Oconto County, Wisconsin

County in Wisconsin, United States

U.S. county in Wisconsin

Oconto County

U.S. county

The Oconto County Courthouse, circa 1910

Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin

Wisconsin's location within the U.S.

Country|  United States
State|  Wisconsin
Founded| 1854
Named for| Oconto River
Seat| Oconto
Largest city| Oconto
Area

• Total| 1,149 sq mi (2,980 km2)
• Land| 998 sq mi (2,580 km2)
• Water| 151 sq mi (390 km2)  13%%
Population

(2020)[1]

• Total| 38,965
• Density| 39.1/sq mi (15.1/km2)
Time zone| UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district| 8th
Website| www.co.oconto.wi.us
Error creating thumbnail: Rural Oconto County in fall

Oconto County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,965.[1] Its county seat is Oconto.[2] The county was established in 1851.[3]

Oconto County is part of the Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Green Bay-Shawano, WI Combined Statistical Area.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Geography
* 2.1 Adjacent counties
* 2.2 Major highways
* 2.3 Railroads
* 2.4 Buses
* 2.5 Airport
* 2.6 National protected area
* 3 Demographics
* 3.1 2020 census
* 3.2 2000 census
* 4 Communities
* 4.1 Cities
* 4.2 Villages
* 4.3 Towns
* 4.4 Census-designated places
* 4.5 Unincorporated communities
* 4.6 Native American community
* 4.7 Ghost town/neighborhood
* 5 Politics
* 6 See also
* 7 References
* 8 Further reading
* 9 External links

## History

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First visited by French explorers in the 17th century, Oconto County is among the oldest settlements in Wisconsin. Father Claude-Jean Allouez of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order said the first Mass in Oconto. Among the first settlers was Joseph Tourtilott, who explored much of the Oconto River watershed. Oconto County was created in 1851 and organized in 1854.[4]

## Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,149 square miles (2,980 km2), of which 998 square miles (2,580 km2) is land and 151 square miles (390 km2) (13%) is water.[5]

### Adjacent counties

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* Marinette County \- northeast
* Door County \- southeast, border is in Green Bay
* Brown County \- south
* Shawano County \- southwest
* Menominee County \- west
* Langlade County \- west
* Forest County \- northwest

### Major highways

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* U.S. Highway 41
* U.S. Highway 141
* File:WIS 22.svg Highway 22 (Wisconsin)
* Highway 32 (Wisconsin)
* Highway 64 (Wisconsin)

### Railroads

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* Canadian National
* Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad

### Buses

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* List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

### Airport

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J. Douglas Bake Memorial Airport (KOCQ) serves the county and surrounding communities.

### National protected area

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* Nicolet National Forest (part)

## Demographics

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Historical population

Census | Pop. |  | %±
1860| 3,592| | —
1870| 9,321| | 159.5%
1880| 9,848| | 5.7%
1890| 15,009| | 52.4%
1900| 20,874| | 39.1%
1910| 25,657| | 22.9%
1920| 27,104| | 5.6%
1930| 26,386| | −2.6%
1940| 27,075| | 2.6%
1950| 26,238| | −3.1%
1960| 25,110| | −4.3%
1970| 25,553| | 1.8%
1980| 28,947| | 13.3%
1990| 30,226| | 4.4%
2000| 35,634| | 17.9%
2010| 37,660| | 5.7%
2020| 38,965| | 3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790–1960[7] 1900–1990[8]
1990–2000[9] 2010[10] 2020[1]

### 2020 census

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As of the census of 2020,[1] the population was 38,965. The population density was 39.1 inhabitants per square mile (15.1/km2). There were 23,754 housing units at an average density of 23.8 per square mile (9.2/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.5% White, 1.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.8% from other races, and 3.8% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

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

File:USRoute41NorthernWisconsinWoods.jpgWoods along U.S. Route 41

### 2000 census

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As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 35,634 people, 13,979 households, and 10,050 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km2). There were 19,812 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile (8/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.76% White, 0.13% Black or African American, 0.78% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 0.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 42.9% were of German, 11.8% Polish, 6.0% French and 5.6% American ancestry.

There were 13,979 households, out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

In 2017, there were 353 births, giving a general fertility rate of 61.0 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 28th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.[12] Additionally, there were 14 reported induced abortions performed on women of Oconto County residence in 2017.[13]

## Communities

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File:OcontoCountyWisconsinSign.jpgOconto County sign

### Cities

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* Gillett
* Oconto (county seat)
* Oconto Falls

### Villages

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* Lena
* Pulaski (mostly in Brown County and Shawano County)
* Suring

### Towns

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* Abrams
* Bagley
* Brazeau
* Breed
* Chase
* Doty
* Gillett
* How
* Lakewood
* Lena
* Little River
* Little Suamico
* Maple Valley
* Morgan
* Mountain
* Oconto Falls
* Oconto
* Pensaukee
* Riverview
* Spruce
* Stiles
* Townsend
* Underhill

### Census-designated places

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* Abrams
* Lakewood
* Mountain
* Sobieski
* Townsend

### Unincorporated communities

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* Bonita
* Breed
* Brookside
* Chase
* County Line (partial)
* Cullen
* Frostville
* Hayes
* Hickory Corners
* Hintz
* Kelly Brook
* Klondike
* Little Suamico
* Logan
* Morgan
* Mosling
* Oak Orchard
* Pensaukee
* Sampson
* Sobieski Corners
* South Chase
* Spruce
* Stiles
* Stiles Junction
* Underhill

### Native American community

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* Forest County Potawatomi Community

### Ghost town/neighborhood

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* Leighton

## Politics

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In the latter half of the 20th century and the early 21st century, Oconto County was a bellwether in presidential elections, supporting the winning candidate in every election from 1964 to 2008. In 2012, however, the county voted for Republican Mitt Romney despite Romney losing the state of Wisconsin and the national election. In 2016, the county swung 27 percentage points to the right, giving Republican Donald Trump a margin of victory of more than 37 percentage points and a vote share of 66%. In 2020, Trump improved his performance, carrying Oconto by a margin of 41 percentage points and winning 69.9% of the vote to Democrat Joe Biden's 28.9%. This was the best result for any presidential nominee in Oconto County since 1920, when Warren Harding received 78.2% of the vote, and remains the third strongest performance of any candidate ever.

United States presidential election results for Oconto County, Wisconsin[14] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2020 | 16,226  | 69.89% | 6,715  | 28.93%  | 274  | 1.18%
2016 | 13,345  | 66.04% | 5,940  | 29.40%  | 921  | 4.56%
2012 | 10,741  | 54.09% | 8,865  | 44.64%  | 253  | 1.27%
2008 | 8,755  | 46.16%  | 9,927  | 52.34% | 286  | 1.51%
2004 | 11,043  | 55.79% | 8,534  | 43.11%  | 217  | 1.10%
2000 | 8,706  | 52.46% | 7,260  | 43.75%  | 630  | 3.80%
1996 | 5,389  | 38.81%  | 6,723  | 48.42% | 1,773  | 12.77%
1992 | 5,720  | 35.59%  | 5,898  | 36.70% | 4,455  | 27.72%
1988 | 7,084  | 51.65% | 6,549  | 47.75%  | 83  | 0.61%
1984 | 8,714  | 61.70% | 5,289  | 37.45%  | 121  | 0.86%
1980 | 8,292  | 58.01% | 5,352  | 37.44%  | 649  | 4.54%
1976 | 6,232  | 47.84%  | 6,541  | 50.21% | 254  | 1.95%
1972 | 6,511  | 59.38% | 4,041  | 36.85%  | 413  | 3.77%
1968 | 5,680  | 53.74% | 3,737  | 35.36%  | 1,152  | 10.90%
1964 | 4,420  | 40.94%  | 6,360  | 58.92% | 15  | 0.14%
1960 | 6,223  | 55.15% | 5,045  | 44.71%  | 15  | 0.13%
1956 | 6,836  | 64.95% | 3,632  | 34.51%  | 57  | 0.54%
1952 | 7,807  | 69.58% | 3,382  | 30.14%  | 31  | 0.28%
1948 | 4,865  | 52.61% | 4,269  | 46.17%  | 113  | 1.22%
1944 | 5,923  | 57.38% | 4,348  | 42.12%  | 51  | 0.49%
1940 | 6,238  | 53.88% | 5,273  | 45.55%  | 66  | 0.57%
1936 | 3,774  | 34.20%  | 6,729  | 60.98% | 531  | 4.81%
1932 | 2,915  | 30.80%  | 6,440  | 68.04% | 110  | 1.16%
1928 | 4,661  | 51.91% | 4,253  | 47.37%  | 65  | 0.72%
1924 | 2,562  | 33.12%  | 602  | 7.78%  | 4,571  | 59.10%
1920 | 4,735  | 78.16% | 1,030  | 17.00%  | 293  | 4.84%
1916 | 2,570  | 56.21% | 1,892  | 41.38%  | 110  | 2.41%
1912 | 1,988  | 46.60% | 1,523  | 35.70%  | 755  | 17.70%
1908 | 3,020  | 64.77% | 1,453  | 31.16%  | 190  | 4.07%
1904 | 3,279  | 73.70% | 1,024  | 23.02%  | 146  | 3.28%
1900 | 2,754  | 69.72% | 1,117  | 28.28%  | 79  | 2.00%
1896 | 2,836  | 67.08% | 1,290  | 30.51%  | 102  | 2.41%
1892 | 1,275  | 43.31%  | 1,499  | 50.92% | 170  | 5.77%

## See also

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* National Register of Historic Places listings in Oconto County, Wisconsin

## References

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1. ^ a b c d "2020 Decennial Census: Oconto County, Wisconsin". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer, (New York:Columbia University Press, 1952) p. 1364
4. ^ "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.
5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
8. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
9. ^ "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 6, 2015.
10. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
11. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
12. ^ "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.
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved August 14, 2018.

## Further reading

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* Hall, Richard L. The Centennial History of Oconto County. 1876.
* Henry, William Benjamin. The History of Oconto County. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1921.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oconto County, Wisconsin.

* Oconto County
* Oconto County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
* Oconto County Tourism & Development

Places adjacent to Oconto County, Wisconsin

| Forest County |  | Marinette County

|
|

|  |
Langlade County and Menominee County |

Oconto County, Wisconsin

| Green Bay (Marinette County)
|  |
Shawano County | Brown County | Green Bay (Door County)

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States

County seat: Oconto

Cities|

* Gillett
* Oconto
* Oconto Falls

Error creating thumbnail:

Villages|

* Lena
* Pulaski‡
* Suring

Towns|

* Abrams
* Bagley
* Brazeau
* Breed
* Chase
* Doty
* Gillett
* How
* Lakewood
* Lena
* Little River
* Little Suamico
* Maple Valley
* Morgan
* Mountain
* Oconto Falls
* Oconto
* Pensaukee
* Riverview
* Spruce
* Stiles
* Townsend
* Underhill

CDPs|

* Abrams
* Krakow‡
* Lakewood
* Mountain
* Sobieski
* Townsend

Other
communities|

* Bonita
* Breed
* Brookside
* Chase
* County Line‡
* Cullen
* Frostville
* Hayes
* Hickory Corners
* Hintz
* Klondike
* Little Suamico
* Logan
* Morgan
* Mosling
* Oak Orchard
* Pensaukee
* Sampson
* Sobieski Corners
* South Chase
* Spruce
* Stiles
* Stiles Junction
* Underhill

Indian
reservation|

* Forest County Potawatomi Community‡

Footnotes|

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

* United States portal

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State of Wisconsin

Madison (capital)

Topics|

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Society|

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

* Chicago metropolitan area
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Largest cities
(pop. over 50,000)|

* Appleton
* Eau Claire
* Green Bay
* Janesville
* Kenosha
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* Oshkosh
* Racine
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* West Allis

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

* Beaver Dam
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* Hartford
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* 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
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* 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
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* Taylor
* Trempealeau
* Vernon
* Vilas
* Walworth
* Washburn
* Washington
* Waukesha
* Waupaca
* Waushara
* Winnebago
* Wood

Coordinates: 44°59′N 88°14′W﻿ / ﻿44.99°N 88.23°W﻿ / 44.99; -88.23
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