Chippewa County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 M ...

. It is named for the historic Chippewa people, also known as the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, who long controlled this territory. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,297. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Chippewa Falls. The county was founded in 1845 from

Crawford County Crawford County is the name of eleven counties in the United States: * Crawford County, Arkansas * Crawford County, Georgia * Crawford County, Illinois * Crawford County, Indiana * Crawford County, Iowa * Crawford County, Kansas * Crawford Count ...

, then in the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

, and organized in 1853. Chippewa County is included in the Eau Claire, WI

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

as well as the Eau Claire- Menomonie, WI

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2%) is water. Parts of northern Chippewa county are covered with choppy hills dimpled by

kettle lakes A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating g ...

and bogs—the

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

left by the last glacier. The

Ice Age Trail The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. The trail is administered by the National Park Service, and is constructed and maintained by private and public agencies including the Ice ...

threads through some of this country, providing public foot-access to these unusual landforms.

Adjacent counties

* Rusk County – north * Taylor County – east * Clark County – southeast * Eau Claire County – south * Dunn County – west * Barron County – northwest

Major highways

Railroads

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

* Wisconsin Northern Railroad *

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

Buses

* Eau Claire Transit * List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

Airports

* KEAU -

Chippewa Valley Regional Airport Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is a public use airport in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. The airport is owned by Eau Claire county and is located ) north of the central business district of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It ...

* 4WI9 - Cornell Municipal Airport

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 66,297. 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 RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 28,688 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.8%

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 ...

, 1.6%

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 ha ...

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 ens ...

, 1.5% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.6% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.9%

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 for ...

or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 55,195 people, 21,356 households, and 15,013 families residing in the county. The

was 55 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 22,821 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.85%

, 0.16%

, 0.32% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.01%

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 O ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.52% of the population were

or Latino of any race. 44.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 15.8% Norwegian and 5.8% Irish ancestry. There were 21,356 households, out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.50% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males. In 2017, there were 624 births, giving a general fertility rate of 59.7 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 26th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were fewer than five reported induced abortions performed on women of Chippewa County residence in 2017.

Economy

The largest employers in Chippewa County are:

Library

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Special Collections and Archives, located on the fifth floor of McIntyre Library, houses an extensive collection of public records, books and collections relating to Chippewa County. In addition to vital records (birth and marriage) dating to 1907, there are also naturalization records, census records, and civil and circuit court records. These resources are very popular with local genealogists. Within the local history collection, there are books about immigration to the region, logging, church and cemetery records, reminiscences by local residents, and a number of histories and biographies compiled by local historians. Special Collections and Archives also houses numerous archives files which relate to Chippewa County. There are many collections which pertain to logging, the railway industry and agriculture. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's Special Collections and Archives also includes information for Buffalo, Clark, Eau Claire, Rusk and Taylor counties.

Communities

Cities

* Bloomer * Chippewa Falls (county seat) *

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

* Eau Claire (mostly in Eau Claire County) * Stanley (partly in Clark County)

Villages

* Boyd * Cadott * Lake Hallie * New Auburn (partly in Barron County)

Towns

* Anson *

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

* Auburn * Birch Creek * Bloomer *

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

* Colburn * Cooks Valley * Delmar * Eagle Point * Edson *

Estella Estella may refer to: People *Diego de Estella (1524–1578) *Estella Sneider (born 1950) *Estella Warren (born 1978), Canadian actress *Estella, the ''nom de guerre'' of Italian labor leader Teresa Noce Fictional * Estella Havisham, a character ...

* Goetz * Hallie *

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

* Lafayette * Lake Holcombe *

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called ...

* Sampson * Sigel * Tilden * Wheaton * Woodmohr

Census-designated places

* Holcombe * Jim Falls *

Lake Wissota Lake Wissota is a reservoir in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States, just east of the city of Chippewa Falls. It covers an area of and has a maximum depth of . Lake Wissota is surrounded on the south by the town of Lafayette, on the ...

Other unincorporated communities

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

* Anson *

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia U ...

Bateman Bateman may refer to: Places *Bateman, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia **Electoral district of Bateman, an electorate of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, centred on the suburb * Batemans Bay, a town and bay in New South ...

* Brownville * Cobban * Colburn *

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

* Drywood * Eagle Point * Eagleton * Edson *

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawato ...

* Maple Hill * Old Albertville * Pine Grove *

* Tilden

Politics

At the presidential level, Chippewa County leans Republican; however,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

won the county in 2008. In 2020,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

received 59.3 percent of the vote, the best result for a Republican since

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...

in 1956.

References

External links

Chippewa County government website

Chippewa County map
from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Chippewa County Historical Society

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Special Collections and Archives
{{authority control 1845 establishments in Wisconsin Territory Populated places established in 1845 Eau Claire–Chippewa Falls metropolitan area