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Appleton, Wisconsin

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Appleton, Wisconsin
City
The Appleton skyline from the south bank of the Fox River.
The Appleton skyline from the south bank of the Fox River.
Location of Appleton within Wisconsin
Location of Appleton within Wisconsin
Location of Appleton in Outagamie County, Wisconsin
Location of Appleton in Outagamie County, Wisconsin
CountryUnited States
StateWisconsin
CountiesOutagamie, Calumet, Winnebago
Surrounding TownsGrand Chute, Little Chute, Menasha
Settled1835
Incorporated2 May 1857
Government
 • TypeMayor-Council
 • MayorTimothy M. Hanna
Area
[1]
 • City24.82 sq mi (64.28 km2)
 • Land24.33 sq mi (63.01 km2)
 • Water0.49 sq mi (1.27 km2)  1.97%
Elevation
790 ft (240 m)
Population
 (2010)[2]
 • City72,623
 • Estimate 
(2011[3])
73,243
 • Density2,984.9/sq mi (1,152.5/km2)
 • Metro
367,000
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
54911, 54912, 54913, 54914, 54915, 54916, 54919
Area code920
FIPS code55-02375Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1560914Template:GR
Websitewww.appleton.org

Appleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles (161 km) north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 72,623 at the 2010 census. Appleton is the principal city of the Appleton, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, Wisconsin Combined Statistical Area.

History

Fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River Valley Indians were the first European settlers in Appleton. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post.[4]

Appleton was settled in 1847 and incorporated as a village in 1853. John F. Johnston was the first resident and village president. Home to Lawrence University, Appleton grew along with the school. With the financial backing of Amos A. Lawrence, the Lawrence Institute was chartered in 1847. Samuel Appleton, Lawrence's father-in-law, donated $10,000 to the newly founded college library, and his name was given to the community in appreciation.[5][6]

The community was incorporated as a city on March 2, 1857,[7] with Amos Storey as its first mayor. Early in the 20th century, it adopted the commission form of government. In 1890, 11,869 people lived in Appleton; in 1900, there were 15,085; in 1910, 16,773; in 1920, 19,571; and in 1940, 28,436.

The paper industry, beginning with the building of the first paper mill in the city in 1853, has been at the forefront of the development of Appleton. In order to provide electricity to the paper industry, the nation's first hydro-electric central station, the Vulcan Street Plant on the Fox River, began operation on September 30, 1882. The power plant also powered the Hearthstone House, the first residence in the world powered by a centrally located hydroelectric station using the Edison system.[8]

Shortly thereafter, in August 1886, Appleton was the site for another national first, the operation of a commercially successful electric streetcar company. Electric lights replaced gas lamps on College Avenue in 1912. Appleton also had the first telephone in Wisconsin, and the first incandescent light in any city outside of the East Coast.[9]

Appleton's Valley Fair Shopping Center, built in 1954, laid claim to being the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States, although this claim is disputed by other malls. In 2007 most of the structure was demolished, leaving only its east wing and a movie theater. A Copps Food Center now stands in its place.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.82 square miles (64.28 km2), of which, 24.33 square miles (63.01 km2) is land and 0.49 square miles (1.27 km2) is water.[1]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18602,345—
18704,51892.7%
18808,00577.2%
189011,86948.3%
190015,08527.1%
191016,77311.2%
192019,56116.6%
193025,26729.2%
194028,43612.5%
195034,01019.6%
196048,41142.3%
197056,37716.5%
198058,9134.5%
199065,69511.5%
200070,0876.7%
201072,6233.6%
Location of the Appleton–Oshkosh–Neenah CSA and its components:
  Appleton Metropolitan Statistical Area
  Oshkosh–Neenah Metropolitan Statistical Area

Appleton is the principal city of the Appleton–Oshkosh–Neenah CSA, a Combined Statistical Area which includes the Appleton (Calumet and Outagamie counties) and Oshkosh–Neenah (Winnebago County) metropolitan areas,[citation needed] which had a combined population of 367,365 at the 2010 census.Template:GR

2010 census

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 72,623 people, 28,874 households, and 18,271 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,984.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,152.5/km2). There were 30,348 housing units at an average density of 1,247.3 per square mile (481.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White, 1.7% African American, 0.7% Native American, 5.9% Asian, 2.2% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.

There were 28,874 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.7% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.

The median age in the city was 35.3 years. 25% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 26.1% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

2000 census

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 70,087 people, 26,864 households, and 17,676 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,355.9 per square mile (1,295.7/km2). There were 27,736 housing units at an average density of 1,328.0 per square mile (512.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.48% White; 0.99% African American; 0.57% Native American; 4.61% Asian; 0.03% Pacific Islander; 1.05% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.53% of the population.

There were 26,864 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 27.6% 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 2.52 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18; 9.7% from 18 to 24; 31.8% from 25 to 44; 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,285, and the median income for a family was $44,097. Males had a median income of $36,459 versus $22,890 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,478. About 7.3% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

FBI crime statistics for 2009 list the crime rate (per 100,000 population) for Appleton as follows:[10]

Crime Appleton Wisconsin United States
Violent crime 234.7 257.0 429.4
Murder 1.4 2.5 5.0
Forcible rape 29.9 19.6 28.7
Robbery 25.6 85.8 133.0
Aggravated assault 177.8 149.1 262.8
Property crime 2,680.2 2,608.2 3,036.1
Burglary 465.2 472.9 716.3
Larceny-theft 2,163.8 1,977.4 2,060.9
Motor vehicle theft 51.2 157.8 258.8

Government

Appleton is governed via the mayor-council system. The mayor is elected every four years in a citywide vote. The council, known as the common council, consists of 16 members, called alderpersons, all of whom are elected to two-year terms from individual districts. Effective 2013, the council will consist of 15 alderpersons, as a result of redistricting approved by the common council. The current mayor, Timothy Hanna, was re-elected in 2012 to his fifth four-year term, having first been elected in 1996.

Appleton is represented by Reid Ribble (R) and Tom Petri (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Frank Lasee (R) and Mike Ellis (R) represent Appleton in the Wisconsin Senate, and Alvin Ott (R), Dean Kaufert (R), Dave Murphy (R), and Penny Bernard Schaber (D) represent Appleton in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Transportation

The city is the owner of Valley Transit, a network of bus lines serving the Fox Valley. There are also several taxi operators in the city. Valley Transit operates routes that generally operate from as early as 5:45 AM until as late as 9:50 PM Monday through Saturday. Frequencies are usually every hour and every half-hour on certain routes during peak morning and afternoon times on weekdays. There is no service on Sunday.

Roads

 US 41 Northbound routes to Green Bay. Southbound US 41 routes to Oshkosh, Fond Du Lac, and Milwaukee. This is a full interstate grade freeway that runs on the west and north sides of Appleton. It has 8 exits serving the Appleton area at:

US 10/WIS 441, Hwy BB Prospect Ave., WIS 125/Hwy CA College Ave., WIS 96 Wisconsin Ave., WIS 15/Hwy OO Northland Ave., WIS 47 Richmond St., Hwy E Ballard Rd., Hwy 441

US 10 Westbound goes to Waupaca and Stevens Point. US 10 Eastbound goes to Brillion and Manitowoc. This is mostly a freeway except along Oneida St.
WIS 15 Westbound routes to New London. This is partly Northland Ave.
WIS 47 travels Northbound to Black Creek and Shawano, Wisconsin. Southbound, WIS 47 routes to Menasha. This is Richmond St., Memorial Dr., and Appleton Rd.
WIS 96 travels west to Fremont and travels east to Little Chute and Kaukauna. This is Wisconsin Ave.
WIS 125 travels between US 41 and WIS 47 on College Ave. College Ave. west of US 41 is Hwy CA and heads to Outagamie County Regional Airport.
WIS 441 bypasses Appleton on the south and east sides as a freeway. Exits are at:

US 10 West/US 41, Racine St Menasha, Hwy AP Midway Rd., WIS 47 Appleton Rd., US 10 East Oneida St., Hwy KK Calumet St., Hwy CE College Ave., Hwy OO Northland Ave., US 41

Rail

Appleton is criss-crossed by the former main lines of the Chicago and North Western Railway (southwest-northeast) and the Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western (roughly southeast-northwest, and now largely abandoned except for local service to area paper mills and other industries). A north-south branch of the former Wisconsin Central Railroad passes on the west side of the city. All rail service is now operated by Canadian National Railway. Appleton has no intercity passenger rail service, although studies are being undertaken on the feasibility of extending Amtrak service to the Fox Cities and Green Bay.

Airport

The Outagamie County Regional Airport (ATW) is located at the west end of College Avenue, 2 miles west of US 41 and 6 miles west of downtown. It has commercial airline service on Allegiant Airlines (serving Orlando Sanford, Phoenix Mesa and Las Vegas), Delta-Comair (serving Atlanta, Detroit, and Minneapolis) and United Express (serving Chicago O'Hare).

Education

Appleton is served by the Appleton Area School District, which has three high schools, four middle schools, seventeen elementary schools, and sixteen charter schools. The district's main public high schools are Appleton East, Appleton North, and Appleton West. The city also has three parochial high schools: Roman Catholic Xavier High School, Fox Valley Lutheran High School, and Appleton Christian School.

Appleton is home to Lawrence University, a private liberal arts college, Fox Valley Technical College, and Rasmussen College. The University of Wisconsin–Fox Valley, a two-year campus of the University of Wisconsin System, is located in nearby Menasha.

The city and surrounding area are served by the Appleton Public Library, which was chartered by the city in 1897 and as of 2010 has a collection of over 600,000 items.[4]

Economy

Largest employers

As of 2011, the largest employers in the city were[11]:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans 1,831
2 Appleton Area School District 1,690
3 Appleton (formally Appleton Papers) 1,535
4 Miller Electric 1,300
5 Outagamie County 1,243
6 Appleton Medical Center 1,230
7 St. Elizabeth Hospital 1,037
8 West Business Services 1,000
9 Valley Packaging Industries 940
10 Voith 770

Companies headquartered in Appleton

  • Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  • The Boldt Company
  • Luvata Appleton
  • Miller Electric
  • N.W. Mauthe Company, Inc.
  • OMNNI Associates
  • Pierce Manufacturing
  • Mount Technology Corp.
  • Appleton (formerly known as Appleton Papers)
  • SECURA Insurance Companies
  • Novatek Computer Systems, Inc.
  • Appleton Information Technologies, LLC
  • Team Services, Inc.
  • CMD Corporation
  • ASP - Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc.

Integrity Mutual Insurance

Health care

Tourism

Appleton tourist attractions include the Hearthstone House, the four-story mansion that was the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity at its completion in 1881.[4] The History Museum at the Castle contains exhibits on Fox River Valley history, including a gallery showcasing Edna Ferber, a Harry Houdini exhibit, and other traveling exhibits. The Paper Discovery Center has historic paper-making machines on display and an exhibit on the history of paper. The Fox River Mall is the second-largest mall in Wisconsin. Other local malls include Northland Mall and City Centre Plaza.

Parks

The city of Appleton has 24 neighborhood parks and four community parks in its park system. The neighborhood parks range in size from two acres to 16 acres, while the community parks range in size from 25 acres to 139 acres.

Memorial Park is the largest of the community parks, covering 139 acres. The park's facilities include: seven baseball/softball fields, playground equipment, an indoor ice skating rink, a sledding hill, a picnic pavilion, a catch and release fishing pond, grills, and a warming shelter.[12] The park provides the firework display for the Appleton community during the 4th of July holiday.

City Park, established in 1882 is the oldest park in the Appleton park system. The Trout Museum of Art uses the park for its Art in the Park showcase. The show features over 200 artists that draw over 25,000 art enthusiasts annually.[13]

A view of the small World War I memorial on the south side of Appleton, including a restored copy of the Spirit of the American Doughboy.

Notable natives and residents

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Points of interest

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Appleton, Wisconsin.

References

  1. ^ a b "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-18. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-18. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-02. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ a b c "History of Appleton". Appleton Public Library. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  5. ^ Appleton.org | City of Appleton, Wisconsin
  6. ^ "Profile for Appleton, Wisconsin". ePodunk. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
  7. ^ --- (1857). Private and Local Laws Passed by the Legislature of Wisconsin in the Year 1857. Madison, Wisconsin: Calkins and Proudfit, Printers. pp. 243–283. {{cite book}}: |last= has numeric name (help)
  8. ^ "Victorian Christmas", Beloit Daily News, December 15, 2005
  9. ^ http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=15063&term_type_id=2&term_type_text=places&letter=a
  10. ^ "2009 Crime in the United States: Offenses Known to Law Enforcement". U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2011-08. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "City of Appleton 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report" (PDF).
  12. ^ http://www.appleton.org/
  13. ^ http://www.triviaasylum.com/parks/city/city.htm
  14. ^ a b c d e f "General Facts about Appleton, WI". Lawrence University. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Wikisource has the text of The New Student's Reference Work article "Appleton, Wis.".

Further reading

  • Wisconsin Magazine of History, State Historical Society of Wisconsin. These bound volumes of the magazine contain several articles about the early history of Appleton. The best articles are, "Lawrence College," by Samual Plantz (Vol. 6, p. 44), and "Appleton," by William Raney (Vol. 33, p. 135). For additional articles, consult the index volumes under these subject headings: Appleton; Grand Chute: Lawrence University; Smith, Reeder Williams, Eleazar.
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