Baraboo is a city in the Midwest and the county seat of

Sauk County Sauk County is a county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. The county was created in 1840 from Wisconsin Territor ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michi ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The largest city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its 2020 population was 12,556. It is situated on the

Baraboo River The Baraboo River is a tributary of the Wisconsin River, about 70 mi (115 km) long, in south-central Wisconsin in the United States. Via the Wisconsin River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The Baraboo River was ...

. Baraboo is home to the Circus World Museum, the former headquarters and winter home of the

Ringling brothers The Ringling brothers (originally Rüngling) were seven American siblings who transformed their small touring company of performers into one of the largest circuses in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Four brothers ...

circus. The Al. Ringling Theatre is an active landmark in the city. Baraboo is also near Devil's Lake State Park, and

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his ...

's Shack and Farm.

History

Early settlement

The area around Baraboo was the site of a Kickapoo village as early as 1665. The current community was established by Abe Wood in 1838, and was originally known as the village of Adams. In 1839 several settlers arrived and started building cabins, and a saw mill. In 1846 it became the county seat of

after a fierce fight with the nearby village of Reedsburg. In 1852, the village was renamed "Baraboo", after the nearby river. It was incorporated as a village in 1866 and as a city in 1882."Term: Baraboo [brief history]"
in ''Dictionary of Wisconsin History''. In the 1860s, the city had surpassed a population of 2,000, and many businesses started to form, including grocery stores, banks, and hotels. In 1872, the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

(C&NW) was built. Baraboo became home to several saw mills during this time, because of its location near the Baraboo and

Rivers.

Late 1800s to the present

In 1884, the

Ringling Brothers Circus Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Germ ...

was established in Baraboo. Several other circuses came to the city, which gave Baraboo the nickname "Circus City". Located south of Baraboo, in the

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

of Bluffview, was the

Badger Army Ammunition Plant The Badger Army Ammunition Plant (BAAP or Badger) or Badger Ordnance Works (B.O.W.) is an excess, non- BRAC, United States Army facility located near Sauk City, Wisconsin. It manufactured nitrocellulose-based propellants during World War II, the ...

, which was the largest munitions factory in the world during WWII, when it was known as "Badger Ordnance Works". It was later demolished and now the land is a part of the Sauk Prairie Recreation Area.

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on ...

's 1959 song "

I've Been Everywhere "I've Been Everywhere" is a song written by Australian country singer Geoff Mack in 1959, and popularised by Lucky Starr and Hank Snow in 1962. The song as originally written listed Australian towns. It was later adapted by Australian singe ...

", famously covered by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, mentions visiting Baraboo.

Cirrus Aircraft The Cirrus Design Corporation, doing business as Cirrus Aircraft (formally Cirrus Design), is an aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier to produce the VK-30 kit aircraft. The company is owned by a subsidia ...

, a manufacturer of single-engine aircraft, was founded in a rural Baraboo barn in 1984 by brothers Alan and Dale Klapmeier. After a few years of designing the VK-30, the company relocated to the Baraboo–Wisconsin Dells Airport, and in 1994 moved to its present-day home in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. West Baraboo, a suburb of Baraboo, borders the city on its west side. Baraboo gives its name to the Baraboo Syncline, a doubly plunging, asymmetric

syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimposed ...

Proterozoic The Proterozoic () is a geological eon spanning the time interval from 2500 to 538.8million years ago. It is the most recent part of the Precambrian "supereon". It is also the longest eon of the Earth's geologic time scale, and it is subdivided i ...

-aged Baraboo quartzite. Researchers at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, particularly Charles R. Van Hise, used the syncline to demonstrate that small-scale deformational structures in isolated outcrops reflect larger regional structures and that sedimentary structures could indicate the original top-facing direction within elaborately deformed strata. These two principles sparked a global revolution in

structural geology Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover informatio ...

during the 1920s. The nearby Baraboo Hills are designated one of the "Last Great Places" by the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

because of its rare rocks, plants and animals. The hills were created by glacial action, and in some points poke up from the flat terrain to form a stark contrast. Some of these features were created when a glacial pocket was formed during the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

where the advance of the glacier halted, along the edge of what is known as the Driftless Area. Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin's largest state park, contains large areas of the Baraboo Hills. Pewits Nest is located outside Baraboo.

Climate

Demographics

Baraboo forms the core of the

's Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Sauk County (2000 population: 55,225). The Baraboo µSA is just northwest of the Madison

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

, with which it forms the Census Bureau's Baraboo-Madison Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 12,556. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...

was . There were 5,776 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.4% Native American, 1.3%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, 1.0% Asian, 2.7% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 5.6% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 5.9%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...

or Latino of any race.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,048 people, 5,161 households, and 3,016 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 5,619 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.0%

, 1.3%

, 1.0% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

, 1.5% from

, and 1.6% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population. There were 5,161 households, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.6% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% 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 2.89. The median age in the city was 38 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.5% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% 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, there were 10,711 people, 4,467 households, and 2,733 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,030.2 people per square mile (783.2/km²). There were 4,718 housing units at an average density of 894.3 per square mile (345.0 persons/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.12% White, 0.51%

, 0.77% Native American, 0.52%

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 1.57% of the population were

or Latino of any race. There were 4,467 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.1% 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 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,375, and the median income for a family was $48,149. Males had a median income of $32,775 versus $22,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,304. 6.6% of the population and 4.7% of families were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or older.

Infrastructure

Baraboo includes the Downtown Baraboo Historic District, which consists of 75 commercial and civic buildings built between 1870 and 1938. The Sauk County Courthouse is in the center of the district, and it serves the county.

Transportation

The Baraboo-Wisconsin Dells Airport (KDLL) serves the city and surrounding communities, and is located on Bus. US 12 3 miles north of the city. State Highways 33, 113,

136 136 may refer to: *136 (number) *AD 136 *136 BC 136 may refer to: *136 (number) *AD 136 Year 136 ( CXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 136th Year of the Common Era (C ...

, and U.S. 12 pass through Baraboo. There is access to

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

/ 94 nearby.

Government

A city hall building opened in 1967,Dewel, Bob.
'60s, '70s and sophistication too?
In: "The 1970's" Pages 989 to 1052. Baraboo Public Library. Retrieved on November 22, 2018. CITED: p. 990. and another location finished construction in 2018 at a cost of $9 million. A post office opened in 1961.

Education

The School District of Baraboo has four elementary schools serving students in grades 1 through 5, one kindergarten center, one middle school and one high school ( Baraboo High School). The middle school has a swimming pool that can be accessed by the public with a seasonal membership option. There are also three parochial schools: St. Joseph's Catholic School, which serves Pre-K through sixth grade; St. John's Lutheran School of the

WELS Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the eighth largest city in Austria. Geography Wels is in the ...

, serving Pre-K through eighth grade; and Community Christian School, serving 4K through high school. St. Joseph's Catholic, under the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison The Diocese of Madison ( la, Diœcesis Madisonensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the U.S. State of Wisconsin. It comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Marquette, Rock, and Sauk counties. The a ...

, is a parochial school. The current school building, designed by the

Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...

company Billmeyer and Sons and with a cost of over $500,000, has 11 classrooms. The basement has a cafeteria and a combination auditorium/gymnasium. The second building for the school opened on a filled-in ravine in 1912, northeast of its associated church. The building had three floors and a basement. The first and second floors each had three classrooms, and the second floor also housed the chapel and the library. The third floor had a 600-seat auditorium while the basement had a large banquet hall/gymnasium. The second building became overcrowded due to the post-World War II

baby boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds of defined national and cultural populations. People born during these periods are often ca ...

, so the third school building, north of the second building, opened in 1958.Sauk County Historical Society. ''Baraboo''.

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

, 2017. , 9781467125109. p
84
A campus of the University of Wisconsin–Baraboo/Sauk County (known to local residents as "Boo-U") is located in Baraboo. The Baraboo Public Library serves the community. The former Free Congregational Society church was demolished by 1902 for the library's construction.Sauk County Historical Society. ''Baraboo''.

, 2017. , 9781467125109. p
85

Historic sites

*The

Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm The Aldo Leopold Shack and Farm is a historic farm on Levee Road in rural Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The property was acquired in the 1930s as a family summer retreat by the noted conservationist and writer Aldo Leopold and is the l ...

. celebrated in his book ''

A Sand County Almanac ''A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There'' is a 1949 non-fiction book by American ecologist, forester, and environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Describing the land around the author's home in Sauk County, Wisconsin, the collection of essa ...

'' (1949), is near Baraboo. *The Gust Brothers' Store is in Baraboo. *The Walworth D. Porter Duplex Residence is in Baraboo.

Notable people

* Donald R. Atkinson, educator and writer * Frank Avery, Wisconsin State Senator * Stan Barnes, judge,

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District o ...

* Virgil H. Cady, Wisconsin State Representative *

Tiny Cahoon Ivan Wells "Tiny" Cahoon (May 22, 1900 – February 3, 1973) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a tackle for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1926 to 1929. He played colleg ...

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

player * Jorge A. Carow, Wisconsin State Representative * Ella D. Crawford, temperance movement organizer * John V. Diener, mayor of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

* Evan Alfred Evans, judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals * Evan Glodell, film director, producer, writer, and actor * Elna Jane Hilliard Grahn, educator * Henry C. Hansbrough, U.S. Senator from

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South ...

* John R. Hofstatter, Wisconsin State Representative * Guy E. Holmes, musician and composer * John J. Jenkins, U.S. Representative * Robert J. Keller, Wisconsin State Representative * Len Koenecke,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player *

Belle Case La Follette Isabelle Case La Follette (April 21, 1859 – August 18, 1931) was a women's suffrage, peace, and civil rights activist in Wisconsin, United States. She worked with the Woman's Peace Party during World War I. At the time of her death in 19 ...

, lawyer and activist *

, naturalist *

Daryl Morey Daryl Morey (born September 14, 1972) is an American sports executive who is the president of basketball operations of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He co-founded the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conf ...

, former

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

(2007–2020), currently the President of Basketball Operations for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

Mary Mortimer Mary Mortimer (December 2, 1816 – July 14, 1877) was a British-born American educator. She served as principal of the Milwaukee Female College and other women's educational institutions. When just a child, Mortimer and her family emigrated fro ...

(1816–1877), British-born American educator *

Beryl Newman Beryl Richard Newman (November 2, 1911 – March 8, 1998) was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II as a first lieutenant in the United States Army. Biography Newman was a native of Baraboo, Wisconsin. During Worl ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

recipient *

John Ringling North John Ringling North (August 14, 1903 – June 4, 1985) was the president and director of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1937 to 1943 and again from 1947 to 1967. Life and career North was born on August 14, 1903 in Baraboo ...

, circus * Stuart Palmer, mystery novelist * Delando Pratt, Wisconsin State Representative * Mike Reinfeldt,

player and executive *

Cyrus Remington Cyrus C. Remington (November 10, 1824 – October 12, 1878) was an American politician and jurist. Born in Sheridan, New York, Remington and his family moved to Wisconsin Territory in 1840 and settled near Waukesha, Wisconsin Territory. He ...

, Wisconsin State Representative and jurist *

Bradbury Robinson Bradbury Norton Robinson Jr. (February 1, 1884 – March 7, 1949) was a pioneering American football player, physician, nutritionist, conservationist and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Uni ...

, threw the first

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

in football history, grew up in Baraboo *

Algie Martin Simons Algie Martin Simons (1870–1950) was an American socialist journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist, best remembered as the editor of '' The International Socialist Review'' for nearly a decade. Originally an adherent of the Socialis ...

, Socialist newspaper editor, attended high school in Baraboo * Terry Stieve,

player * Walter Terry, Wisconsin legislator * John M. True, Wisconsin legislator * C. F. Viebahn, Wisconsin State Representative * David Vittum, Wisconsin State Senator
The History of Sauk County, Wisconsin
', Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 437. * Lewis N. Wood, Wisconsin State Representative *

Edwin E. Woodman Edwin Ellis Woodman (June 1, 1838August 29, 1912) was an American engineer and Republican politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Juneau and Sauk counties in the 1880 and 1881 sessions. Biography Edwin Woodman w ...

, Wisconsin State Senator

Notes

External links

City of Baraboo
{{Authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Sauk County, Wisconsin Micropolitan areas of Wisconsin County seats in Wisconsin Populated places established in 1838 1838 establishments in Wisconsin Territory