hemiboreal zone, but a significant number of deciduous species are found there, as well.
Notes
Demographics
The city's suburbs include Schofield, Weston, Mosinee, Maine, Rib Mountain, Kronenwetter, and Rothschild. Wausau is the larger principal city of the Wausau–Merrill CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Wausau metropolitan area (Marathon County) and the Merrill micropolitan area (Lincoln County),Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Components , Office of Management and Budget, May 11, 2007. Accessed 2008-08-01.Combined Statistical Areas and Component Core Based Statistical Areas , Office of Management and Budget, May 11, 2007. Accessed 2008-08-01. which had a combined population of 155,475 at the 2000 census.
In 1996, a US census estimate found the Hmong people were the largest ethnic minority group in Wausau, with about 11% of the population."Timeline of Hmong History ." D.C. Everest Area School District. Retrieved on September 15, 2010.
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Wausau had a population of 39,994. The population density was . The median age was 38.1 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.6 males age 18 and over.
98.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.7% lived in rural areas.
There were 17,420 households in Wausau, of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.9% were married-couple households, 23.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 18,605 housing units, with an average density of . Of those units, 6.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.0%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 31,298 78.3% Black or African American 672 1.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 292 0.7% Asian 4,757 11.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 18 0.0% Some other race 702 1.8% Two or more races 2,255 5.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,650 4.1%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 39,106 people, 16,487 households, and 9,415 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 18,154 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.7% White, 1.4% African American, 0.8% Native American, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population.
There were 16,487 households, of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.9% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.02.
The median age in the city was 36.8 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.7% were from 45 to 64; and 15.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.
2000 census As of the census of 2000, 38,426 people, 15,678 households, and 9,328 families resided in the city. The population density was . There were 16,668 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.91% White, 0.54% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 11.41% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. About 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 15,678 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were not families. About 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city, the population was distributed as 25.4% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,831, and for a family was $47,065. Males had a median income of $33,076 versus $24,303 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,227. About 7.2% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.
Hmong population