River Falls, Wisconsin
| River Falls | |
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| — City — | |
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 River Falls
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| Coordinates: 44°51′31″N 92°37′30″W / 44.85861°N 92.625°WCoordinates: 44°51′31″N 92°37′30″W / 44.85861°N 92.625°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Wisconsin |
| County | Pierce and St. Croix |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor - Council |
| • Mayor | Don Richards |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.6 sq mi (17.0 km2) |
| • Land | 5.0 sq mi (12.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 15,000 |
| • Density | 2,300/sq mi (880/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes 54022 | |
| FIPS code | |
| GNIS feature ID | |
| Website | Official website |
River Falls is a city in Pierce and St. Croix counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 15,000 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in the Twin Cities Wisconsin suburbs, which is the eighth largest metropolitan area in the state. The city is located mostly within the Town of River Falls in Pierce County; only a small portion lies within the Town of Kinnickinnic in St. Croix County. It is the most populous city in Pierce county.
River Falls is located in west-central Wisconsin and is noted for being home to the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.
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[edit] Geography
River Falls is located at 44°51′31″N 92°37′30″W / 44.85861°N 92.625°W (44.858701, -92.625097).[2]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.56 square miles (17.0 km²).[3] 5.0 square miles (12.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.80%) is water.
River Falls lies on the banks of the Kinnickinnic River, a class one trout stream. The Kinnickinnic is usually described as having two parts, 1) the upper, which begins its run approximately 10 miles north of Interstate 94 and 2) the lower, which runs through a narrow canyon west and south of town. The two sections of the stream are separated by a pair of hydroelectric dams that are operated by River Falls Public Utilities. River Falls is the largest city in Wisconsin situated on a Class 1 trout stream. In addition to the upper and lower Kinnickinnic, the South Fork of the Kinnickinnic River runs through the city, dividing the campus of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls into two sections.
[edit] History
The city's first settlers were Joel Foster and his indentured servant, Dick in the year 1848. [4] The original village was started as the village of Kinnickinnic in 1854 by brothers Nathaniel N. and Oliver S. Powell who were from St. Lawrence County, New York. At the same time, the township and village was known also as "Greenwood," but this was changed, as another Greenwood, Wisconsin already existed.[5]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 12,560 people, 4,269 households, and 2,335 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,524.0 people per square mile (973.8/km²). There were 4,346 housing units at an average density of 873.2 per square mile (336.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.57% White, 0.53% Black or African American, 0.36% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population.
There were 4,269 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.3% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.9% under the age of 18, 35.1% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 14.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,184, and the median income for a family was $60,253. Males had a median income of $36,275 versus $27,345 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,667. About 4.4% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
River Falls High School is the area's public high school. It is home to the 2005 and 2007-2011 Marching Band State Champions in AAA division.
River Falls is also home to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and through 2009 the site of the summer camp of the Kansas City Chiefs.
[edit] Notable people
- Aldrich Hazen Ames, former C.I.A. counter-intelligence officer and analyst; convicted in 1994 of spying for the Soviet Union and Russia
- William Berndt, Wisconsin State Senate
- Karyn Bye, Olympic Gold Medal athlete
- Anna Dodge, actress
- Sheila Harsdorf, Wisconsin State Senate
- Nils Pederson Haugen, (1849 - 1931) U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
- Robert P. Knowles, Wisconsin State Senate
- Warren P. Knowles, Governor of Wisconsin
- Maria Lamb, Olympic athlete and national champion speedskater
- Doug Lloyd, NFL player
- Freeman Lord, Wisconsin State Assembly
- Landon Lueck, reality TV star and professional cyclist
- Mark Neumann, U.S. Representative
- Frank Nye, U.S. Representative from Minnesota
- Francis Paul Prucha, Roman Catholic priest and educator
- Heidi "Frankie" Rayder
- Missy Rayder, American model
- Dick Ritger, former professional ten-pin bowler and a renowned bowling coach; member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame
- David F. Swensen, Chief Investment Officer of the Yale University endowment
- Kipp Christianson, WWE Superstar, competing on WWE NXT as Eil Cottonwood
[edit] References
- ^ River Falls City Hall, Frisbie Architects, Accessed July 20, 2009.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ http://www.rfcity.org/comdev/06%20Trends%20Report.pdf
- ^ http://www.piercecountywi.com/riverfalls/riverfallswi.html
- ^ Easton, August B. History of Saint Croix Valley, p. 485.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
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