Ashland, Wisconsin

For the Town of Ashland, see: Ashland (town), Wisconsin.

Ashland, Wisconsin —  City  — Seal Location of Ashland, Wisconsin Coordinates: 46°35′24″N 90°52′48″W Country United States State Wisconsin Counties Ashland, Bayfield Government  • Mayor Bill Whalen Area  • Total 13.7 sq mi (35.4 km2)  • Land 13.4 sq mi (34.7 km2)  • Water 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) Elevation 671 ft (205 m) Population (2010)  • Total 8,695  • Density 643/sq mi (248.4/km2) Time zone CST (UTC−6)  • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC−5) Area code(s) 715 & 534 FIPS code 55-03225 GNIS feature ID 1560982 Website www.ci.Ashland.wi.us

The remains of the massive Soo Line ore dock

Ashland is a city in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay. The population was 8,695 at the 2010 census.

The city is situated at the junction of U.S. Route 2 and Wisconsin Highway 13. It is the home of Northland College and the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute.

History

Pre-settlement

Four flags have flown over the area around Ashland: Spanish, French, English and American. Eight different Indian nations have lived on Chequamegon Bay. Later settlers included European explorers, missionaries and fur traders, and more recently, Yankees who platted and developed the lands, railroaders, shippers, loggers, entrepreneurs, and other settlers. The area was part of the original Northwest Territory and was subsequently part of four successive territories before becoming part of the state of Wisconsin: Indiana Territory, Michigan Territory, Illinois Territory, and Wisconsin Territory.

About the time Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World, the Ojibwe people came to the land they called Sha-ga-waun-il-ong. This term has been translated numerous ways: "lowlands", the "needle", "the region of shallow water", and where "there are large extended breakers". Each is descriptive and suitably accurate.

The Ojibwe stayed on Chequamegon Point for about a century before leaving, first to settle on Madeline Island and then to move to the Sault region.

French fur traders Pierre d'Esprit, le Sieur Radisson and Medard Chouart, le Sieur des Groseillers were the first Europeans of record to visit Chequamegon Bay. They arrived in 1659 and built what has been called the first European dwelling place in Wisconsin. A historical marker is located at Maslowski Beach on U.S. Route 2 on the west end of Ashland. The monument was erected in 1929 by the Old Settlers Club.

The Ojibwe heartily welcomed the Frenchmen. Five years later, Father Claude-Jean Allouez arrived. A Jesuit missionary, he brought the first word of Christianity to Wisconsin's shores. Allouez built a chapel not far from Radisson's and Groseillier's stockade and remained at the Bay until 1669.

Settlement

In 1854, Ohioans Asaph Whittlesey and George Kilborn set out from La Pointe to explore the head of Chequamegon Bay. Whittlesey built a 10 ft (3.0 m) × 14 ft (4.3 m) cabin in Ashland. His wife, Lucy, and daughter, Eugenia, joined him in August and prepared to winter in their new home. Signs of civilization quickly followed. The first community dance was held at their house. The Reverend L.H. Wheeler preached the first sermon on the first Independence Day that was observed there. It was the location of the first post office and polling place for county offices. Sunday school was also conducted on the premises.

A mural of Asaph Whittlesey.

Other dates of note:

• 1856 — First plat of Ashland registered
• 1870 — First Ashland brownstone quarried and shipped
• 1872 — First sawmill built by W.R. Sutherland
• 1877 — Wisconsin Central Railroad connected Ashland to Chicago
• 1877 — Chequamegon Hotel opened, one block from current hotel
• 1887 — State legislature incorporated the City of Ashland
• 1889 — Wisconsin Central Depot constructed
• 1892 — Northern Wisconsin Academy opened (now Northland College)
• 1894 — Post office built
• 1904 — Ashland High School opened
• 1929 — First airport opened
• 1940 — WATW radio went on the air
• 1963 — Dedication of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
• 1972 — Memorial Medical Center opened
• 2009 — Ore dock slated for demolition. Attempts by some community members to help save the historic structure were not successful.

Ore dock

The harbor of Ashland is dominated by the massive Wisconsin Central Railway (later Soo Line) ore dock, built in 1916 to load iron ore mined in the area into freighters bound for ports in the Rust Belt. The last of what were once many such docks, the concrete structure is 80 feet (24 m) high and 75 feet (23 m) wide and in 1925 the dock was extended to 1,800 feet (550 m); it was last used to ship ore in 1965. In 2007 the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation named it one of the "10 most endangered historic buildings in Wisconsin", a list intended to stir preservation efforts. The main concrete structure and trestle has slowly deteriorated since the early 1970s because of lack of maintenance and the effects of the environment. According to a structural inspection completed in 2006 and 2007 by Westbrook Associates, the ore dock has become structurally unsafe and an imminent safety hazard. On May 14, 2009, the Ashland Planning Commission granted Canadian National approval for both a site plan for the demolition and a right-of-way license for a haul route. Canadian National (CN) has hired Minnesota-based Veit & Company to manage the demolition. All material on the ore dock will be removed down to the concrete base. Demolition was originally expected to be complete by December 2010, however a permitting dispute delayed action and as of Spring 2011 demolition had not yet begun.

Geography

Excessive amounts of snow can accumulate over the long and harshly cold winters.

Ashland is located along the south shore of Chequamegon Bay. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.7 square miles (35.4 km²). 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (1.98%) is water.

Climate

There are four distinct seasons, with notably cold winters. Due to its proximity to Lake Superior, lake effect snow is sometimes a phenomenon in Ashland.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,620 people, 3,513 households, and 2,027 families residing in the city. The population density was 643.3 people per square mile (248.4/km²). There were 3,777 housing units at an average density of 108.8 persons/km² (281.9 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 90.17% White, 0.32% African American, 6.30% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 2.23% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The Ashland County Market store.

There were 3,513 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 11.7% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 42.3% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 15.4% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,853, and the median income for a family was $40,549. Males had a median income of $30,122 versus $20,926 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,330. About 7.5% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.9% of those under the age of 18 and 10.0% ages 65 or older.

Arts and culture

The region is served by the Chequamegon Bay Arts Council, a non-profit organization promoting the arts in northern Wisconsin.

Ashland was a filming location for the 1998 movie A Simple Plan.

The Ashland Chamber Music Society is a volunteer organization that works to provide a venue for local and regional musicians to perform chamber music within the Ashland area.

Local Attractions

• Ashland Historical Museum (on Main Street West)
• Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, is located along US Highway 2, on the west side. It serves as a regional information center, and contains some natural history exhibits. A branch office of the Wisconsin Historical Society is located upstairs.
• The Chequamegon Theatre Association is located in the historic Rhinehart Theatre on main street, behind the laundromat on the east end. Several live plays are performed each season.
• Ashland Chequamegon Bay Golf Course
• Many sporting and recreational activities (see Parks and Recreation section, which follows this section).

Events

• Bay Days is Ashland's annual community festival, held every year during the middle of July. Being a popular community event, many high school class reunions are held during the four-day event. In addition to street vendors and live outdoor music, other happenings include a "Strongest Man in the Bay Contest", as well as a Sprint Triathlon.
• The Book Across the Bay ski race is held every year in February. The course for the race crosses the frozen Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior, starting in Ashland, and ending in Washburn.
• The Whistlestop Marathon and half-marathon is held every fall, and draws athletes from surrounding regions. The before-race events include a pasta feed, and live music the night before.
• Live chamber music concerts performed by the Ashland Chamber Music Society
• The annual Red Clay Classics car race, held at the ABC Raceway
• The Ashland Area Farmer's Market is held in the summertime on Saturday mornings, along the 200 block of Chapple Avenue.
• Holiday parades include a Fourth of July parade, a Christmas parade, a Memorial Day parade, and a Homecoming parade.
• The Ashland County Fair is usually held in September at the fairgrounds in Marengo (south of Ashland).
• The Superior Vistas Bike Tour, held in June.
• The The Chequamegon Bay Bird & Nature Festival, held in May.

Dining and Entertainment

Great cuisine is available at a wide array of dining establishments. A complete listing is located at Visitashland.com

Ashland's movie theater is located on Main Street West, near the library.

Parks and recreation

Outdoor recreational opportunities are abundant in the Ashland area, and the city is surrounded by much natural beauty. There are many unique natural places in the vicinity, such as Lake Superior, the Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge, and the nearby Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Parks

• Bayview Park, also known as Pamida Beach, features a swimming beach, bathrooms, fishing pier, pinic area and playground. At Bayview park you can catch the Walking Trail that loops the City of Ashland on a 10 mile loop. Bayview park is also the only swim front in Ashland which provides lifeguards during the summer.
• Beaser Park
• Kreher Park is located down North Prentice Avenue, and is also known as Sunset Park. It features 33 RV Campsites on lake Superior, close to marina & downtown Ashland. Water/electric hook-ups & landing, swimming beach, playground, showers, dumping station, firewood & pay phone. From here you can catch the great walking and biking Ashland Waterfront trail.
• Maslowski Beach is located on the west side, along US Highway 2. It features a shallow, sandy swimming beach, playground, pavilion, bathrooms, changing rooms, pay phone & artesian well. Here, there is also easy access to Ashland's beautiful Lake Front Trail along Chequamegon Bay.
• Memorial Park contains the Band Shell, and is located adjacent to the Hotel Chequamegon.
• Menard Park is located at the north-west corner of Chapple Avenue and Main Street West.
• Prentice Park is the largest of Ashland's 12 parks, approximately 100 acres. It is a natural habitat for migrating birds, a nesting ground for mute swans, with hiking trails, artesian wells, picnic area, children's playground, and tent camping.

Bike Lanes

• Currently, the only road marked with a bike lane is Binsfield Road, in the vicinity of the schools. However, most hiking trails are also used as biking trails.

Hiking/Biking Trails

• Tri-County Corridor, along Sixth Street
• Lakefront Trail, along Lake Superior
• Both of these trails are connected on the east end of Ashland, and along with Sanborn Avenue on the west end, there is a recreational trail that loops around the entire city.
• North Country Trail

Boating

• Ashland Marina, located behind the Hotel Chequamegon

Camping

• RV camping is available at Prentice park, and Kreher Park.
• Tent camping is available at Prentice Park.

Sports and Fitness

• Ashland Skate Park
• Northland College Athletic Facility, which includes a pool, gym, and weight room
• Chequamegon Health and Fitness Center
• Snap Fitness

Government

Ashland City Hall was built in the Romanesque style of architecture in 1893, from locally quarried brownstone.

Bill Whalen was elected mayor in the 2010-04-06 local election, replacing Ed Monroe, who did not seek re-election.

Ashland City Hall is located at 601 Main Street West. When built in 1893, it was originally used as the city's first post office. Incidentally, it's now located next door to the present-day post office. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Old Ashland Post Office".

City Council meetings are currently held on the second and last Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm, in the Council Chambers room at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public, although on occasion the Council may meet in closed session to discuss a subject permitted by the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law to be held in closed session. The city is divided into 11 wards, each of which is represented by an elected alderperson (or councilor).

Also in Ashland, is the County Courthouse, located at 201 Main Street West.

A list of local city ordinances/laws is located at the City Website.

In the Wisconsin State Legislature, Ashland is located in the 74th Assembly District, and the 25th Senate District, represented by Assemblyman Janet Bewley, and State Senator Robert Jauch.

In the United States House of Representatives, Ashland is served by Sean Duffy, of Wisconsin's 7th congressional district. The U.S. Senators representing Wisconsin are Herb Kohl and Ron Johnson.

Industry and Employment

The two main manufactures of products in the community include Bretting Manufacturing (who manufacture equipment), and Larson-Juhl (a subsidy of Berkshire Hathaway, that manufactures picture frames).

Other main employers include the schools and colleges, as well as Memorial Medical Center and Wal-Mart. Many small businesses also employ a good portion of the population.

Ashland is also home to an office of The Job Center of Wisconsin, located at 101 Main Street West.

Education

Public schools

• Lake Superior Primary/Intermediate School
• Marengo Valley Elementary School
• Ashland Middle School
• Ashland High School

Private schools

• Ashland Seventh Day Adventist School
• Celebration Christian Academy
• Our Lady of the Lake School
• Zion Lutheran Christian School

Colleges

• Northland College
• Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

Media

News Media

• Ashland Current, locally-owned daily news source
• Ashland Daily Press, local daily print publication
• Bottom Line News and Views
• Lake Superior Sounder (closed in January 2008)

Classifieds

• The Evergreen Country Shopper

Radio

• WATW 1400 AM - Conservative talk radio
• WUWS 90.9 FM - Ideas network of Wisconsin Public Radio
• WJRF 91.5 FM - Christian radio
• WBSZ 93.3 FM - Country music
• WWMD-LP 95.5FM - Christian talk radio (Catholic)
• WJJH 96.7 FM - Rock music
• WRNC-LP 97.7 FM - Freeform radio station, operated by Northland College
• WIMI 99.7 FM - Adult Contemporary music (Broadcast from Ironwood, MI)
• W284AN 104.7 FM - News and Classical Musical network of Wisconsin Public Radio
• WEGZ 105.9 FM - Christian talk radio (broadcast from Washburn, WI)
• WNXR 107.3 FM - Oldies (broadcast from Iron River, WI)

Television

Stations serving Ashland come from the Duluth market:

• 3 KDLH (CBS)
• 6 KBJR (NBC)
• 8 WDSE (PBS)
• 10 WDIO (ABC)
• 21 KQDS (Fox)

Infrastructure

Ashland Marina, looking north across Chequamegon Bay toward Lake Superior, with the ore dock in the background

The two major highways in the city are U.S. Highway 2 and Wisconsin Highway 13. The city is one of the northern termini in Wisconsin for the Canadian National Railway, parent company of the formerWisconsin Central Ltd., which assumed the former Soo Line tracks in 1987.

Airports

Airports certified for carrier operations near Ashland:

• Gogebic-Iron County Airport (about 54 miles (87 km); Ironwood, Michigan)
• Duluth International Airport (about 92 miles (148 km); Duluth, Minnesota)
• Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport (about 119 miles (192 km); Rhinelander, Wisconsin)

Other public-use airports near Ashland:

• John F. Kennedy Memorial Airport (about 2 miles (3.2 km); Ashland, Wisconsin)
• Madeline Island Airport (about 17 miles (27 km); La Pointe, Wisconsin)
• Cable Union Airport (about 37 miles (60 km); Cable, Wisconsin)
• Park Falls Municipal Airport (about 58 miles (93 km); Park Falls, Wisconsin)

Churches

• Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Community, 201 Lake Shore Drive East
• Chequamegon Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, meets at the Ponzio Center on the campus of Northland College
• Saron Lutheran Church, 517 9th Avenue
• Good Shepard Lutheran Church, 311 13th Street
• Zion Lutheran Church, 1111 11th Avenue
• First English Lutheran Church, 701 Vaughn Avenue
• Salem Baptist Church, 1616 Beaser Avenue
• Lighthouse Baptist Church, 701 Ellis Avenue
• Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church, 620 3rd Street
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1400 Binsfield Road
• Jehovah's Whitness, 700 Sanborn Avenue
• First Assembley of God Chirch, 315 10th Sreet
• Seventh Day Adventist Church, 622 10th Avenue
• United Methodist Church, 601 3rd Avenue West
• First Covenant Church, 600 MacArthur Avenue
• Calvary Tabernacle United Pentecostal, 623 2nd Avenue
• Celebration Fellowship, 310 Stuntz Avenue
• First Assembley of God Church, 315 10th Street
• United Presbyterian Congregational Church, 214 Vaughn Avenue

Public transit

Local transportation is provided by the non-profit Bay Area Rural Transit (BART) system, which has bus stops throughout the community. Headquartered in Ashland's Industrial Park, BART also provides transportation to and from other communities in the Chequamegon Bay region, including Washburn, and Bayfield.

Notable natives and residents

• Bob Blake, NHL player
• F. Taylor Brown, U.S. Navy admiral
• Ray Callahan, MLB player
• Moose Cochran, NFL player
• Norm DeBriyn, head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team
• Sean Duffy, U.S. Congressman
• Moose Gardner, professional football player
• Bernard E. Gehrmann, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
• Morgan Hamm, Olympic medalist
• Paul Hamm, world champion gymnast, Olympic gold medalist
• Everis A. Hayes, U.S. Representative from California
• Andrew R. Johnson (1856–1933), Louisiana state senator from 1916–1924 and mayor of Homer, Louisiana, lived in Ashland while working in the 1890s for the United States Land Office. In 1901, he named the village of Ashland, Louisiana, for Ashland, Wisconsin.
• William D. Leahy, U.S. Navy Fleet Admiral, first military officer to reach a five-star rank; Chief of Naval Operations; Governor of Puerto Rico; U.S. Ambassador to France; White House Chief of Staff for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman
• Michael A. McAuliffe, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General
• Robert Bruce McCoy, U.S. National Guard Major General
• Sigurd F. Olson, author
• Joe Rogalski, MLB player
• Albert W. Sanborn, Wisconsin State Senator
• Dave Suminski, NFL player
• John Szarkowski, photographer
• Justus Smith Stearns, businessman
• Daniel Theno, State Senator, Ashland Mayor
• Janet Bewley, member of the Wisconsin Legislature.
• William Plizka, member of the Wisconsin Legislature.

External links

• City website
• Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce
• Ashland Current news website
• Ashland Daily Press website
• VisitAshland.com