Antigo, Wisconsin Explained

Antigo, Wisconsin
Settlement Type:City
Mapsize:250px
Pushpin Map:USA Wisconsin#USA
Pushpin Relief:yes
Coordinates:45.1411°N -89.1533°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Wisconsin
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Langlade
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1878
Established Title2:Seat of Langlade County
Established Date2:1880
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Tom Bauknecht [1]
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[2]
Area Total Km2:16.86
Area Total Sq Mi:6.51
Area Land Km2:16.72
Area Land Sq Mi:6.46
Area Water Km2:0.14
Area Water Sq Mi:0.05
Area Water Percent:0.91
Elevation Ft:1500
Population Total:8100
Population As Of:2020
Population Density Km2:464.58
Population Density Sq Mi:1203.25
Timezone:CST
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Postal Code Type:Zip Code
Postal Code:54409
Area Codes:715 & 534
Website:www.antigo-city.org
Pop Est Footnotes:[3]
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:55-02250

Antigo [4] is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States.[5] The population was 8,100 at the 2020 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactured products consist principally of lumber, chairs, furniture, sashes, doors and blinds, hubs and spokes, and other wood products.

History

The name Antigo is derived from the Ojibwe phrase "niibin-inaandagoog-ziibiing", meaning "summer balsam firs by the river", which was recorded by early settlers as "nequi-antigo-sebi". An alternate etymology, nibii-aamijiwan-ziibiing, seems to be derived from mookijiwan-ziibiwishenh, "spring little-river", which became the name of the river which runs through modern Antigo, Spring Brook. This alternate etymology lives on in the name of Ma-Ka-Ja-Wan Scout Reservation near Pearson.[6] [7]

The region that is now Langlade County originally belonged to the Menominee, with several Ojibwe and Potawatomi groups migrating to the area from the east throughout the 16th-19th centuries. During this time, the Ojibwe waged and won a major war against the eastern Dakota people, driving them out of Wisconsin and Minnesota and securing the area's wild rice beds for themselves.

By the mid-1800s, the Eau Claire River and its branches to the west of modern Antigo formed a boundary between the Ojibwe, Menominee, and Ho-Chunk tribes. The first permanent European-American settler in Langlade County was Willard Ackley, who arrived in 1853 from New York and established a trading post. He married an Ojibwe woman and became close with what is today the Sokaogon Chippewa Community.[8]

The city was founded in 1876[9] [10] by Francis A. Deleglise,[11] [12] accompanied by George Eckart.[13] The log cabin in which Deleglise lived is preserved and on display at the Langlade County Historical Society Museum.[14] A street in Antigo also bears his name. The city gained its charter in 1883.

In the early part of the 1900s, Antigo was best known for its sawmills. At the turn of the millennium, the city's economy had a balance of industry and agriculture. High on the list are potatoes, dairy products, fur, shoes, fertilizer, steel, and aluminum products, along with the lumber and wood product industries established in the earlier years.[15]

On April 24, 2016, a former Antigo High School student shot two students with a rifle during prom. As he approached the school with a rifle a police officer who was already on the scene shot him. He later died at a Wausau hospital.[16] [17]

A post office called Antigo was established in 1879. It has remained in operation ever since. [18] The post office is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [19]

Geography

Antigo is located approximately 160miles northwest of Milwaukee.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.6sqmi, of which 6.54sqmi is land and 0.06sqmi is water.[20]

Antigo sits on a plateau about 1500feet above sea level. The wide expanse of level land, the fine stand of timber and the fertility of the "Antigo Flats" soil soon attracted many settlers. Today, the Antigo silt loam soil is the state soil of Wisconsin.

Climate

Antigo has a cool humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Annually the temperature drops below 32 °F (0 °C) on 187 days, and below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) on 43 days. The daily mean temperatures of the winters in this region are associated with subarctic climates with frequent subzero temperatures, but due to the extended warm period of daily means above 50 °F (10 °C) from May to September it stays within the humid continental temperature range.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census[21] of 2020, there were 8,100 people, 3,694 households residing in the city. The population density was 1254.8PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 95.2% White, 0.4% African American, 0.6% Native American and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.9% of the population.

2010 census

As of the census[22] of 2010, there were 8,234 people, 3,613 households, and 2,049 families residing in the city. The population density was 1259PD/sqmi. There were 3,972 housing units at an average density of 607.3/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 95.1% White, 0.5% African American, 1.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.7% of the population.

There were 3,613 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.3% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.3% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.88.

2000 census

As of the census[23] of 2000, there were 8,560 people, 3,630 households, and 2,221 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,328.7 people per square mile (513.2/km2). There were 3,938 housing units at an average density of 611.3 per square mile (236.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.27% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.86% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,630 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,548, and the median income for a family was $40,883. Males had a median income of $29,932 versus $20,156 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,592. About 10.2% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 12.2% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

The Langlade County Museum is housed in the 1902 Carnegie library building on the corner of 7th Avenue and Superior Street. The building housed the Antigo Public Library from 1905 to 1997. The museum contains historical artifacts and archives of Langlade County and the City of Antigo.[24]

Parks and recreation

The Clara R McKenna Aquatic Center, opened in 2005 on the site of Antigo High School, offers Antigo area residents a year-round recreation pool and lap pool.

The Langlade County fairgrounds, located in Antigo, has an indoor ice rink in winter, facilities for off-road racing and demolition derbies in summer, and Friday night stock car races.

Education

Public schools in Antigo are administered by the Antigo Unified School District. Public schools within the city include: East Elementary School, North Elementary School, West Elementary School, Antigo Middle School, Antigo High School, and AIMS Academy.

There are two parochial schools in Antigo: Peace Lutheran School(K-8) and All Saints Catholic School (K-8).

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

Railroads

Antigo was formerly served by intercity passenger rail at Antigo Depot.

Airport

Langlade County Airport is the main airport in Antigo.

Notable people

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Spatchek . Danny . Bauknecht officially appointed mayor . Antigo Daily Journal . Danny Spatchek . 16 July 2024.
  2. Web site: 2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files . August 7, 2020 . United States Census Bureau.
  3. Web site: May 24, 2020 . Population and Housing Unit Estimates . May 27, 2020 . United States Census Bureau.
  4. Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1972), p. 57.
  5. Web site: Find a County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . 2011-05-31 . 2011-06-07 . National Association of Counties.
  6. Book: Chicago and North Western Railway Company . A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways . 1908 . 37.
  7. Web site: English-Ojibwe translation :: Antigo :: Dictionary. translateojibwe.com.
  8. Hermolin, Joe. “Unresolvd Mystery May Be Tied to Ackley Log Cabin.” Antigo Daily Journal, August 2017, sec. Prime Time. http://langladehistory.com/PrimeTimeStories/Willard%20Ackley%20and%20the%20Sokaogon%20Chippewa.pdf.
  9. News: 14 June 1914 . Antigo's Pioneer is Dead . 1 . Oshkosh Daily Northwestern . August 10, 2014 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Washington, William Penn. 1976. Antigo Centennial, 1876–1976: City of Antigo, Wisconsin. Antigo: Washington-Penn Publishing Company.
  11. News: 15 March 1928 . To Erect Memorial to City's Founder . 7 . Oshkosh Daily Northwestern . August 10, 2014 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: 14 June 1928 . Antigo Honors Founder of City . 5 . The Capital Times . August 10, 2014 . Newspapers.com.
  13. Leitermann, C. Luke. 1930. History of St. John the Evangelist Church, Antigo, Wisconsin: Golden Jubilee, 1880-1930. Antigo: Berner Brothers, p. 18.
  14. Web site: Langlade County Historical Society. www.langladehistory.com.
  15. Web site: Error: 404 Not Found. www.langladehistory.com.
  16. Jonathan Anderson and Nathan Vine. ""18-year-old gunman dead after shooting 2 students at northern Wisconsin prom". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 24, 2016.
  17. Eliott C. McLaughlin. "Suspect in Wisconsin prom shooting dies, police say". CNN, April 24, 2016.
  18. https://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?task=display&state=WI&county=Langlade&searchtext=&pagenum=2
  19. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=129809
  20. Web site: US Gazetteer files 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt . 2012-01-25 . 2012-11-18 . United States Census Bureau.
  21. Web site: U.S. Census website . United States Census Bureau.
  22. Web site: U.S. Census website . 2012-11-18 . United States Census Bureau.
  23. Web site: U.S. Census website . 2008-01-31 . United States Census Bureau.
  24. Web site: Langlade County Historical Society. www.langladehistory.com.