Clark County, Wisconsin

Clark County
County
Clark County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°44′N 90°37′W / 44.73°N 90.61°W / 44.73; -90.61
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1854
Named for	George Rogers Clark
Seat	Neillsville
Largest city	Neillsville
Area
• Total	1,219 sq mi (3,160 km2)
• Land	1,210 sq mi (3,100 km2)
• Water	9.0 sq mi (23 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	34,659
• Estimate  (2023)	34,744
• Density	28.7/sq mi (11.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.clarkcountywi.gov

Clark County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,659.^[1] Its county seat is Neillsville.^[2]

By the early 1800s, the land and streams that are now Clark County were the hunting grounds of Chippewa, Dakota, Ho-Chunk and possibly Menominee peoples. In 1836 these Indians were joined by a party of French-Canadian fur traders who started a temporary post for the American Fur Company on the Black River's East Fork.^[3]

The next White arrivals were probably Mormon loggers in 1844, who came to cut pine logs from the forests along the Black River and float them down to a sawmill at Black River Falls. From there the sawed wood would be floated down the river to be used in construction of the Mormon temple in Nauvoo, Illinois. They had camps on the river at what is called Mormon Riffle, a mile below Neillsville, near Weston's Rapids, and south of Greenwood. This project probably ended by 1846, when most of the Mormons headed west after the murder of Joseph Smith.^[4]

In June 1845, James and Henry O'Neill led a party overland from Black River Falls, cutting a road up through the brush, with a wagon of tools and supplies pulled by oxen. They built a cabin on O'Neill Creek, then a sawmill. Lumber sawed by the mill was rafted down the river to Black River Falls, and from there to Alexander O'Neill in Burlington, Iowa. Not all was good, as a storm in June 1847 flooded the Black River and took out all mills then existing. But the pioneers rebuilt.^[5]

Clark County was founded in 1853 and organized the following year.^[6] It was named for A. W. Clark, an early settler,^[7] or for General George Rogers Clark.^[8][9]

Electricity became available around 1900 in some of the towns and villages from private power plants - e.g. in 1902 the Paulsen mill began offering electrical service within the village of Withee. For farms out in the country, it took another 35 years, with electric lines finally put up starting around 1937 by the new Clark Electric Cooperative, funded by a loan from the New Deal Rural Electrification Administration.^[10]

In 1920 construction began on the Clark County Asylum two miles east of Owen - the forerunner of today's Clark County Rehab and Living Center. It was the last built of a network of 35 county mental hospitals in Wisconsin, providing long-term care for patients who were unlikely to recover. Twelve patients from the Wausau asylum helped with construction, and they became the first patients. Some of the patients farmed, both keeping themselves busy and supplying the facility. In 1924 they grew 60 acres of corn, 25 acres of potatoes, 16 acres of barley, 40 acres of oats, 6 acres of buckwheat, and 3 acres of millet. Soon a dairy herd was added, and hogs and a slaughterhouse by 1948. Over the years the institution's mission has shifted from "custodial asylum" to "treatment hospital," to skilled nursing facility.^[11]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,219 square miles (3,160 km²), of which 1,210 square miles (3,100 km²) is land and 9.0 square miles (23 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[12]

• Taylor County – north
• Marathon County – east
• Wood County – southeast
• Jackson County – south
• Eau Claire County – west
• Chippewa County – northwest

• Union Pacific
• Watco
• Canadian National

• KVIQ – Neillsville Municipal Airport

As of the census of 2020,^[1] the population was 34,659. The population density was 28.7 people per square mile (11.1 people/km²). There were 14,755 housing units at an average density of 12.2 units per square mile (4.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.2% White, 0.5% Native American, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 3.4% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 6.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census of 2000,^[20] there were 33,557 people, 12,047 households, and 8,673 families residing in the county. The population density was 28 people per square mile (11 people/km²). There were 13,531 housing units at an average density of 11 units per square mile (4.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.05% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. 1.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 54.0% were of German, 9.0% Polish, 6.2% Norwegian and 6.1% United States or American ancestry. 6.62% reported speaking German, Pennsylvania Dutch, or Dutch at home; an additional 1.34% spoke Spanish.^[21]

There were 12,047 households, out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.90% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 16.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.70 males.

In 2017, there were 554 births, giving a general fertility rate of 99.2 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the second highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. 184 of the births occurred at home, more than any other Wisconsin county.^[22]

In 2010, the largest religious groups by reported number of adherents in Clark County were Catholicism at 9,535 adherents, Missouri Synod Lutheranism at 2,459 adherents, ELCA Lutheranism at 2,281 adherents, Amish at 1,986 adherents, United Church of Christ at 959 adherents, Wisconsin Synod Lutheran at 891 adherents, and United Methodist at 577 adherents.^[24]

• Curtiss
• Dorchester (partly in Marathon County)
• Granton
• Unity (mostly in Marathon County)
• Withee

• Chili
• Humbird

• Kurth
• Maple Works
• Romeo
• Trow
• Worden

In 2013 there were 16 Amish church districts in Clark County.^[25]

School districts include:^[28]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Clark County, Wisconsin

• Biographical History of Clark and Jackson Counties, Wisconsin. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1891.
• Clark County: The Garden of Wisconsin. Neillsville, Wis.: Satterlee and Tifft, 1890.
• Curtiss-Wedge, Franklyn (comp.) History of Clark County Wisconsin. Chicago: H. C. Cooper, Jr., 1918.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clark County, Wisconsin.

• Clark County government website
• Clark County Economic Development Corporation
• Old county maps: 1873 1880 1893 1906 1914 ca 1920
• Clark County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation

44°44′N 90°37′W / 44.73°N 90.61°W / 44.73; -90.61