Vilas County, Wisconsin

Native Americans

Native Americans have lived in what is now Vilas County for thousands of years. The county contains archaeological sites dating to the prehistoric Woodland period.^[4] In the eighteenth century, the area was disputed by the Dakota and Ojibwe people. According to oral histories, the conflict culminated in Ojibwe victory in a battle on Strawberry Island in Flambeau Lake around 1745.^[5] Ojibwe people have continued to live in the area ever since, securing the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation in the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe.^[6]

Settlement

The first recorded white settler was a man named Ashman who established a trading post in Lac du Flambeau in 1818.^[7]

In the 1850s migrants from New England, primarily from Vermont and Connecticut, constructed wagon roads and trails through Vilas County including the Ontonagan Mail Trail and a military road from Fort Howard to Fort Wilkins in Copper Harbor, Michigan.^[7]

Vilas County was set off from Oneida County on April 12, 1893, and named for William Freeman Vilas. Originally from Vermont, Vilas represented Wisconsin in the United States Senate from 1891 to 1897.^[8][9]

Logging era

Logging began in the late 1850s. Loggers came from Cortland County, New York, Carroll County, New Hampshire, Orange County, Vermont and Down East Maine in what is now Washington County, Maine and Hancock County, Maine.^[10] Many dams were built throughout the county to assist loggers as they sent their timber downstream to the lumber and paper mills in the Wisconsin River valley.^[7] After the county was founded in 1893 and logging ceased to be the primary industry in the area, migrants seeking other forms of employment settled in the county. These later immigrants primarily came from Germany, Ireland and Poland though some came from other parts of the United States as well.^[10]

Adjacent counties

• Forest County - southeast
• Iron County - west
• Oneida County - south
• Price County - southwest
• Gogebic County, Michigan - north
• Iron County, Michigan - northeast

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 45
• U.S. Highway 51
• Highway 17 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 32 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 47 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 70 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 155 (Wisconsin)

Buses

Airports

• KARV - Lakeland Airport / Noble F. Lee Memorial Field
• KEGV - Eagle River Union Airport
• KLNL - Kings Land O' Lakes Airport
• D25 - Manitowish Waters Airport

National protected areas

• Chequamegon National Forest (part)
• Nicolet National Forest (part)

Although these two forests have been administratively combined into the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, the county contains portions of both original forests.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,047, and the population density was 26.9 people per square mile (10.4 people/km²). There were 24,486 housing units at an average density of 28.5 units per square mile (11.0 units/km²).^[18]

The median age was 56.8 years. 15.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 33.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.7 males age 18 and over.^[18]

The racial makeup of the county was 85.5% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 9.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.^[19]

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.^[20]

There were 10,804 households in the county, of which 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.6% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[18]

There were 24,486 housing units, of which 55.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.1% were owner-occupied and 18.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%.^[18]

2000 census

As of the census^[21] of 2000, there were 21,033 people, 9,066 households, and 6,300 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9.3 people/km²). There were 22,397 housing units at an average density of 26 units per square mile (10 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.69% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 9.08% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.8% were of German, 7.9% Polish, 6.6% Irish and 5.3% English ancestry. 95.9% spoke English, 1.3% Spanish and 1.2% German as their first language.

There were 9,066 households, out of which 23.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% 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 2.73.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.70% under the age of 18, 5.00% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 28.50% from 45 to 64, and 22.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

In 2017, there were 186 births, giving a general fertility rate of 74.9 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 7th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties.^[22] Additionally, there were twelve reported induced abortions performed on women of Vilas County residence in 2017.^[23]

City

• Eagle River – 1,628 (county seat)

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities