Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

County in Wisconsin, United States

U.S. county in Wisconsin

Eau Claire County

U.S. county

Eau Claire County Courthouse, February 2015

Eau Claire County Courthouse, February 2015

Error creating thumbnail:

Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin

Wisconsin's location within the U.S.

Country|  United States
State|  Wisconsin
Founded| 1856[1]
Named for| Eau Claire River
Seat| Eau Claire
Largest city| Eau Claire
Government

• County Administrator| Kathryn Schauf
Area

• Total| 645 sq mi (1,670 km2)
• Land| 638 sq mi (1,650 km2)
• Water| 7.3 sq mi (19 km2)  1.1%
Population

(2020)[2]

• Total| 105,710
• Density| 165.7/sq mi (64.0/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 3rd
Website| www.co.eau-claire.wi.us
File:Eau Claire County Wisconsin B.jpgFields in Eau Claire County

Eau Claire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,710.[3] Its county seat is Eau Claire.[4] The county took its name from the Eau Claire River.[5]

Eau Claire County is included in the Eau Claire, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Eau Claire-Menomonie WI Combined Statistical Area.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Geography
* 2.1 Adjacent counties
* 3 Demographics and religion statistics
* 3.1 2020 census
* 3.2 2000 census
* 4 Transportation
* 4.1 Major highways
* 4.2 Railroads
* 4.3 Buses
* 4.4 Airport
* 5 Government
* 6 Recreation
* 7 Communities
* 7.1 Cities
* 7.2 Villages
* 7.3 Towns
* 7.4 Census-designated places
* 7.5 Unincorporated communities
* 7.6 Ghost towns/neighborhoods
* 8 See also
* 9 References
* 10 Further reading
* 11 External links

## History

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Eau Claire county was originally set off as the Town of Clearwater in Chippewa County in 1855. The name was changed to the Town of Eau Claire on March 31, 1856. The entire town was separated as Eau Claire County by an act of the Wisconsin State Legislature on October 6, 1856.[6][7]

## Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 645 square miles (1,670 km2), of which 638 square miles (1,650 km2) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km2) (1.1%) is water.[8]

### Adjacent counties

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* Chippewa County – north
* Clark County – east
* Jackson County – southeast
* Trempealeau County – south
* Buffalo County – southwest
* Pepin County – west
* Dunn County – west

## Demographics and religion statistics

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Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1860| 3,162| | —
1870| 10,769| | 240.6%
1880| 19,993| | 85.7%
1890| 30,673| | 53.4%
1900| 31,692| | 3.3%
1910| 32,721| | 3.2%
1920| 35,771| | 9.3%
1930| 41,087| | 14.9%
1940| 46,999| | 14.4%
1950| 54,187| | 15.3%
1960| 58,300| | 7.6%
1970| 67,219| | 15.3%
1980| 78,805| | 17.2%
1990| 85,183| | 8.1%
2000| 93,142| | 9.3%
2010| 98,736| | 6.0%
2020| 105,710| | 7.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11]
1990–2000[12] 2010[13] 2020[2]

### 2020 census

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As of the census of 2020,[2] the population was 105,710. The population density was 165.7 inhabitants per square mile (64.0/km2). There were 44,966 housing units at an average density of 70.5 per square mile (27.2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.2% White, 4.2% Asian, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.9% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

File:USA Eau Claire County, Wisconsin age pyramid.svg2000 Census Age Pyramid for Eau Claire County

### 2000 census

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As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 93,142 people, 35,822 households, and 22,281 families residing in the county. The population density was 146 inhabitants per square mile (56/km2). There were 37,474 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile (23/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.96% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.4% were of German, 21.5% Norwegian and 7.0% Irish ancestry. 94.2% spoke English, 1.6% Hmong, 1.6% Spanish and 1.0% German as their first language.

There were 35,822 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.60% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.40% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 20.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.60 males.

In 2017, there were 1,191 births, giving a general fertility rate of 52.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the tenth lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Of these, 99 of the births occurred at home, the third highest for Wisconsin counties.[15]

In 2010, the largest religious groups by reported number of adherents were Catholic at 16,240 adherents, ELCA Lutheran at 15,067 adherents, Missouri Synod Lutheran at 6,953 adherents, LCMC Lutheran at 3,355 adherents, United Methodist at 2,177 adherents, non-denominational Christian at 1,557 adherents, Lutheran Brethren at 1,391 adherents, United Church of Christ at 1,046 adherents, Assemblies of God at 969 adherents, Amish at 794 adherents, Wisconsin Synod Lutheran at 757 adherents, ELS Lutheran at 708 adherents, and LDS (Mormon) at 703 adherents.[16]

## Transportation

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### Major highways

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* Interstate 94
* U.S. Highway 10
* U.S. Highway 12
* U.S. Highway 53
* Highway 27 (Wisconsin)
* File:WIS 37.svg Highway 37 (Wisconsin)
* Highway 85 (Wisconsin)
* File:WIS 93.svg Highway 93 (Wisconsin)
* Highway 124 (Wisconsin)
* File:WIS 312.svg Highway 312 (Wisconsin)

### Railroads

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* Union Pacific

### Buses

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

### Airport

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Eau Claire county is served by the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (KEAU).

## Government

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File:2009-0711-EauClaire-CH.jpgEau Claire City Hall (listed on the NRHP)

The legislative body of Eau Claire County is the non-partisan 29-member Eau Claire County Board of Supervisors.[17] Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district and the chairperson and vice-chair positions are elected from within members of the board.

The board meets in the Eau Claire County Courthouse in downtown Eau Claire,[18] with its weekly meetings televised on local public television and transcripts published online. Most items are approved on a "consent calendar" without discussion.[19] Public comment is limited to three minutes per individual per item.

Eau Claire County contains portions of the Wisconsin State Senate districts 23 and 31, represented by Kathy Bernier (R) and Jeff Smith (D) respectively. It also contains portions of Wisconsin State Assembly districts 68 (Jesse James [R]) and 93 (Warren Petryk [R]), as well as almost all of district 91 (Jodi Emerson [D]). At the federal level, the entire county is contained within Wisconsin's third congressional district, which is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Ron Kind (D). At the Presidential level Eau Claire is solidly Democratic, having last voted Republican in 1984 for Ronald Reagan in his landslide re-election. Since 1984 the closest a Republican has come to winning Eau Claire was in 2000 when George W. Bush lost the county by 6.6 percent.

United States presidential election results for Eau Claire County, Wisconsin[20][21] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 25,341  | 43.49%  | 31,620  | 54.26% | 1,314  | 2.25%
2016 | 23,331  | 42.40%  | 27,340  | 49.69% | 4,354  | 7.91%
2012 | 23,256  | 42.43%  | 30,666  | 55.95% | 884  | 1.61%
2008 | 20,959  | 38.10%  | 33,146  | 60.25% | 905  | 1.65%
2004 | 24,653  | 44.47%  | 30,068  | 54.24% | 716  | 1.29%
2000 | 20,921  | 43.70%  | 24,078  | 50.29% | 2,876  | 6.01%
1996 | 13,900  | 34.41%  | 20,298  | 50.26% | 6,192  | 15.33%
1992 | 15,915  | 33.81%  | 21,221  | 45.08% | 9,940  | 21.11%
1988 | 17,664  | 45.27%  | 21,150  | 54.20% | 209  | 0.54%
1984 | 20,401  | 51.09% | 19,347  | 48.45%  | 181  | 0.45%
1980 | 17,304  | 44.46%  | 17,602  | 45.22% | 4,016  | 10.32%
1976 | 16,388  | 46.36%  | 18,263  | 51.66% | 702  | 1.99%
1972 | 15,883  | 51.33% | 14,300  | 46.21%  | 760  | 2.46%
1968 | 11,799  | 46.66%  | 12,302  | 48.65% | 1,186  | 4.69%
1964 | 8,700  | 35.48%  | 15,775  | 64.33% | 46  | 0.19%
1960 | 14,427  | 56.13% | 11,240  | 43.73%  | 37  | 0.14%
1956 | 13,122  | 58.48% | 9,276  | 41.34%  | 41  | 0.18%
1952 | 14,069  | 59.47% | 9,554  | 40.38%  | 35  | 0.15%
1948 | 7,825  | 43.37%  | 9,971  | 55.27% | 246  | 1.36%
1944 | 9,470  | 51.13% | 8,962  | 48.39%  | 88  | 0.48%
1940 | 9,595  | 48.38%  | 10,129  | 51.07% | 108  | 0.54%
1936 | 6,802  | 39.41%  | 10,065  | 58.31% | 393  | 2.28%
1932 | 7,487  | 48.80%  | 7,565  | 49.31% | 291  | 1.90%
1928 | 10,079  | 69.25% | 4,385  | 30.13%  | 91  | 0.63%
1924 | 5,149  | 46.46%  | 629  | 5.68%  | 5,305  | 47.87%
1920 | 7,856  | 81.62% | 1,193  | 12.39%  | 576  | 5.98%
1916 | 2,922  | 53.00% | 2,290  | 41.54%  | 301  | 5.46%
1912 | 2,013  | 40.29% | 1,727  | 34.57%  | 1,256  | 25.14%
1908 | 3,981  | 64.50% | 1,859  | 30.12%  | 332  | 5.38%
1904 | 4,343  | 73.08% | 1,224  | 20.60%  | 376  | 6.33%
1900 | 4,378  | 66.44% | 1,967  | 29.85%  | 244  | 3.70%
1896 | 4,522  | 63.42% | 2,364  | 33.16%  | 244  | 3.42%
1892 | 2,719  | 47.80% | 2,383  | 41.90%  | 586  | 10.30%

## Recreation

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Attractions include the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Dells Mill Museum in Augusta, Dells Mill Water Powered Museum in Augusta, the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp in Eau Claire, and the Sarge Boyd Bandshell in Eau Claire.[22]

## Communities

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File:Eau Claire County MCDs with color.pngPolitical map of Eau Claire County, showing major and minor civil divisions, and adjacent counties. Note: A small portion of the city of Eau Claire is in Chippewa Co.

### Cities

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* Altoona
* Augusta
* Eau Claire (county seat; partly in Chippewa County)

### Villages

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* Fairchild
* Fall Creek

### Towns

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* Bridge Creek
* Brunswick
* Clear Creek
* Drammen
* Fairchild
* Lincoln
* Ludington
* Otter Creek
* Pleasant Valley
* Seymour
* Union
* Washington
* Wilson

### Census-designated places

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* Seymour

### Unincorporated communities

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Main article: Unincorporated communities in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

* Allen
* Brackett
* Candy Corners
* Cleghorn
* Foster
* Hale Corner
* Hay Creek
* Ludington
* Lufkin
* Mount Hope Corners
* Rodell
* Truax
* Union
* Wilson

### Ghost towns/neighborhoods

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* Hadleyville‡
* Nelsonville‡
* Oak Grove‡
* Porter's Mills‡
* Shawtown§

Footnotes

‡ Historical community
§ Now part of the City of Eau Claire

## See also

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* National Register of Historic Places listings in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

## References

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1. ^ Taken from Wisconsin Blue Book 1991–1992 p. 731; cited there as from "Wisconsin Historical Records, Origin and Legislative History of County Boundariesio in Wisconsin, 1942."
2. ^ a b c "2020 Decennial Census: Eau Claire County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
3. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
5. ^ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 160.
6. ^ "Dictionary of Wisconsin History". Retrieved January 1, 2007.
7. ^ When Counties Originated from rootsweb.com's Oconto County, Wisconsin webpage Archived March 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
9. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
10. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
11. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
12. ^ "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 4, 2015.
13. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
14. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
15. ^ "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 19, 2019.
16. ^ thearda.com County Membership Report Maps and Reports: Eau Claire County (Wisconsin)
17. ^ "Find a County". www.naco.org. Archived from the original on November 3, 2009.
18. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
19. ^ "Eau Claire County – County Board of Supervisors". Co.eau-claire.wi.us. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
20. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
21. ^ "2020 General Election: Summary Statement of the Board of Canvassers". Eau Claire County. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
22. ^ http://www.wisconline.com/cgi-bin/find_attractions.pl?typ=cou&county=Eau Claire [bare URL]

## Further reading

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* Bailey, William F. (ed.). History of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Past and Present. Chicago: C. F. Cooper, 1914.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eau Claire County, Wisconsin.

* Official website
* Eau Claire County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
* History of Eau Claire County
* University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Special Collections and Archives
* Chippewa Valley Museum

Places adjacent to Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

|  | Chippewa County |

|
|

|  |
Dunn County and Pepin County |

Eau Claire County, Wisconsin

| Clark County
|  |
Buffalo County | Trempealeau County | Jackson County

* v
* t
* e

Eau Claire–Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

Core cities|

* Eau Claire°
* Chippewa Falls°

Surrounding
communities|

| (over 5,000)|

* Altoona°
* Lafayette*
* Lake Hallie ‡
* Washington *

|

(under 5,000)|

* Anson *
* Brunswick *
* Eagle Point *
* Hallie *
* Jim Falls§
* Lake Wissota§
* Pleasant Valley *
* Seymour *
* Seymour §
* Tilden *
* Union*
* Wheaton *

Counties|

* Eau Claire
* Chippewa

* town ‡ village ° city § CDP

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States

County seat: Eau Claire

Cities|

* Altoona
* Augusta
* Eau Claire‡

Error creating thumbnail:

Villages|

* Fairchild
* Fall Creek

Towns|

* Bridge Creek
* Brunswick
* Clear Creek
* Drammen
* Fairchild
* Lincoln
* Ludington
* Otter Creek
* Pleasant Valley
* Seymour
* Union
* Washington
* Wilson

CDP|

* Seymour

Other
communities|

* Allen
* Brackett
* Candy Corners
* Cleghorn
* Foster
* Hale Corner
* Hay Creek
* Ludington
* Lufkin
* Mount Hope Corners
* Nix Corner
* Rodell
* Truax
* Union
* Wilson

Ghost towns|

* Hadleyville
* Nelsonville
* Oak Grove
* Porter's Mills

Indian
reservation|

* Ho-Chunk Indian Reservation‡

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* United States portal

* v
* t
* e

State of Wisconsin

Madison (capital)

Topics|

* Outline
* Agriculture
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Society|

* Administrative divisions
* Crime
* Culture
* Demographics
* Economy
* Education
* Politics

Regions|

* Apostle Islands
* Central Plain
* Chippewa Valley
* Door Peninsula
* Driftless Area
* Eastern Ridges and Lowlands
* Fox River Valley
* Great River Road
* Lake Superior Lowland
* Northern Highland
* Western Upland

Major metropolitan areas
(pop. over 500,000)|

* Chicago metropolitan area
* Madison metropolitan area
* Milwaukee metropolitan area
* Twin Cities metropolitan area

Largest cities
(pop. over 50,000)|

* Appleton
* Eau Claire
* Green Bay
* Janesville
* Kenosha
* La Crosse
* Madison
* Milwaukee
* Oshkosh
* Racine
* Waukesha
* West Allis

Smaller cities
(pop. 15,000 to 50,000)|

* Beaver Dam
* Beloit
* Brookfield
* Cudahy
* De Pere
* Fitchburg
* Fond du Lac
* Franklin
* Greenfield
* Hartford
* Hudson
* Kaukauna
* Manitowoc
* Marshfield
* Menasha
* Menomonie
* Mequon
* Middleton
* Muskego
* Neenah
* New Berlin
* Oak Creek
* Oconomowoc
* Onalaska
* River Falls
* Sheboygan
* South Milwaukee
* Stevens Point
* Sun Prairie
* Superior
* Watertown
* Wausau
* Wauwatosa
* West Bend
* Wisconsin Rapids

Largest villages
(pop. over 15,000)|

* Ashwaubenon
* Bellevue
* Caledonia
* Fox Crossing
* Germantown
* Howard
* Menomonee Falls
* Mount Pleasant
* Pleasant Prairie

Counties|

* Adams
* Ashland
* Barron
* Bayfield
* Brown
* Buffalo
* Burnett
* Calumet
* Chippewa
* Clark
* Columbia
* Crawford
* Dane
* Dodge
* Door
* Douglas
* Dunn
* Eau Claire
* Florence
* Fond du Lac
* Forest
* Grant
* Green
* Green Lake
* Iowa
* Iron
* Jackson
* Jefferson
* Juneau
* Kenosha
* Kewaunee
* La Crosse
* Lafayette
* Langlade
* Lincoln
* Manitowoc
* Marathon
* Marinette
* Marquette
* Menominee
* Milwaukee
* Monroe
* Oconto
* Oneida
* Outagamie
* Ozaukee
* Pepin
* Pierce
* Polk
* Portage
* Price
* Racine
* Richland
* Rock
* Rusk
* Sauk
* Sawyer
* Shawano
* Sheboygan
* St. Croix
* Taylor
* Trempealeau
* Vernon
* Vilas
* Walworth
* Washburn
* Washington
* Waukesha
* Waupaca
* Waushara
* Winnebago
* Wood

Coordinates: 44°44′N 91°17′W﻿ / ﻿44.73°N 91.29°W﻿ / 44.73; -91.29
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