Sister Bay, Wisconsin

Village in Wisconsin, United States

Sister Bay, Wisconsin

Village

Downtown Sister Bay on WIS 42

Location of Sister Bay in Door County, Wisconsin.

Coordinates: 45°11′14″N 87°7′26″W﻿ / ﻿45.18722°N 87.12389°W﻿ / 45.18722; -87.12389
Country|  United States
State|  Wisconsin
County| Door
Area

[1]

• Total

| 3.57 sq mi (9.25 km2)
• Land| 2.58 sq mi (6.68 km2)
• Water| 0.99 sq mi (2.57 km2)
Elevation

[2]

| 620 ft (189 m)
Population

(2020)[3]

• Total

| 1,148
• Density| 320/sq mi (120/km2)
Time zone| UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)| UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code| 920
FIPS code| 55-74225[4]
GNIS feature ID| 1574209[2]
Website| http://www.sisterbay.com/

Sister Bay is a village in Door County, Wisconsin, United States.[5] The population was 1,148 at the 2020 census.

## Geography

[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.58 square miles (9.27 km2), of which 2.58 square miles (6.68 km2) is land and 1.00 square mile (2.59 km2) is water.[6]

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1920| 190| | —
1930| 238| | 25.3%
1940| 309| | 29.8%
1950| 429| | 38.8%
1960| 520| | 21.2%
1970| 483| | −7.1%
1980| 564| | 16.8%
1990| 675| | 19.7%
2000| 886| | 31.3%
2010| 876| | −1.1%
2020| 1,148| | 31.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

### 2000 census

[edit]

At the 2000 census,[4] there were 886 people, 446 households and 224 families living in the village. The population density was 341.9 per square mile (132.1/km2). There were 945 housing units at an average density of 364.7 per square mile (140.9/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 98.42% White, 0.11% African American, 0.79% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.68% of the population.

There were 446 households, of which 11.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 3.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.6% were non-families. 46.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.78 and the average family size was 2.45.

10.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 13.4% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 46.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 61 years. For every 100 females, there were 73.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.0 males.

The median household income was $33,224 and the median family income was $50,893. Males had a median income of $28,571 compared with $23,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,029. About 1.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

### 2010 census

[edit]

At the 2010 census,[8] there were 876 people, 457 households and 217 families living in the village. The population density was 339.5 inhabitants per square mile (131.1/km2). There were 1,335 housing units at an average density of 517.4 per square mile (199.8/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 97.5% White, 0.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 457 households, of which 11.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 52.5% were non-families. 47.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 29.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.75 and the average family size was 2.43.

The median age in the village was 62.7 years. 10.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 46.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 42.9% male and 57.1% female.

Sister Bay, left, and Ephraim, right taken 1:10 AM CDT, March 27, 2012, during Expedition 30 of the ISS.

## Education

[edit]

Gibraltar Area Schools serves the community. Gibraltar Elementary School[9] and Gibraltar Secondary School[10] are the two schools.

## Historical landmarks

[edit]

* Jischke's Meat Market
* Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant
* The shipwreck site of the Meridian, a schooner that sank in 1873, is located off the coast of Sister Bay south of the Sister Islands.
* Country House Resort, was the first homestead in Sister Bay, Door County, Wisconsin. The Town of Liberty Grove was established at a meeting on this property in 1859.

## Transportation

[edit]

### State highways

[edit]

* WIS 42 northbound travels to Ellison Bay, and Gills Rock, while southbound travels to Ephraim, Sturgeon Bay, and Manitowoc, where it connects to I-43.
* WIS 57 terminates in Sister Bay; southbound travels to Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay, where it connects to I-43.

Highway 42 runs along the upper portion of the photograph, while highway 57 bends towards the right and meets highway 42 in the upper right corner.

## Climate

[edit]

|  Sister Bay

Climate chart (explanation)

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−11

−11

█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
█ Precipitation totals in mm
Source: [11]
| Imperial conversion

J| F| M| A| M| J| J| A| S| O| N| D

1.6

1.1

1.7

2.8

3.2

3.2

2.9

3.2

3.4

2.3

1.7

█ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
█ Precipitation totals in inches

## Images

[edit]

* Sister Bay, circa 1912. Sister Bay Hotel is on left.

* Looking south at Sister Bay sign

* Post office

* Sister Bay Beach; a study conducted from May through August 2019 found it was the most visited beach in the county.[12]

* Breakwater for the Sister Bay Marina

* Sister Bay, published 1899

* Pebble Beach at Little Sister Bay, postmarked 1904

* Postcard from around the 1930s or 1940s

* Northwestern side of the village

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
2. ^ a b "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. ^ "Census Bureau profile: Sister Bay village, Wisconsin". United States Census Bureau. May 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
4. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
5. ^ Map of the Village of Sister Bay, Door County Land Use Services Department, December 11, 2018, (Archived April 9, 2019)
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
7. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
9. ^ Gibraltar Elementary School, gibraltar.k12.wi.us
10. ^ Gibraltar Elementary School, gibraltar.k12.wi.us
11. ^ "Time Series Values for Individual Locations (1991-2020), 800m cells". Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering. Retrieved February 20, 2025. "Latitude: 45.1854 Longitude:-87.1245 Elevation: 211m (692ft)"
12. ^ Economic Value of Reengineering WI Great Lakes beaches by Matthew Winden, UW-Whitewater Fiscal & Economic Research Center Institute for Water Business, page 10

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sister Bay, Wisconsin.

Adjacent communities near Sister Bay, Wisconsin

|  |  Ellison Bay, Gills Rock |

|
|

|  |

Sister Bay

|  |
Egg Harbor, Ephraim |  Sturgeon Bay, Baileys Harbor |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Door County, Wisconsin, United States

County seat: Sturgeon Bay

City|

* Sturgeon Bay

Towns in 1915; the borders remain the same today except for annexations by the City of Sturgeon Bay and the four villages.

Villages|

* Egg Harbor
* Ephraim
* Forestville
* Sister Bay

Towns

* Baileys Harbor
* Brussels
* Clay Banks
* Egg Harbor
* Forestville
* Gardner
* Gibraltar
* Jacksonport
* Liberty Grove
* Nasewaupee
* Sevastopol
* Sturgeon Bay
* Union
* Washington Island

CDPs|

* Baileys Harbor
* Ellison Bay
* Little Sturgeon

Other
communities|

* Brussels
* Carlsville
* Carnot
* Detroit Harbor
* Fish Creek
* Gills Rock
* Idlewild
* Institute
* Jacksonport
* Juddville
* Kolberg
* Maplewood
* Namur
* North Bay
* Northport
* Peninsula Center
* Rosiere‡
* Rowleys Bay
* Salona
* Shoemaker Point
* Valmy
* Vignes
* Washington
* West Jacksonport
* Whitefish Bay

Ghost town|

* Williamsonville

Footnote|

‡Partially located in Kewaunee County

* Wisconsin portal
* United States portal

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Israel

Geographic|

* MusicBrainz area

*[Pop.]: Population
*[%±]: Percent change
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