Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | |
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| Nickname(s): FDL, Fondy | |
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| Coordinates: 44°48′53″N 91°29′34″W / 44.81472°N 91.49278°W | |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| State | Wisconsin |
| County | Fond du Lac |
| Area | |
| - City | 18.2 sq mi (47.1 km2) |
| - Land | 16.9 sq mi (43.7 km2) |
| - Water | 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km2) 7.31% |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 42,203 |
| - Density | 2,501.3/sq mi (965.9/km2) |
| - Metro | 57,479 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | 920 |
| Website | www.ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us |
Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The name is French for We are fond of La Crosse,[1][2] for it is located at the bottom (south end) of Lake Winnebago. The population was 42,203 at the 2000 census. The city borders the Town of Fond du Lac, although a small portion borders other adjacent towns.
Together with surrounding communities, the Fond du Lac metropolitan area was, according to the 2000 census, home to 57,479 people. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Fond du Lac County (2000 population: 97,296), and which, when combined with the 'Beaver Dam (city), WI Micropolitan Statistical Area', form the larger 'Fond du Lac-Beaver Dam, WI Combined Statistical Area'. It was named the safest metropolitan area in the United States in the 2006 edition of City Crime Rankings by Quinto Press. [3]
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[edit] Geography
Fond du Lac is located at 43°46′30″N 88°26′41″W / 43.775°N 88.44472°W (43.775139, -88.444907)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.2 square miles (47.1 km²), of which, 16.9 square miles (43.7 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) of it (7.31%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
Fond du Lac is the larger principal city of the Fond du Lac-Beaver Dam CSA, a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Fond du Lac metropolitan area (Fond du Lac County) and the Beaver Dam micropolitan area (Dodge County),[5][6][7] which had a combined population of 183,193 at the 2000 census.[8]
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 42,203 people, 16,638 households, and 10,282 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,501.3 people per square mile (965.9/km²). There were 17,519 housing units at an average density of 1,038.3/sq mi (401.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.59% White, 1.86% Black or African American, 0.51% Native American, 1.52% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 2.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 16,638 households out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,113, and the median income for a family was $50,341. Males had a median income of $35,682 versus $22,492 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,996. About 4.6% of families and 7.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Fond du Lac has four high schools: Fond du Lac High School, a public school that replaced Goodrich High School in 2001; St. Mary Springs Academy, a private Catholic high school; Winnebago Lutheran Academy, a private Lutheran (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) school; and the Fond du Lac Christian School, a private Christian school. Fond du Lac also has three middle schools (Sabish, Theisen and Woodworth) and 11 elementary schools.
Fond du Lac is the home of three colleges: Marian University, a private Catholic four year university; the University of Wisconsin-Fond du Lac, a two year college in the University of Wisconsin System; and Moraine Park Technical College, a two year technical college in the Wisconsin Technical College System.
[edit] Religion
Fond du Lac's population is about one-third Roman Catholic,[9] at one time having seven Catholic churches in the city and surrounding area.
On Monday March 19th, 2007, Walgreens workers reported smoke and St. Louis church was discovered to be on fire. By the end of the night, the south spire and the entire roof of the sanctuary had collapsed.[10] The church building has now been demolished and is the home of Attitude Sports. At the time, the building was no longer a practicing church, but was shut down and then bought by Attitude Sports to use as their new store location. The fire occurred just prior to insuring the building.
Since then, the Catholic community has created a focal point called the Holy Family Catholic Church. Two churches, St. Patrick's and St. Louis, have been closed and a new worship center has been built. Sacred Heart Church remains open. The future of St. Patrick's remains uncertain.
The mother house of the Sisters of Saint Agnes is located in Fond du Lac. They operate Agnesian HealthCare and St. Agnes Hospital in the city.
Fond du Lac is the episcopal see of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac. St. Paul's Cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese.
Fond du Lac also has a synagogue, Temple Beth Israel, located at 149 E. Division Street. While Jews first came to Fond du Lac in the late 1800s, the first synagogue was not established until 1914.[11]
[edit] Business and industry
- ACNielsen, a division of The Nielsen Company
- Charter Communications, which has a regional call center and operations base for the northeastern part of their Wisconsin service area near the city
- Mercury Marine, a division of the Brunswick Corporation, and the largest maker of outboard motors in the world
- The Wisconsin division of Wellpoint, operating as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has a national call center and office in Fond du Lac
[edit] Culture
Fond du Lac is the county seat of Fond du Lac County and the site of the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds. The Fond du Lac County Fair takes place annually in late July.
Fond du Lac is also host to Walleye Weekend, an annual summer festival centered around the Mercury Marine National Walleye Fishing Tournament. Walleye Weekend, usually hosted on the second weekend in June is a "Free Family Fun Festival" held in Lakeside Park on the south shore of Lake Winnebago.
Events include:
- 5 Mile Walleye Run
- 2 Mile Mini-Walleye Run
- Mile Run for Children
- 1/4 Mile Run for Children
- 5 Mile Walk
- 3 Mile Family Walk
- Family Fun land
- Youth Soccer tournament
- Adult Softball and Volleyball
- All Ages 3 v. 3 Basketball Tournament
- The World's Largest Walleye Fish Fry
- Strongest Man Competition
- Battle of the Bands Competition
- 4 Stages of Live Music (Featuring The Little River Band in 2007 and Verona Grove in 2009.)
The character Vern Roscoe in Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! (the inspiration for the 2007 film There Will Be Blood) is loosely based on Edward L. Doheny, a Irish-American oil tycoon and former Fond du Lac resident.
[edit] Parks
Lakeside Park contains more than 400 acres (1.6 km2) of open recreational space on the south end of Lake Winnebago. Year-round activities include a whitetail deer exhibit. Summer activities include flower displays, boating, picnics, and weddings within the park's picturesque landscape. From April 15 to October 15, the Lakeside Park Light House and its observation tower are open (weather permitting). Visitors can take rides on a miniature train and an antique carousel. Lakeside Park hosts a holiday event filled with Christmas lights, a "dancing lights" display[12], decorations and music.
Buttermilk Creek Park is a large, grassy, hilly park. It contains an amphitheater, two jungle-gyms, and a sledding hill.
Other Notable Parks Include: Taylor Park, Butzen Park, Jefferson Park, and Playmore Park.
[edit] Lottery winnings and the "Miracle Mile"
In the 1990s, several grocery and convenience stores on a stretch of South Main Street in Fond du Lac sold large winning Wisconsin Lottery tickets, resulting in that part of Main Street being dubbed "The Miracle Mile." The first ticket over $100 million was won on July 6th, 1993, by then Sabish Junior High (now middle school) English teacher, Les Robbins, and his then-fiancee, Colleen DeVries.
On August 5, 2006, Ma and Pa's Grocery Express, which is in the heart of the Miracle Mile, sold the only winning Powerball ticket for $209 million. The ticket was claimed on September 22, 2006 by 100 cheese factory workers; all but one chose the cash option. Sargento Cheese is located in Plymouth, Wisconsin and many of the factory workers live in the tiny community of St. Cloud, Wisconsin. Another group of Sargento employees also won a $10,000 prize in August 2007.
[edit] Transportation
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U.S. 41 Northbound, US 41 routes to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Southbound, US 41 routes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. |
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U.S. 151 Southbound, routes to Waupun and Madison, Wisconsin. Northbound, routes to Chilton, Wisconsin. |
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WIS 23 travels west to Ripon, Wisconsin and east to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. |
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WIS 175 travels south near US 41. |
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US 45 travels north to Oshkosh, Wisconsin and south to West Bend, Wisconsin. |
[edit] Notable residents
- Bob Blewett, MLB player
- Edward S. Bragg, Union Army general, U.S. Representative, U.S. Ambassador
- Jonathon Brandmeier, Chicago disc jockey on WLUP-FM
- Benjamin Buck, Distinguished Service Cross recipient
- Thomas Cale, U.S. Congressional Delegate from Alaska Territory
- Tony Cramp, Distinguished Service Cross recipient
- Ken Criter, NFL player
- Travis Diener, guard for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA
- Edward L. Doheny, American oil tycoon
- F. Ryan Duffy, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals
- Charles A. Eldredge, U.S. Representative
- Paul Erickson, MLB player
- Hugh Flanagan, Distinguished Service Cross recipient
- Jim Gantner, MLB player
- Jeanna Giese, first person known to have been successfully treated for rabies without receiving a vaccine.
- King Camp Gillette, inventor of the safety razor and founder of The Gillette Company.
- Don Gorske, Big Mac enthusiast
- Elmer Grabinski, Distinguished Service Cross recipient
- Anthony Halfmann, Distinguished Service Cross recipient
- Bert Husting, MLB player
- Paul O. Husting, U.S. Senator
- Ann Klapperich, professional basketball player
- Nub Kleinke, MLB player
- Polly Koch, NFL player
- Herman Korth, Distinguished Service Cross recipient
- Scott McCallum, former Governor of Wisconsin
- Hugh J. McGrath, Medal of Honor recipient
- James Megellas, retired US Army officer who commanded company "H" of the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment , 82nd Airborne Division in World War II.
- Tom Petri, current Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 6th District of Wisconsin
- John Abner Race, U.S. Representative
- Cory Raymer, retired center for Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers of the NFL.
- Michael K. Reilly, U.S. Representative
- Eric Schafer, professional mixed martial arts fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
- William K. Van Pelt, U.S. Representative
- Owen A. Wells, U.S. Representative
[edit] References
- ^ "Dictionary of Wisconsin History". Wisconsin Historical Society. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=161&search_term=fond+du+lac. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ Clorissa Swingen (Spring 1988). "Fond du Lac: Links to our Past". http://www.uwgb.edu/wisfrench/study/research/fondlac.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ "Fond du Lac Named Nation's Safest Metropolitan Area in 2006", Retrieved June 29, 2007.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Accessed 2008-08-01.
- ^ MICROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Accessed 2008-08-01.
- ^ COMBINED STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENT CORE BASED STATISTICAL AREAS, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Accessed 2008-08-01.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Religion Data
- ^ Track Four Design: St. Louis Church Fire, Fond du Lac, WI
- ^ The Sadoff Family of Fond du Lac
- ^ The Annual "Dancing Trees" Christmas Light Show in Fond du Lac
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin |
- City of Fond du Lac
- Fond du Lac Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Early Fond du Lac County People and Places
- Fond du Lac Public Library
- The Annual "Dancing Trees" Christmas Light Show in Fond du Lac
- Sperling's Best Places
- Fond du Lac, Wisconsin is at coordinates 43°46′31″N 88°26′42″W / 43.775139°N 88.444907°WCoordinates: 43°46′31″N 88°26′42″W / 43.775139°N 88.444907°W
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