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Sawyer County, Wisconsin

Coordinates: 45°54′N 91°08′W / 45.90°N 91.14°W / 45.90; -91.14
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Sawyer County
County
North Wisconsin Lumber Company Office in Hayward, Wisconsin
North Wisconsin Lumber Company Office in Hayward, Wisconsin
Map of Wisconsin highlighting Sawyer County
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Map of the United States highlighting Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 45°54′N 91°08′W / 45.9°N 91.14°W / 45.9; -91.14
Country United States
State Wisconsin
Founded1885
Named forPhiletus Sawyer
SeatHayward
Largest cityHayward
Area
 • Total
1,350 sq mi (3,500 km2)
 • Land1,257 sq mi (3,260 km2)
 • Water93 sq mi (240 km2)  6.9%
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total
18,074
 • Estimate 
(2023)
18,552 Increase
 • Density14.4/sq mi (5.6/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district7th
Websitewww.sawyercountygov.org

Sawyer County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 18,074.[1] Its county seat is Hayward.[2] The county partly overlaps with the reservation of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

History

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The area that is now Sawyer County was contested between the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples in the 18th century. Oral histories tell that the Ojibwes defeated the Dakotas locally in the Battle of the Horse Fly on the Upper Chippewa River in the 1790s.[3][4] By this time, Lac Courte Oreilles had become the site of an Ojibwe village. Ojibwes allowed trader Michel Cadotte to build a fur-trading outpost in the area in 1800.[5] The United States acquired the region from the Ojibwe Nation in the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters, but the Ojibwes retained the right to hunt and fish on treaty territory. Ojibwe people successfully negotiated to establish the permanent Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation in the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe.[6]

The county is named for Philetus Sawyer, a New England man who represented Wisconsin in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate in the 19th century.[7] Logging began in the late 1850s. Loggers came from Cortland County, New York, Carroll County, New Hampshire, Orange County, Vermont, and Down East Maine in what is now Washington County, Maine and Hancock County, Maine. These were "Yankee" migrants, that is to say they were descended from the English Puritans who had settled New England during the 1600s. They were mostly members of the Congregational Church.[8] Sawyer County was created in 1883 and organized in 1885.[9] In the 1890s immigrants came from a variety of countries such as Germany, Norway, Poland, Ireland and Sweden.

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,350 square miles (3,500 km2), of which 93 square miles (240 km2) (6.9%) are covered by water.[10] It is the fifth-largest county in Wisconsin by land area.

Major highways

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The sign for Sawyer County on WIS48

Railroads

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Buses

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Airport

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Sawyer County Airport (KHYR) serves the county and surrounding communities.

Adjacent counties

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National protected areas

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18901,977—
19003,59381.7%
19106,22773.3%
19208,24332.4%
19308,8787.7%
194011,54030.0%
195010,323−10.5%
19609,475−8.2%
19709,6702.1%
198012,84332.8%
199014,18110.4%
200016,19614.2%
201016,5572.2%
202018,0749.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]
1790–1960[13] 1900–1990[14]
1990–2000[15] 2010[16] 2020[1]

2020 census

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As of the census of 2020,[1] the population was 18,074. The population density was 14.4 people per square mile (5.6 people/km2). There were 15,966 housing units at an average density of 12.7 units per square mile (4.9 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 77.0% White, 16.3% Native American, 0.6% African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

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The 2000 Census Age Pyramid for Sawyer County

As of the census[17] of 2000, 16,196 people, 6,640 households, and 4,581 families resided in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile (5.0 people/km2). The 13,722 housing units had an average density of 11 units per square mile (4.2 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 81.72% White, 0.31% African American, 16.07% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. About 0.90% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. About 29.6% were of German, 7.8% Irish, 6.7% Norwegian, 5.9% Polish, 5.2% Swedish, and 5.2% English ancestry; 95.4% spoke English, 2.0% Ojibwa and 1.1% Spanish as their first language.

Of the 6,640 households, 27.5% had children under 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were not families. About 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 2.86.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.

In 2017, 167 births occurred, with a general fertility rate of 74.5 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the eighth-highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.[18] Additionally, fewer than five induced abortions were reported as performed on women of Sawyer County residence in 2017.[19]

Communities

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City

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Villages

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Towns

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

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Politics

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United States presidential election results for Sawyer County, Wisconsin[20]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 6,422 57.65% 4,599 41.28% 119 1.07%
2020 5,909 56.22% 4,498 42.80% 103 0.98%
2016 5,185 56.75% 3,503 38.34% 449 4.91%
2012 4,442 49.22% 4,486 49.71% 97 1.07%
2008 4,199 46.22% 4,765 52.45% 121 1.33%
2004 4,951 52.37% 4,411 46.66% 91 0.96%
2000 3,972 51.14% 3,333 42.91% 462 5.95%
1996 2,603 40.20% 2,773 42.83% 1,099 16.97%
1992 2,658 36.09% 2,796 37.96% 1,911 25.95%
1988 3,260 49.88% 3,231 49.43% 45 0.69%
1984 3,913 56.14% 2,982 42.78% 75 1.08%
1980 3,548 50.07% 3,065 43.25% 473 6.68%
1976 2,720 46.06% 3,055 51.74% 130 2.20%
1972 3,081 62.52% 1,765 35.82% 82 1.66%
1968 2,475 52.17% 1,830 38.58% 439 9.25%
1964 2,012 43.62% 2,591 56.17% 10 0.22%
1960 2,699 53.59% 2,325 46.17% 12 0.24%
1956 2,823 64.54% 1,520 34.75% 31 0.71%
1952 3,146 67.02% 1,527 32.53% 21 0.45%
1948 2,257 49.51% 2,177 47.75% 125 2.74%
1944 2,421 55.02% 1,947 44.25% 32 0.73%
1940 2,745 52.46% 2,439 46.61% 49 0.94%
1936 1,726 36.47% 2,834 59.88% 173 3.66%
1932 1,179 31.86% 2,381 64.35% 140 3.78%
1928 1,882 61.44% 1,129 36.86% 52 1.70%
1924 990 37.53% 135 5.12% 1,513 57.35%
1920 1,668 79.28% 302 14.35% 134 6.37%
1916 550 46.57% 562 47.59% 69 5.84%
1912 295 32.45% 432 47.52% 182 20.02%
1908 815 70.81% 299 25.98% 37 3.21%
1904 782 75.92% 205 19.90% 43 4.17%
1900 723 68.53% 305 28.91% 27 2.56%
1896 514 56.30% 369 40.42% 30 3.29%
1892 412 52.62% 328 41.89% 43 5.49%

Sawyer County had a historical reputation for being a bellwether county in presidential elections, having voted for the overall national winner in every election from 1964 to 2016. Similar to other bellwether counties, this streak was broken in 2020 when the county backed Donald Trump over eventual winner Joe Biden.[21] This is because of increasing geographic polarization in American politics, with fewer and fewer counties swinging between parties, and instead voting consistently for one party according to demographics.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "2020 Decennial Census: Sawyer County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Local Lore" (PDF). Town of Round Lake. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "Oral History Documentation: The Battle of the Horsefly (circa 1795)". Chippewa Flowage Lake Association. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Vol. 19. Reuben Gold Thwaites (ed.). Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin. 1910. p. 171.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa". Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. September 1, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Winnebago Took Its Name from an Indian Tribe". The Post-Crescent. December 28, 1963. p. 14. Retrieved August 25, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ History of Education in Sawyer County, Wisconsin by J. G. Adams (M.E. Granger, 1902)
  9. ^ "Wisconsin: Individual County Chronologies". Wisconsin Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  10. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  11. ^ "sawyer2008.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  12. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  13. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  14. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  15. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  16. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  17. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  18. ^ "Annual Wisconsin Birth and Infant Mortality Report, 2017 P-01161-19 (June 2019): Detailed Tables". Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  19. ^ Reported Induced Abortions in Wisconsin, Office of Health Informatics, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Section: Trend Information, 2013-2017, Table 18, pages 17-18
  20. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  21. ^ Matsumoto, Ryan (February 1, 2021). "Where Did All The Bellwether Counties Go?". FiveThirtyEight.
  22. ^ "Political Polarization's Geographic Roots Run Deep". Retrieved April 11, 2021.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sawyer County, Wisconsin.

45°54′N 91°08′W / 45.90°N 91.14°W / 45.90; -91.14

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