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Grafton (town), Wisconsin

The Town of Grafton is a town located in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, and is in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The town was created in 1846 and at the time of the 2020 Census had a population of 4,157.

Grafton is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. German and Irish immigrants first settled in Grafton in the 1840s. Their centers of settlement became the unincorporated communities of Lakefield and Ulao, as well as the Village of Grafton, which is partially located in the town.

History
The first Europeans to visit the area were the Jesuit missionaries Claude-Jean Allouez and Claude Bablon, who visited a Native American village on the Milwaukee River near the future site of Grafton around the year 1670.

Timothy Wooden, who arrived in 1839 from the eastern United States, is considered Grafton's first permanent resident. The majority of the early residents were immigrants from Germany and Ireland. The Wisconsin territorial legislature officially created the Town of Grafton in 1846.

James T. Gifford, an investor who founded Elgin, Illinois, developed the community of Ulao in 1847 as a port on Lake Michigan. At the time, steamships were common on the Great Lakes and burned massive amounts of wood for fuel. A steamship could consume wood equivalent to several acres worth of forest on single journey. Much of Grafton was primeval beech-maple forest, which settlers were clearing for agriculture, and Gifford saw an opportunity for Ulao to prosper as a steamship refueling station. He built a sawmill, a warehouse, and a one-thousand-foot-long pier on the lake where ships docked to buy wood. The community prospered in the 1850s and 1860s, but by the end of the American Civil War, Ozaukee County's forests had been largely depleted, and Ulao declined, with most of the land being converted to agriculture.

The Village of Grafton was incorporated from some of the town's land in 1896.

In the late 1930s, a group of pro-Nazi German-Americans affiliated with the German American Bund purchased land on the Milwaukee River in the Town of Grafton. They ran a private camp called Camp Hindenburg, and hosted a speech by Nazi-supporter Fritz Julius Kuhn in 1939. The camp closed with the outbreak of World War II in 1941. George Froboese, a prominent member of the camp, committed suicide in 1942 while being escorted to New York to answer a Federal subpoena. Paul Knauer, another member of the camp, was stripped of his U.S. citizenship for having falsely taken the oath of allegiance and was deported back to Germany after the war.

In 1940, the pro-American, anti-Bund Wisconsin Federation of German-American Societies opened Camp Carl Schurz in the Town of Grafton to compete with the Nazi-sympathizers.

Grafton experienced significant population growth during the suburbanization that followed World War II, and the village annexed more farm land from the town of Grafton for residential subdivisions and commercial developments. The construction of Interstate 43 in the mid-1960s connected Grafton to other communities, such as Milwaukee and Sheboygan.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.4 mi2, of which, 19.8 mi2 of it is land and 1.6 mi2 of it (7.47%) is water.

The Village of Grafton is mostly located in what was formerly the town's western half. The town is also bordered by the City of Port Washington, Town of Port Washington, and Town of Saukville to the north; the City of Mequon to the south; the City of Cedarburg and the City of Cedarburg to the west; and Lake Michigan to the east. The unincorporated communities of Lakefield and Ulao are also located in the town.

The town is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and the coastline is characterized by clay bluffs ranging from 80 to 140 ft in height with deep ravines where streams flow into the lake. Clay bluffs are a geological formation are characteristic of the Lake Michigan shoreline, and are found in few other areas of the world. Much of the coast has mixed gravel and sand beaches. The Kevich Light, a privately owned lighthouse on the lake, is located in the town.

The town is located in the Southeastern Wisconsin glacial till plains that were created by the Wisconsin glaciation during the most recent ice age. The soil is clayey glacial till with a thin layer of loess on the surface. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources considers the eastern part of the town along the lake to be in the Central Lake Michigan Coastal ecological landscape, while the western part of the town is in the Southeast Glacial Plains ecological landscape.

Before white settlers arrived in the area, the Grafton area was an upland forest dominated by American beech and sugar maple trees. There were also white cedars growing along the Milwaukee River, which flows through Grafton. Much of the original forest was cleared to prepare the land for agriculture. The Bratt Woods nature preserve and the Kurtz Woods State Natural Area, which are both maintained by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, have old growth endemic trees and retain the character of the pre-settlement beech-maple forests.

As land development continues to reduce wild areas, wildlife is forced into closer proximity with human communities like Grafton. Large mammals, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, and red foxes can be seen in the town. Many birds, including great blue herons and wild turkeys are found in the town, and waterfowl including green herons and American bitterns breed in the town's wetlands. The Bratt Woods nature preserve is a habitat for the American gromwell, a State-designated special concern plant species.

The region struggles with many invasive species, including the emerald ash borer, common carp, reed canary grass, the common reed, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, Eurasian buckthorns, and honeysuckles.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,132 people, 1,569 households, and 1,241 families residing in the town. The population density was 208.5 people per square mile (80.5/km2). There were 1,608 housing units at an average density of 81.1 per square mile (31.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.02% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 1.11% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,569 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.5% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 16.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $64,707, and the median income for a family was $73,125. Males had a median income of $42,320 versus $35,446 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,582. About 4.0% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government
Grafton is organized as a town governed by an elected board, comprising a chairman and four supervisors. The current chairman is Lester A. Bartel Jr. The board meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the town hall which is located in the Village of Grafton.

As part of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, Grafton is represented by Glenn Grothman (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Alberta Darling (R) represents Grafton in the Wisconsin State Senate, and Deb Andraca (D) represents Grafton in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Education
Much of the town of Grafton is served by the Grafton School District, which has two elementary schools, serving kindergarten through fifth grade: John F. Kennedy Elementary School and Woodview Elementary School. John Long Middle School serves the entire district for grades six through eight, and Grafton High School serves grades nine through twelve.

The district is governed by a seven-member elected school board, which meets on the fourth Monday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Grafton High School Library. The current district superintendent, Jeff Nelson, has held the position since 2016.

Some residents in the southwestern part of the town attend the Cedarburg School District, and residents in the northeastern part of the town attend the Port Washington-Saukville School District.

Grafton also has three parochial schools that serve students from kindergarten through eight grade: Our Savior Lutheran School, St. Joseph Catholic Parish School, and St. Paul Lutheran School.

Transportation
Interstate 43 passes through the town with access via Exit 92 and Exit 93, and Wisconsin Highway 60 also passes through Ulao and the downtown Village of Grafton.

Grafton has limited public transit compared with larger cities. Ozaukee County and the Milwaukee County Transit System run the Route 143 commuter bus, also known as the "Ozaukee County Express," to Milwaukee via Interstate 43. The bus makes two stops at park-and-ride lots in the village off of Exit 92: one at the Grafton Commons shopping center and the other in the Target parking lot. The bus operates Monday through Friday with limited hours corresponding to peak commute times. Ozaukee County Transit Services' Shared Ride Taxi is the public transit option for traveling to sites not directly accessible from the interstate. The taxis operate seven days a week and make connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u.

The Ozaukee Interurban Trail, which is for pedestrian and bicycle use, goes through both the town and the Village of Grafton, connecting residents to the neighboring communities of Cedarburg and Port Washington. The trail continues north to Sheboygan County and south to Milwaukee County.

The Wisconsin Central Ltd. railroad operates a freight rail line which passes through the town and goes north to Saukville and south to Cedarburg. The Union Pacific Railroad runs parallel to Interstate 43. The town currently does not have a train station.

Parks and recreation

 * Blue Wing Waterfowl Production Area: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a 54-acre wetland and prairie preserve which is home to species including green herons and American bitterns.
 * Bratt Woods: The Ozaukee Washington Land Trust maintains this 17-acre park on the eastern bank of the Milwaukee River. The forest features endemic plants and retains the character of the beech-maple forests that sprawled across Ozaukee County in the early 19th century. The land is also a habitat for the American gromwell, a state-designated special concern plant species.
 * Kurtz Woods Natural Area: Designated as a state natural area, the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust maintains this 45-acre park, which is split between the Town of Grafton and the Village of Saukville. The preserve boasts 82 documented plant species in a primeval beech-maple forest, and landforms in the park include glacially formed kettles.
 * Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve: Ozaukee County maintains this 73-acre park on the shores of Lake Michigan with picnic facilities, walking trails, a beach, and views of the lake from 100-foot-high bluffs.
 * Ulao Waterfowl Production Area: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a 44-acre waterfowl sanctuary adjacent to Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve trails for hiking and opportunities to observe dozens of bird species, including loons, scoters, and ducks.

The Ozaukee Interurban Trail runs through the town, following the former route of the Milwaukee Interurban Rail Line. The southern end of the trail is at Bradley Road in Brown Deer which connects to the Oak Leaf Trail (43.16333°N, -87.96083°W), and its northern end is at DeMaster Road in the Village of Oostburg Sheboygan County (43.61583°N, -87.80222°W). The trail connects the community to neighboring Cedarburg and Port Washington.

There are also two private, commercial golf courses in the town and the privately owned 20-acre Grafton Dells River Park.

Notable people

 * Charles Guiteau, assassin of President James Garfield lived in Ulao from 1850 to 1855

title: Grafton (town), Wisconsin


text:
Grafton, Wisconsin

Grafton is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about 20 mi north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburban community in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The village incorporated in 1896, and at the time of the 2020 census the population was 12,094.

Like many of Ozaukee County's cities and villages, the Village of Grafton has rural roots and began as a mill town. The German and Irish immigrants who settled in Grafton in the 1840s utilized the Milwaukee River as a source of hydropower for gristmills and woolen mills. Manufacturing grew and prospered in the village in the 20th century, including the Paramount Records studio and plant, which was in Grafton from 1929 to 1935. Paramount was one of the first and largest producers of blues and jazz records marketed to African-American consumers. Paramount's role in Grafton's history and Blues music history earned the village a spot on the historic Mississippi Blues Trail.

Grafton changed significantly during the period of post-World War II suburbanization. Even though the last woolen mill closed in 1980, the village experienced rapid population growth and the development of new commercial properties and housing subdivisions. The construction of Interstate 43 in the mid-1960s eased travel to neighboring communities. In the 21st century, Grafton is home to many big-box stores as well as an Aurora hospital.

History
The first Europeans to visit the area were the Jesuit missionaries Claude-Jean Allouez and Claude Bablon, who visited a Native American village on the Milwaukee River near the future site of Grafton around 1670.

Timothy Wooden, who arrived in 1839 from the eastern United States, is considered Grafton's first permanent white resident. The majority of the early residents were immigrants from Germany and Ireland. In the early 1840s, the village was called Hamburg, because Jacob Eichler, one of the village founders, was an immigrant from Hamburg, Germany. A post office for "Hamburgh" was established in 1844.

The Wisconsin territorial legislature officially created the town of Grafton in 1846. The village of Grafton was officially incorporated from some of the town's land on March 30, 1896.

The village's early settlers utilized the Milwaukee River as a source of power for milling. In 1846, a group farmers built the Grafton Flour Mill. In 1880, the owner of Cedarburg's woolen mill opened a mill in Grafton to make worsted yarn. At its height, Grafton's woolen mill employed 100 people.

Grafton was also the site of the Milwaukee Falls Lime Company, which quarried limestone in the village and operated lime kilns to manufacture slaked lime. The kilns are preserved in Grafton's Lime Kiln Park, on the west bank of the Milwaukee River. Lime production played an important part in the village economy until the 1920s.

In the early 20th century, the Wisconsin Chair Company of Port Washington operated a furniture factory in the village, which manufactured phonographs among other things. The company originally manufactured phonographs exclusively for Edison Records, but in 1917 it started its own Paramount Records subsidiary, which became famous for producing some of the first blues and jazz records, called race records because they were by African-American artists and were marketed to African-American consumers. It is estimated that a quarter of all race records released between 1922 and 1932 were on the Paramount label. Music was originally recorded in Chicago, until the Paramount headquarters and studio moved to the Grafton factory in 1929. Artists including Charley Patton, Son House, Willie Brown, and Louise Johnson journeyed from the American South to record in Grafton. The studio stopped recording music in 1932, due to the Great Depression, and Paramount Records closed in 1935 and the building was razed in 1938. Today, Grafton is one of the few sites on the Mississippi Blues Trail outside of the American South.

In the late 1930s, a group of pro-Nazi German-Americans affiliated with the German American Bund purchased land on the Milwaukee River in the Town of Grafton. They ran a private camp called Camp Hindenburg and came into the village to march with Nazi flags and meet at the Grafton Hotel. The group hosted a speech by Nazi-supporter Fritz Julius Kuhn in 1939. The camp closed during World War II in 1941.

Grafton experienced significant population growth during the suburbanization that followed World War II. Between 1950 and 1980, the village population increased five-times over, from 1,489 to 8,381. As the population grew, the village annexed more farm land from the town of Grafton for residential subdivisions and commercial developments. The construction of Interstate 43 in the mid-1960s connected Grafton to other communities, such as Milwaukee and Sheboygan.

In 1988 and 1989, the village was the center of a controversy that gained national media attention. In 1987, the Grafton Organization for Library Donations began a campaign to construct a new library facility and announced that the individual or group that gave the largest donation would have right to choose the building's name. Local industrialists Benjamin and Theodore Grob gave $250,000 to the campaign on that condition that the facility be named the USS Liberty Memorial Public Library in honor of thirty-four U.S. citizens killed by Israel during the Six-Day War. Milwaukee-based Jewish organizations protested that the name was antisemitic; although Israel claimed that the attack on the USS Liberty was an accident—a claim confirmed by a U.S. congressional inquiry—some right-wing groups such as the USS Liberty Veterans Association and the Liberty Lobby used the incident as a political lightning rod to promote anti-Zionist and antisemitic positions. However, the Grob brothers claimed that their intentions were patriotic and they wanted to honor victims who had received little official recognition. Media outlets including the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times reported on the story and made public the Grob brothers' ties to right-wing groups, including the Liberty Lobby, and an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal also found that Benjamin Grob had given money to the Ku Klux Klan, including a $500 contribution to David Duke's 1988 presidential campaign. In spite of the controversy and protests in the community, village president James Grant dismissed the allegations and proceeded to dedicate the library in June 1989, marking the twenty-second anniversary of the USS Liberty incident. Sixty survivors of the Liberty attended the dedication ceremony.

In December 2020 a pharmacist at a local hospital was arrested for allegedly tampering with vials of COVID-19 vaccine.

Geography
Grafton is located at 43.31778°N, -87.95389°W (43.317904, −87.954113). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.10 sqmi, of which 5.06 sqmi is land and 0.04 sqmi is water. The village is bordered by the City of Cedarburg and the Town of Cedarburg to the west and by the Town of Grafton to the north, east, and south.

The village is located in the Southeastern Wisconsin glacial till plains that were created by the Wisconsin glaciation during the most recent ice age. The soil in area is a mixture of well-draining material, loess, and loam, which all overlie a layer of glacial till. The village contains 40-foot high Silurian dolomite outcrops in Lime Kiln Park, which were used for quarrying in the 19th century and have since been used for geological studies.

The Milwaukee River flows south through downtown Grafton. Early industry utilized the river by constructing three dams for mechanical hydropower: one at the Grafton Flour Mill and Badger Worsted Mill, another at the Wisconsin Chair Company factory, and a third near the Milwaukee Falls Lime Company's lime kilns in present-day Lime Kiln Park. The chair factory and lime kiln dams have since been removed.

Before white settlers arrived in the area, the Grafton area was an upland forest dominated by American beech and sugar maple trees. There were also white cedars growing along the river. Much of the original forest was cleared to prepare the land for agriculture. The Bratt Woods, a nature preserve maintained by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust on the eastern bank of the Milwaukee River, has old growth endemic trees and retains the character of the pre-settlement beech-maple forests.

As land development continues to reduce wild areas, wildlife is forced into closer proximity with human communities like Grafton. Large mammals, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, and red foxes can be seen within the village limits. Many birds, including great blue herons and wild turkeys are found in and around the village. The Bratt Woods nature preserve is a habitat for the American gromwell, a State-designated special concern plant species.

The region struggles with many invasive species, including the emerald ash borer, common carp, reed canary grass, the common reed, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, Eurasian buckthorns, and honeysuckles.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,459 people, 4,863 households, and 3,192 families residing in the village. The population density was 2264.6 PD/sqmi. There were 5,125 housing units at an average density of 1012.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 95.5% White, 0.8% African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.3% of the population.

There were 4,863 households, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

The median age in the village was 40.7 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.8% were from 25 to 44; 28.8% were from 45 to 64; and 15.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,312 people, 4,048 households, and 2,878 families residing in the village. (As of January 1, 2009, the population is 11,470.) The population density was 2,552.0 people per square mile (985.5/km2). There were 4,165 housing units at an average density of 1,030.8 per square mile (398.0/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 97.72% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 1.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,048 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.9% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $53,918, and the median income for a family was $65,825. Males had a median income of $45,451 versus $27,488 for females. The per capita income for the village was $25,948. About 0.6% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

As is the case in many of the cities and villages in Ozaukee County, Grafton's early economy was primarily agricultural and the first major businesses were hydropowered mills on the Milwaukee River. One of the first was the Grafton Flour Mill, which opened in 1846. The village also had sawmills and a chair-and-bedstead factory. In 1880, the owner of Cedarburg's woolen mill opened a mill in Grafton to make worsted yarn. At its height, Grafton's woolen mill employed 100 people and remained in operation until 1980.

In the early 20th century, the Wisconsin Chair Company of Port Washington operated a chair factory in the village. At the time, the company was the largest business in Ozaukee County, employing one-sixth of all workers. Among other the wooden furniture, the company manufactured phonographs for Edison Records. In 1917, the company decided to start its own subsidiary record label: Paramount Records. In the 1920s, Paramount produced records for African-American consumers, and from 1929 to 1935, Paramount recorded and manufactured records in-house at the Grafton chair factory before closing during the Great Depression.

In the 21st century, Grafton's largest employers are in retail, health care, and manufacturing. In the early 2000s, a commercial district with big-box stores developed in eastern Grafton. Many of the village's largest retailers are located in the eastern Grafton commercial district near the intersection of Interstate 43 and Wisconsin Highway 60. Aurora Medical Center Grafton, which opened in 2010, is the largest employer in the village and is also located in the eastern commercial district. Many residents commute for work, reflecting the larger trend of Ozaukee County as a majority-commuter community.

Grafton Public Library
Grafton's first public library opened in 1956 and was established by a commission of community organizations, including churches, the Lion's Club, and the women's club. In 1989, the library moved to its current building, the USS Liberty Memorial Public Library. The library is a member of the Monarch Library System, comprising 31 libraries in Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington, and Dodge counties. The library maintains a display dedicated to the USS Liberty incident, which includes documents as well as a piece of the ship.

Religion

The oldest congregations in Grafton are St. Joseph's Parish, a Roman Catholic church established in 1849, and St. Paul Lutheran Church, which was established in 1851 and is affiliated with the Missouri Synod. Both congregations operate parochial schools offering kindergarten through eighth grade.

The Grafton area has three additional Lutheran congregations: Grace Lutheran Church in the village and St. John's Lutheran Church in the unincorporated community of Lakefield are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, while Our Savior Lutheran Church in the Town of Grafton is part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Our Savior includes a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade parochial school. Grafton is also home to the Pilgrim United Church of Christ. The Ozaukee Congregational Church is located in Lakefield.

There are four evangelical churches in the area. New Life Church and Cedar Creek Community Church, an evangelical Baptist congregation, are located in the village. The EFCA-affiliated Cornerstone Church and the Vineyard Church are located in the Town of Grafton near the municipal boundary with the village.

Law and government
Grafton is organized as a village governed by an elected village board, comprising a village president and six trustees. The current president is Daniel Delorit. The board meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. The village's day-to-day operations are managed by a full-time city administrator.

As part of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, Grafton is represented by Glenn Grothman (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Dan Knodl (R) represents Grafton in the Wisconsin State Senate, and Paul Melotik (R) represents Grafton in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Grafton Fire Department
Grafton's volunteer fire department was founded in 1896 when the village incorporated. The community has one fire station and approximately 50 volunteer firefighters. William Rice has served as fire chief since 2013.

Grafton Police Department
The Grafton Police Department was organized in 1956. The department employs 22 full-time officers, five full-time dispatchers, and one administrative assistant. Jeff Caponera has served as police chief since September 2020.

Education
Grafton is served by both the Grafton School District and the Cedarburg School District. The Grafton School District has two elementary schools, serving grades kindergarten through fifth grade: John F. Kennedy Elementary School and Woodview Elementary School. Grafton residents in the Cedarburg School District attend Thorson Elementary. John Long Middle School serves the entire district for grades six through eight, and Grafton High School serves grades nine through twelve.

The district is governed by a seven-member elected school board, which meets on the fourth Monday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Grafton High School Library. The district also a superintendent. Jeff Nelson, the current superintendent, has held the position since 2016.

Grafton also has three parochial schools that serve students from kindergarten through eight grade: Our Savior Lutheran School, St. Joseph Catholic Parish School, and St. Paul Lutheran School.

Grafton is in the Milwaukee Area Technical College District, whose nearest campus is located in Mequon.

Health and utilities
Grafton and the surrounding communities are served by Aurora Medical Center Grafton, which U.S. News & World Report ranked at the 5th best hospital in Wisconsin as of 2020. The hospital opened in late 2010 and was part of Aurora's acquisition of the Advanced Healthcare physicians group. Industry experts estimated that the acquisition and construction of the Grafton hospital cost $250 million. Aurora also operates an urgent care center and walk-in clinic in the village.

The village provides sewage disposal and water supply services.

Transportation
Interstate 43 passes through the eastern part of the village with access via Exit 92 and Exit 93. Wisconsin Highway 60 also passes through the downtown area.

Grafton has limited public transit compared with larger cities. Ozaukee County and the Milwaukee County Transit System run the Route 143 commuter bus, also known as the "Ozaukee County Express," to Milwaukee via Interstate 43. The bus makes two stops at park-and-ride lots in the village off of Exit 92: one at the Grafton Commons shopping center and the other in the Target parking lot. The bus operates Monday through Friday with limited hours corresponding to peak commute times. Ozaukee County Transit Services' Shared Ride Taxi is the public transit option for traveling to sites not directly accessible from the interstate. The taxis operate seven days a week and make connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u.

The Village of Grafton has sidewalks in most areas, as well as the Ozaukee Interurban Trail, which is for pedestrian and bicycle use, and connects the village to the neighboring communities of Cedarburg and Port Washington, and continues north to Sheboygan County and south to Milwaukee County.

The Wisconsin Central Ltd. (Canadian National) railroad operates a freight rail line which passes through the village and the Union Pacific Railroad (formerly the Chicago & Northwestern Railway) has a line which borders the eastern municipal limits in the Town of Grafton. While Grafton has not had passenger rail in many decades, passenger rail is offered by Amtrak in nearby Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station.

Parks and recreation

Grafton maintains 17 parks, encompassing over 120 acres of the land. Parks range from as small as the 1-acre Acorn Park to the 27-acre Centennial Park and the 28-acre Lime Kiln Park. The village has picnic shelters, two baseball fields, a municipal golf course, a soccer practice field, a disc golf course, a public pool, and canoe launches on the Milwaukee River. The parks and recreation department offers over thirty recreation programs for residents.

The Ozaukee Interurban Trail runs through the Village of Grafton, following the former route of the Milwaukee Interurban Rail Line. The southern end of the trail is at Bradley Road in Brown Deer which connects to the Oak Leaf Trail (43.16333°N, -87.96083°W), and its northern end is at DeMaster Road in the Village of Oostburg Sheboygan County (43.61583°N, -87.80222°W). The trail connects the community to neighboring Cedarburg and Port Washington.

There are also two commercial golf courses in the Town of Grafton north of the village.

Notable people

 * Beau Benzschawel, football player
 * Kathy Cramer, political scientist
 * Peter Cunningham, race car driver
 * Charles Guiteau, assassin
 * Susan Lynn Hefle, scientist
 * Barbara M. Joosse, author
 * John J. Jungers, legislator and businessman
 * Dick Karth, racing driver
 * Dave Levenick, football player
 * Rich Strenger, football player
 * Susan B. Vergeront, legislator
 * Frank J. Weber, legislator and union organizer
 * Ralph Zaun, legislator and businessman

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Grafton, Wisconsin


text:
Port Washington (town), Wisconsin

Port Washington is a town in Ozaukee County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It surrounds the northern and western side of the city of Port Washington. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,538. The unincorporated communities of Druecker and Knellsville are also located in the town.

History
The area that became Port Washington was originally inhabited by the Menominee, Potawatomi, and Sauk Native Americans. The 1830s saw the forced removal of Wisconsin's Native American population, followed by land speculation by merchants and investors. One of these land speculators was General Wooster Harrison, who purchased the land that would become the Town of Port Washington in 1835. Harrison's wife, Rhoda, died in 1837 and was the first white settler to be buried in the town. The settlement was abandoned that same year.

In 1843, Harrison returned with a party of settlers. The Town of Port Washington was formed in January 1846 and until 1847 included the surrounding areas of what is currently Fredonia, Saukville, and Belgium. At the time, the land was part of Washington County, and in the late 1840s, Port Washington was a candidate for the county seat. However, the community was far from the county's other early settlements, including Mequon, Grafton and Germantown. In 1850, the Wisconsin legislature voted to bisected Washington County into northern and southern counties, with Port Washington and Cedarburg as the county seats, respectively. County residents failed to ratify the bill, and in 1853 the legislature instead bisected the county into eastern and western sections, creating Ozaukee County. Port Washington became the seat of the new county, and the Washington County seat moved to West Bend. The bisection was controversial. When Washington County officials from West Bend arrived in Port Washington to correct relevant county records, they were run out of town, and Ozaukee County officials refused to hand over the records for several months.

The town population reached 2,500 in 1853 and continued to increase, with an influx of immigrants from Germany and Luxembourg between 1853 and 1865.

In the 1860s, William Knell developed the Knellsville community in the northern part of the town as a stagecoach stop on the Green Bay Road. In the 1870s, dairy farming became increasingly popular among Port Washington's farmers, and the Pauly Cheese Factory opened in Knellsville in 1878. In the 20th century, Pauly's Cheese became a nationally distributed brand. Knellsville grew to serve the town's farmers with a feed mill, a cannery, and a foundry.

The City of Port Washington incorporated out of some of the town's land in 1882.

While dairy farming dominated the local economy in the 20th century, accounting for 80% percent of agriculture in the early 1940s, the Town of Port Washington was also one of several Ozaukee County communities to have prosperous fur farms in the 20th century. The 10-acre Johannes Mink Ranch north of Knellsville opened in 1926, and annually produced 6,000 mink pelts at its height.

Knellsville declined in the mid-20th century for several reasons. The Knellsville Canning Co. closed in 1955, and the Johannes Mink Ranch sold its last pelts in 1969. Additionally, as the City of Port Washington grew and suburbanized, annexing more land from the town, demand for access to the Interstate Highway System grew. Knellsville was close to the city outskirts, and in the mid-1960s, the southern part of Knellsville was demolished to construct Interstate 43's Exit 100.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.1 mi2, of which, 18.6 mi2 is land and 2.5 mi2 (11.63%) is water. The City of Port Washington is located in what was formerly the southeastern part of the town. The Town of Port Washington is bordered by the Town of Belgium to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, the Town of Grafton to the south, and the Town of Saukville and Village of Saukville to the west. The unincorporated communities of Druecker and Knellsville are located in the town.

The town is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The coastline is characterized by clay bluffs ranging from 80 to 130 ft in height with deep ravines where streams flow into the lake. Clay bluffs are a geological formation characteristic of the Lake Michigan shoreline and are found in few other areas of the world. Much of the coastline adjacent to the bluffs has mixed gravel and sand beaches. There are valleys lower than the surrounding bluffs in the City of Port Washington's historic downtown where Sauk Creek flows into the lake and in the Town of Port Washington where Sucker Creek flows into the lake.

The town is located in the Southeastern Wisconsin glacial till plains that were created by the Wisconsin glaciation during the most recent ice age. The soil is clayey glacial till with a thin layer of loess on the surface. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources considers the town to be in the Central Lake Michigan Coastal ecological landscape.

Before white settlers arrived in the area, the Port Washington area was an upland forest dominated by American beech and sugar maple trees. There were also white cedars growing in the lowlands along the streams. Early surveyors also noted swamps in the area containing birch, ash, elm, oak, and sugar bush. Much of the original forest was cleared to prepare the land for agriculture.

As land development continues to reduce wild areas, wildlife is forced into closer proximity with human communities like Port Washington. Large mammals, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, and red foxes can be seen in the town. There have been infrequent sightings of black bears in Ozaukee County communities, including a 2010 sighting of a bear in a City of Port Washington residential neighborhood.

The region struggles with many invasive species, including the emerald ash borer, common carp, reed canary grass, the common reed, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, Eurasian buckthorns, and honeysuckles.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,631 people, 636 households, and 447 families residing in the town. The population density was 87.7 people per square mile (33.9/km2). There were 678 housing units at an average density of 36.4 per square mile (14.1/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.30% White, 1.10% Black or African American, 0.43% Asian, 0.25% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 636 households, out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $56,875, and the median income for a family was $62,765. Males had a median income of $41,742 versus $25,645 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,781. About 2.3% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Law and government
Port Washington is organized as a town governed by an elected board, comprising a chairman and two supervisors. The current chairman is Mike Didier. The board meets on the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the town hall which is located at 3715 Highland Drive in the unincorporated Knellsville community.

As part of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, Port Washington is represented by Glenn Grothman (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Duey Stroebel (R) represents Port Washington in the Wisconsin State Senate, and Robert Brooks (R) represents Port Washington in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Education
Port Washington is served by the joint Port Washington-Saukville School District. The district has three elementary schools for kindergarten through fourth grade. Students in the northern and eastern parts of the town attend Lincoln Elementary. Saukville Elementary serves students in the western parts of the Town of Port Washington and the Town and Village of Saukville. Students in the far southern parts of the town attend Dunwiddie Elementary. All students in the district attend Thomas Jefferson Middle School for fifth through eighth grades, and Port Washington High School for ninth through twelfth grades.

The district is governed by a nine-member elected school board, which meets on Mondays at 6 p.m. in the District Office Board Room, 100 W. Monroe Street, Port Washington. The district also has a full-time superintendent: Michael R. Weber.

Transportation
Interstate 43 passes through the town with access to Knellsville and the City of Port Washington via Exit 100. A small stretch of Wisconsin Highway 33 passes through the southwestern part of the town between the City of Port Washington and the Village of Saukville.

Port Washington has limited public transit compared with larger cities. Ozaukee County and the Milwaukee County Transit System run the Route 143 commuter bus, also known as the "Ozaukee County Express," to Milwaukee via Interstate 43. The closest stop is the route's northern terminus at the Saukville Walmart parking lot, near Interstate 43 Exit 96. The bus operates Monday through Friday with limited hours corresponding to peak commute times. Ozaukee County Transit Services' Shared Ride Taxi is the public transit option for traveling to sites not directly accessible from the interstate. The taxis operate seven days a week and make connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u. Unlike a typical taxi, however, the rider must contact the service ahead of time to schedule their pick-up date and time. The taxi service plans their routes based on the number of riders, pick-up/drop-off time and destination then plans the routes accordingly.

The town does not have sidewalks in many areas, but the Ozaukee Interurban Trail for pedestrian and bicycle use runs north–south through the town and connects Port Washington to the neighboring communities of Grafton in the south and Belgium in the north. The trail continues north to Oostburg in Sheboygan County and south to Brown Deer where it connects with the Oak Leaf Trail. The trail was formerly an interurban passenger rail line that ran from Milwaukee to Sheboygan with a stop in the City of Port Washington, which was the halfway point between the northern and southern terminuses. The train was in operation from 1907 to 1948, when it fell into disuse following World War II. The old rail line was converted into the present recreational trail in the 1990s.

The town does not have passenger rail service, but the Union Pacific Railroad operates freight trains in the community.

title: Port Washington (town), Wisconsin


text:
Port Washington, Wisconsin

Port Washington is the county seat of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore east of Interstate 43, the community is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area 27 miles north of Milwaukee. The city's artificial harbor at the mouth of Sauk Creek was dredged in the 1870s and was a commercial port until the early 2000s. The population was 12,353 at the 2020 census.

When French explorers arrived in the area in the 17th century, they found a Native American village at the mouth of Sauk Creek—the present location of historic downtown Port Washington. The United States Federal Government forcibly expelled the Native Americans in the 1830s, and the first settlers arrived in 1835, calling their settlement "Wisconsin City" before renaming it "Port Washington" in honor of President George Washington. In the late 1840s and early 1850s, the community was a candidate to be the Washington County seat. Disagreements between municipalities and election fraud prevented Washington County from having a permanent seat of government until the Wisconsin State Legislature intervened, creating Ozaukee County out of the eastern third of Washington County and making Port Washington the seat of the new county.

For much of its history, Port Washington has been tied to the Great Lakes. Early settlers used boats to transport goods including lumber, fish, and grains, although the community's early years were marred by shipwrecks, which led the U.S. Federal Government to construct Port Washington Harbor in 1871. Commercial fishing prospered in Port Washington until the mid-20th century, and beginning in the 1930s, the Port Washington Generating Station used the harbor to receive large shipments of coal to burn for electricity. The commercial harbor closed in 2004 when the power station switched to natural gas for fuel, but the community maintains an active marina for recreational boaters. In the 21st century, Port Washington celebrates its lacustrine heritage with museums, public fish fries, sport fishing derbies, and sailboat races.

Early history and settlement

The area that became Port Washington was originally inhabited by the Menominee, Potawatomi, and Sauk Native Americans. In 1679, the French explorers Louis Hennepin and René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle described stopping at the first landing north of the Milwaukee River to procure provisions at a Potawatomi village at the mouth of a small river, which may have been Sauk Creek, a stream that empties into the present-day Port Washington's artificial harbor.

The 1830s saw the forced removal of Wisconsin's Native American population, followed by land speculation by merchants and investors. One of these land speculators was General Wooster Harrison, who purchased the land that would become Port Washington in 1835, which he originally named "Wisconsin City." Harrison's wife, Rhoda, died in 1837 and was the first white settler to be buried in the town. The settlement was abandoned that same year.

In 1843, Harrison returned with a party of settlers. The Town of Port Washington was formed in January 1846 and until 1847 included the surrounding areas of Fredonia, Saukville, and Belgium. At the time, the land was part of Washington County, and in the late 1840s, Port Washington was a candidate for the county seat. However, the community was far from the county's other early settlements, including Mequon, Grafton and Germantown. In 1850, the Wisconsin legislature voted to bisect Washington County into northern and southern counties, with Port Washington and Cedarburg as the respective county seats. County residents failed to ratify the bill, and in 1853, the legislature instead bisected the county into eastern and western sections, creating Ozaukee County. Port Washington became the seat of the new county, and the Washington County seat moved to West Bend. The bisection was controversial. When Washington County officials from West Bend arrived in Port Washington to correct relevant county records, they were run out of town, and Ozaukee County officials refused to hand over the records for several months.

19th century growth and industrialization

The early settlers saw potential in the community's lakeside location and built piers to make their city into a port on Lake Michigan. The city exported cord wood, wheat and rye flour, bricks, fish, and hides, among other things. However, Port Washington did not have a natural harbor and its first decades were marred by shipwrecks, including the 1856 Toledo disaster, in which between 30 and 80 people died.

In 1843, the first Christian religious services were held by the Methodist Episcopal Church in private homes. The first Catholic Church services were held in a similar manner in 1847. The Washington Democrat, the town's first newspaper, was started in 1847 by Flavius J. Mills.

The population reached 2,500 in 1853 and continued to increase, with an influx of immigrants from Germany and Luxembourg between 1853 and 1865. When the American Civil War started, some of these immigrants found themselves in opposition to the federal government. The United States Congress implemented the draft in 1862, and Port Washington's immigrants, particularly those from Prussia and Luxembourg, were unpleasantly reminded of mandatory conscription in the countries they had left behind. On November 10, 1862, several hundred Port Washington residents marched on the courthouse, attacked the official in charge of implementing the draft, burned draft records, and vandalized the homes of Union supporters. The riot ended when eight detachments of Union troops from Milwaukee were deployed.

The early 1870s saw improvements to the community's transportation infrastructure. In 1870, Port Washington became a stop on the Lake Shore Railroad, which was later incorporated into the Chicago and North Western Railway. In response to the numerous shipwrecks in the area, local officials also petitioned the federal government for assistance to dredge and create an artificial harbor. When the project was completed in 1871, the harbor was a channel 14 ft deep and 1500 ft long in which ships could dock to unload as well as shelter during storms.

The City of Port Washington was incorporated in 1882. In the 1880s and 1890s, a large number of French and Belgian immigrants arrived in Port Washington. Between 1900 and 1910, two relatively large groups of English immigrants also arrived in Port Washington. One group came directly from England and the other group had previously been residents of Canada.

The last years of the 19th century saw Port Washington's economy become more industrial. In September 1888, J. M. Bostwick opened the Wisconsin Chair Company in the city. At its height, the company employed 30% of the county's population and accounted for roughly half of Port Washington's jobs. Between 1890 and 1900, Port Washington's population nearly doubled due to the company's success. Additionally, the Bolens tractor company built its main factory in the city in 1894, and in 1896, Delos and Herbert Smith brought their commercial fishing business to Port Washington. The Smith Bros. company grew to a fleet of gillnetting fishing tugs, and they sold fish, whitefish caviar, and burbot oil in addition to operating restaurants and a hotel.

On February 19, 1899, the Wisconsin Chair Company's factory caught fire. The building was destroyed and the conflagration spread, burning nearly half of Port Washington. The damages were covered by fire insurance, and the company built an even bigger factory on the waterfront with direct rail access.

20th century industrial decline and suburbanization
In the early 20th Century, the Wisconsin Chair Company opened additional factories in neighboring communities and bought tracts of forest in Green Bay, Chambers Island, Harbor Springs, Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to supply wood. During the Panic of 1907 when there were currency shortages, the company's checks were treated as an informal currency in the community. Among its products, the company manufactured phonographs for Thomas Edison. In an effort to boost sales, the company also started its Paramount Records subsidiary, which was one of the first record labels devoted to African-American music. Paramount operated in neighboring Grafton until it closed in 1935 during the Great Depression. The Wisconsin Chair Company closed in 1954.

In November 1907, Port Washington became a stop on the Milwaukee-Northern interurban passenger line, and a power station on the lakefront provided electricity for the trains. The community was the halfway point between Milwaukee and the line's northern terminus in Sheboygan. In the 1920s, The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company purchased the line and continued to operate it until March 28, 1948, when the Ozaukee County line declined due to increased use of personal automobiles and better roads.

Wisconsin Electric Power Company, now known as We Energies, built the Port Washington power plant in 1931. The project included an expansion of Port Washington's harbor and the construction of a large coal dock to accommodate the daily coal shipments the station received.

The mid-20th century saw a decline in commercial fishing on the Great Lakes. Populations of fish including herring, lake trout, lake whitefish, and yellow perch declined due to decades of overfishing, pollution, and the arrival of invasive species, such as the alewife, the parasitic sea lamprey, and the zebra mussel. The Smith Bros. fishing company closed in 1988, and when the Port Washington power station took its coal-fired boilers out of service in 2004 and converted to natural gas, Port Washington's harbor closed as a commercial port.

Despite the decline of decades-old industries, Port Washington experienced significant population growth during the suburbanization that followed World War II. Between 1940 and 1970, the population more than doubled, from 4,046 to 8,752, and the City of Port Washington annexed rural land from the surrounding Town of Port Washington and Town of Grafton for residential subdivisions. The construction of Interstate 43 west of Port Washington in the mid-1960s connected the city to neighboring communities and allowed more residents to commute for work.

On August 22, 1964, an F4 tornado touched down in Port Washington, totally destroying twenty houses and causing severe damage to thirty-four others in a newly constructed subdivision. No one died, but thirty people were reported to have been injured. There were approximately $2 million in damages, which would have been over $16 million as of November 2019, if adjusted for inflation.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.08 sqmi, of which 5.82 sqmi is land and 1.26 sqmi is water. The city is bordered by the Town of Port Washington to the north and west, the Town of Grafton to the south, and Lake Michigan to the east.

The city is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. In northern and southern parts of the city, the coastline is characterized by clay bluffs ranging from 80 ft to 130 ft in height with deep ravines where streams flow into the lake. Clay bluffs are a geological formation characteristic of the Lake Michigan shoreline, and are found in few other areas of the world. Much of the coastline adjacent to the bluffs has mixed gravel and sand beaches. Port Washington's historic downtown in the central part of the city is in the Sauk Creek valley, at a lower elevation than the rest of the city. The valley is a break in the bluffs, providing easy access to the lakeshore, which attracted early settlers to the area. Port Washington's artificial harbor, dredged in 1871 with subsequently constructed breakwaters, is located at the mouth of Sauk Creek, adjacent to downtown.

The city is located in the Southeastern Wisconsin glacial till plains that were created by the Wisconsin glaciation during the most recent ice age. The soil is clayey glacial till with a thin layer of loess on the surface. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources considers the city to be in the Central Lake Michigan Coastal ecological landscape.

As land development continues to reduce wild areas, wildlife is forced into closer proximity with human communities like Grafton. Large mammals, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, and red foxes can be seen in the city. There have been infrequent sightings of black bears in Ozaukee County communities, including a 2010 sighting of a bear in a Port Washington residential neighborhood.

The region struggles with many invasive species, including the emerald ash borer, common carp, reed canary grass, the common reed, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, Eurasian buckthorns, and honeysuckles.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,467 people residing in Port Washington. The racial makeup of the city was 97.0% White, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 1.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,244 families and 4,763 households, of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present and 31.9% were non-families. The householder lives alone in 26.3% of all households, and 10.5% of householders were aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 6.6% under the age of 5, 74.2% aged 18 and over, and 13.2% 65 years and over. The median age was 36.7 years. The population is 50.4% female and 49.6% male.

In 1999 the median income for a family was $62,557. The per capita income for the city was $24,770. About 2.6% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,250 people, 4,704 households, and 2,956 families residing in the city. The population density was 1933.0 PD/sqmi. There were 5,020 housing units at an average density of 862.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 95.0% White, 1.6% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 4,704 households, of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.2% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.91.

The median age in the city was 39.5 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

Economy

Port Washington's early economy was heavily based on harvesting and shipping raw materials from natural resources, including lumber, fish, fur, wheat and rye, and beginning in the 1870s, dairy farming played an increasingly important role in the Town of Port Washington's economy with creameries and cheese factories in rural hamlets like Knellsville. By the mid-20th century, dairy farming accounted for 80% of agriculture in the Port Washington area.

In the 1880s and 1890s, Port Washington became increasingly industrial, with the Wisconsin Chair Company being the largest employer. In the 20th century, other manufacturers in the community included Allen Edmonds, Bolens Corporation, Koering Co., Simplicity Manufacturing Company, and Trak International. While Allen Edmonds continues to manufacture high-end shoes in the city, many of the other manufacturers closed or were purchased by larger companies between the 1970s and 2000s. In 2001, MTD Products acquired the Bolens Corporation. In 2004, Briggs & Stratton purchased Simplicity Manufacturing and closed the Port Washington plant in October 2008. As of 2015, manufacturing accounted for approximately 25% of Port Washington's jobs, a significant decrease from the early 20th century when the Wisconsin Chair Company alone accounted for 50% of the city's jobs.

In the early 21st century, public administration plays a significant role in Port Washington's economy, accounting for approximately 20% of jobs. Port Washington is the Ozaukee County seat, and the county government is the largest employer in the city. The Port Washington city administration is also a major employer.

Events
Port Washington hosts many annual events tied to the community's maritime heritage. Each year on January 1, the city is the site of a polar bear plunge in which over 100 people jump into Lake Michigan. Fish Day, billed as the "world's largest one-day outdoor fish fry," has been held annually since 1964 on the third Saturday in July. Hosted by several area philanthropic organizations, the event is a charity fundraiser. In the summer, Port Washington hosts a Festival of the Arts, as well as several yacht races and sport fishing competitions, one of which is part of the festival hosted by the area Lions Club.

The city also hosts public celebrations for Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, and Christmas.

Museums

 * Judge Eghart House: Built in 1872, the Judge Eghart House museum is furnished with Victorian era artifacts to provide a snapshot of what life was like in late 19th century Port Washington.

 * Port Washington Light: Port Washington's light station was constructed in 1860 to replace and earlier structure and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg paid to restore the lighthouse in 2000, because of the cultural ties between northern Ozaukee County and Luxembourg. The building is a museum of 19th-century lighthouse keeping, and the Port Washington Historical Society runs tours on summer weekends.

Religion

The Port Washington area has three Lutheran congregations: Christ the King Lutheran Church, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; St. John's Lutheran Church, which is affiliated with the Missouri Synod; and St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. In addition to Christ the King Lutheran Church, other mainline Protestant congregations include the First Congregational Church of Port Washington, Grand Avenue United Methodist Church, and St. Simon the Fisherman Episcopal Church. Faith Baptist Church is a denominational Protestant church in the community in the Continental Baptist tradition.

St. John XXIII Catholic Parish formed in 2016 from the merger of Port Washington's two historic Catholic churches—St. Mary's Church and St. Peter of Alcantara Church—with Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in neighboring Saukville. While the parish is one financial entity, the three church buildings remain in use, and the parish operates a parochial school for students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

There are two evangelical churches in the area: the Evangelical Free Church of America-affiliated Friedens Church and Portview Church. Open Door Bible Church is a Christian fundamentalist congregation in the community affiliated with IFCA International.

Port Washington also has a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall.

W. J. Niederkorn Library
The Port Washington Woman’s Club established the city's first public library in 1899, which got its own building in 1961, when area resident W. J. Niederkorn paid to construct it on Grand Avenue. It provides books, magazines, computers, printers, study rooms, databases, audiobooks, e-books, and language-learning software. It is a member of the Monarch Library System, comprising thirty-one libraries in Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington, and Dodge counties.

Law and government
Port Washington has a mayor–council government. The mayor is Ted Neitzke IV, who was elected to his first term on April 6, 2021. Seven aldermen sit on the city council. A full-time staff of unelected administrators manage the city's day-to-day operations.

As part of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, Port Washington is represented by Glenn Grothman (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Duey Stroebel (R) represents Port Washington in the Wisconsin State Senate, and Robert Brooks (R) represents Port Washington in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Fire department
The Port Washington Fire Department formed in 1852. The department operates one fire station on Washington Street and had fifty-nine personnel as of December 31, 2018. Mark Mitchell serves as fire chief. The department has four divisions: fire, emergency medical services, dive team, and rescue task force. The rescue task force was formed in 2016 as a collaboration between law enforcement and paramedics to prepare for a mass-casualty active shooter situation. It was the first such task force in Ozaukee County.

The department operates three ambulances, four fire engines, a water tanker, a Pierce heavy rescue truck, a Pierce ladder truck, a dive rescue boat, and a fireboat.

Police department
The Port Washington Police Department was established in 1882 when the city incorporated. The police station is located on Wisconsin Street in Downtown Port Washington. The department employs twenty sworn officers, including police chief Kevin Hingiss who has served with the department since 1984 and was appointed chief in 2012. Additionally, the department has a civilian support staff of three full-time records management employees, one municipal court clerk, one administrative assistant, one parking enforcement officer and one custodian.

Education
Port Washington is served by the joint Port Washington-Saukville School District. The district has three elementary schools for kindergarten through fourth grade. Students in northern and eastern Port Washington attend Lincoln Elementary, while students southern and western neighborhoods attend Dunwiddie Elementary. Saukville Elementary serves students in the western parts of the Town of Port Washington and the Town and Village of Saukville. All students in the district attend Thomas Jefferson Middle School for fifth through eighth grades, and Port Washington High School for ninth through twelfth grades.

The district is governed by a nine-member elected school board, which meets on Mondays at 6 p.m. in the District Office Board Room, 100 W. Monroe Street, Port Washington. The district also has a full-time superintendent: Michael R. Weber.

Additionally, St. John XXIII Catholic Parish (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee) operates a parochial school in the city for students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Transportation
Interstate 43 passes around Port Washington to the city's west and north with access via Exit 100. Wisconsin Highway 32 passes north to south through the city while Wisconsin Highway 33 travels from the west before it terminates downtown. Wisconsin Highway 57 runs several miles west of Port Washington with a junction with Interstate 43 in the Village of Saukville.

Port Washington Harbor was constructed by the U.S. Federal Government in the early 1870s as a commercial port. Because Port Washington does not have a natural harbor, the government must dredge the harbor every few decades to prevent the twelve-foot-deep channels from filling with sediment. The Port Washington Generating Station on the southern shore received daily shipments of coal through the harbor until 2004, when it became a natural gas power plant. When the coal shipments stopped, the commercial port closed, but the community continues to operate a marina for recreational boaters from April 1 through November 1.

Port Washington has limited public transit compared with larger cities. Ozaukee County and the Milwaukee County Transit System run the Route 143 commuter bus, also known as the "Ozaukee County Express," to Milwaukee via Interstate 43. The closest stop is the route's northern terminus at the Saukville Walmart parking lot, near Interstate 43 Exit 96. The bus operates Monday through Friday with limited hours corresponding to peak commute times. Ozaukee County Transit Services' Shared Ride Taxi is the public transit option for traveling to sites not directly accessible from the interstate. The taxis operate seven days a week and make connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u. Unlike a typical taxi, however, the rider must contact the service ahead of time to schedule their pick-up date and time. The taxi service plans their routes based on the number of riders, pick-up/drop-off time and destination then plans the routes accordingly.

The City of Port Washington has sidewalks in most areas for pedestrian traffic. Additionally, the Ozaukee Interurban Trail for pedestrian and bicycle use runs north-south through the city and connects Port Washington to the neighboring communities of Grafton in the south and Belgium in the north. The trail continues north to Oostburg in Sheboygan County and south to Brown Deer where it connects with the Oak Leaf Trail. The trail was formerly an interurban passenger rail line that ran from Milwaukee to Sheboygan with a stop in Port Washington, which was the halfway point between the northern and southern terminuses. The train was in operation from 1907 to 1948, when it fell into disuse following World War II. The old rail line was converted into the present recreational trail in the 1990s.

The city does not have passenger rail service, but the Union Pacific Railroad operates freight trains in the community.

Parks and recreation
The City of Port Washington maintains twenty-nine public parks with amenities including picnic shelters, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, nature preserves, and a public pool. The parks and recreation department offers recreation programs for residents and facilitates men's basketball and softball leagues as well as women's volleyball and fastpitch leagues.

The Port Washington marina is open for recreational boaters from April through November. Fishers can also use the breakwaters to catch lake trout and Chinook salmon. Each summer the Port Washington Yacht Club hosts a double-handed (two-person crew) sailboat race in late June and the across-the-lake "Clipper Club" sailboat race on the second Friday in August. The Great Lakes Sport Fishermen—Ozaukee Chapter hosts the Great Lakes Sport Fishing Derby in Port Washington from July 1 through July 3, and the local chapter of the Lions Club hosts a fishing contest on the last weekend in July.

The Ozaukee Interurban Trail runs through the City of Port Washington, following the former route of the Milwaukee Interurban Rail Line. The southern end of the trail is at Bradley Road in Brown Deer which connects to the Oak Leaf Trail (43.16333°N, -87.96083°W), and its northern end is at DeMaster Road in the Village of Oostburg Sheboygan County (43.61583°N, -87.80222°W). The trail connects the community to neighboring Grafton and Belgium.

The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, established in 2021 and the site of a large number of historically significant shipwrecks, lies in the waters of Lake Michigan off Port Washington.

In popular culture
The television sitcom Step by Step was set in a fictionalized version of Port Washington. The show was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, and the establishing shots of the main characters' home were actually of a house in South Pasadena, California, not Port Washington.

Notable people

 * A. Manette Ansay, writer
 * Vernon Biever, photographer
 * Edward Reed Blake, politician
 * John R. Bohan, politician
 * Harry W. Bolens, politician
 * Alice Duff Clausing, politician
 * John DeMerit, Major League Baseball player
 * Peter V. Deuster, U.S. diplomat and politician
 * Dustin Diamond, actor
 * Alex Dieringer, folkstyle and freestyle wrestler
 * Marc C. Duff, politician
 * Josh Gasser, professional basketball player
 * Janine P. Geske, jurist
 * Warren A. Grady, politician
 * Henry Hase, politician
 * Adolph F. Heidkamp, politician
 * William E. Hoehle, politician
 * Beany Jacobson, Major League Baseball player
 * Mitch Jacoby, National Football League player
 * David W. Opitz, politician
 * M. Rickert, writer
 * Mike Seifert, National Football League player
 * Leland Stanford, United States Senator, 8th Governor of California, and founder of Stanford University
 * Donald K. Stitt, Chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin
 * Rich Strenger, National Football League player
 * Eugene S. Turner, legislator
 * Samuel A. White, politician
 * Al Wickland, Major League Baseball player
 * Albert J. Wilke, politician

Sister city
Port Washington's sister city is Sassnitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany (since 2017).

title: Port Washington, Wisconsin


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Saukville (town), Wisconsin

Saukville is a town in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The Village of Saukville is located in the town's southeast quadrant. The population was 1,755 at the 2000 census.

Menominee and Sauk Native Americans lived in the area until the 1830s when the U.S. Federal Government forced them to leave Wisconsin. The first white settlers in the mid-1840s, and the Town of Saukville was organized in 1848. The early settlers were farmers, and dairy farming became the primary economic activity by the early 1900s. The Village of Saukville incorporated from some of the town's land in 1915, and while the village has become increasingly industrial, agriculture still plays a major role in the Town of Saukville's economy.

The town has thousands of acres of undeveloped, biodiverse bogs, coniferous swamps, and primeval beech-maple forests. The largest of the community's natural areas is the 2,200-acre Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area. The town's bogs are a habitat for many endangered species, birds, and carnivorous plants. Among other landforms, the Cedarburg Bog contains a string bog—a geographic feature that seldom occurs as far south as Wisconsin—which contains many plant species rarely seen outside remote parts of Canada.

History
Saukville was the site of a Native American village at the crossroads of two trails, one of which became the north-south Green Bay Road and the other the east-west Dekora Road. Also located on the banks of the Milwaukee River, the village's inhabitants were probably Menominee and Sauk people. The Native Americans were forced to leave Wisconsin in the 1830s, and white settlers arrived in the area around 1845 and began to build along Green Bay Road.

Saukville was part of the town of Port Washington until 1848 when the Town of Saukville was established. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Saukville was a rural community with many dairy farmers. In 1871, a rail line was constructed through Saukville. It would eventually become part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.

The Village of Saukville incorporated out of some of the Town of Saukville's land in 1915. In 1973, the Village of Newburg incorporated from some of the Town of Saukville's land as well as land from the neighboring Town of Trenton in Washington County.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 33.3 square miles (86.4 km2), of which, 32.7 square miles (84.6 km2) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) of it (2.04%) is water. The Village of Saukville is located in what was formerly the town's southeast quadrant. The town borders Waubeka, the Town of Fredonia, and the Village of Fredonia to the north; the Town of Port Washington to the east; the Town of Grafton and the Cedarburg (town), Wisconsin to the south; and the Town of Trenton and the Village of Newburg to the west.

The town is located in the Southeastern Wisconsin glacial till plains that were created by the Wisconsin glaciation during the most recent ice age. The town has many glacial landforms, including kames, kettles, and moraines. Much of the community is located on the Racine Dolomite formation that stretches through eastern Wisconsin and Illinois. The formation contains Silurian marine fossils, and while much of the rock lies between 25 and 50 feet below the surface, the fossils of a prehistoric reef can be seen in some old quarries in the northern part of the Village of Saukville as well as in the 50-foot-high bluff along the Milwaukee River at Riveredge Nature Center.

Before white settlers arrived in the area, the Saukville area was an upland forest dominated by American beech and sugar maple trees. There were also white cedars growing along the Milwaukee River and several thousand acres of coniferous swamp in Saukville's southwest quadrant. Much of the original forest—with the exception of the coniferous swamps—was cleared to prepare the land for agriculture. The Cedarburg Beech Woods State Natural Area in the western part of the town has old growth endemic trees with minimal damage from logging and retains the character of the pre-settlement beech-maple forests.

The town has many nature preserves and other undisturbed natural areas, the largest of which is the Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area, a 2,200-acre National Natural Landmark with high biodiversity, which is home to many endangered plant and animal species. The largest and best preserved bog in eastern Wisconsin, it contains two lakes, extensive white cedar and tamarack coniferous swamps, and the southernmost string bog on Earth. The bog is a habitat for several carnivorous plant species, including bladderworts, pitcher plants, and round-leafed sundews. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also considers the Cedarburg Bog to be an important habitat for the endangered Hine's emerald dragonfly.

Other bogs in the town include black spruce swamps, which rarely occur at such southerly latitudes. Other bog plants that occur in Saukville include leatherleaf, snakemouth orchids, grass-pink orchids, bog-rosemary, winterberry, blueberry, and cranberry. The town is also a habitat for the threatened forked aster plant and the American gromwell, which is a state-designated special concern plant species.

As land development continues to reduce wild areas, wildlife is forced into closer proximity with human communities like Saukville. Large mammals, including white-tailed deer, coyotes, North American river otters and red foxes can be seen in the town. Many birds, including great blue herons and wild turkeys are found in the town with the many swamps and bogs providing a habit birds such as the osprey.

The region struggles with many invasive species, including the emerald ash borer, common carp, reed canary grass, the common reed, purple loosestrife, garlic mustard, Eurasian buckthorns, and honeysuckles.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,755 people, 622 households, and 518 families residing in the town. The population density was 53.7 people per square mile (20.7/km2). There were 644 housing units at an average density of 19.7 per square mile (7.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.29% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.23% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 622 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.2% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 12.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $60,435, and the median income for a family was $64,821. Males had a median income of $46,552 versus $31,406 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,522. About 1.9% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government
Saukville is organized as a town governed by an elected board, comprising a chairman and two supervisors. The current chairman is Kevin Kimmes.

As part of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district, the town is represented by Glenn Grothman (R) in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson (R) and Tammy Baldwin (D) in the United States Senate. Duey Stroebel (R) represents Saukville in the Wisconsin State Senate, and Robert Brooks (R) represents Saukville in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Education
The Town of Saukville is served by two public school districts: the joint Port Washington-Saukville School District and the Northern Ozaukee School District, which also covers Fredonia, Newburg, and parts of the Town of Belgium. Students in the Port Washington-Saukville School District attend Saukville Elementary School for kindergarten through fourth grade, Thomas Jefferson Middle School for fifth through eighth grades, and Port Washington High School for ninth through twelfth grades. Students in the Northern Ozaukee School District attend Ozaukee Elementary School for kindergarten through fifth grade, Ozaukee Middle School for sixth through eighth grades, and Ozaukee High School for grades nine through twelve.

Additionally, the Riveredge School is a tuition-free, public elementary charter school authorized by the Northern Ozaukee School District. Located at the Riveredge Nature Center in the northwestern Town of Saukville near the municipal boundary with the Village of Newburg, the school serves children from kindergarten through fifth grade.

The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Field Station is a 320-acre nature preserve and laboratory adjacent to the Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area in the town. The field station grounds and laboratories are not open to the general public, but are used by university students and faculty to conduct biological and ecological research.

Transportation
Interstate 43 passes through the southeastern part of the Town of Saukville with Exit 96 servicing the Village of Saukville. Wisconsin Highway 57 and Wisconsin Highway 33 also pass through the town.

Saukville has limited public transit compared with larger cities. Ozaukee County and the Milwaukee County Transit System run the Route 143 commuter bus, also known as the "Ozaukee County Express," to Milwaukee via Interstate 43. The bus stops in the Saukville Walmart parking lot, near I-43 Exit 96. The stop is the route's northern terminus. The bus operates Monday through Friday with limited hours corresponding to peak commute times. Ozaukee County Transit Services' Shared Ride Taxi is the public transit option for traveling to sites not directly accessible from the interstate. The taxis operate seven days a week and make connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u.

The Wisconsin and Southern Railroad operates a freight line passing through the eastern part of the town. The community currently does not have a passenger train station.

Nature preserves, parks and recreation

State natural areas

 * Cedarburg Beech Woods: The Cedarburg Beech Woods is a 74-acre nature preserve owned by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, containing tamarack swamps and old-growth beech-maple forests dating to the time before white settlers cleared much of Ozaukee County's forests for agriculture.
 * Cedarburg Bog: The Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area is a 2,200-acre National Natural Landmark with high biodiversity. The area has hiking trails with views of the largest and best preserved bog in eastern Wisconsin and a boardwalk and birdwatching platform on Mud Lake in the center of the preserve.
 * Riveredge Creek and Ephemeral Pond: The Riveredge Nature Center—a private, nonprofit education facility—maintains a 61-acre nature preserve rich in plant and insect life near the confluence of Riveredge Creek and the Milwaukee River. The nature center contains glacial landforms typical of the Kettle Moraine region and 50-foot-high Silurian dolomite bluffs along the river.
 * Sapa Spruce Bog: The Sapa Spruce Bog is a 24-acre nature preserve owned by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Located in a flooded glacially formed kettle, the bog occurs farther south than other black spruce-tamarack bogs typically do. The Sapa Spruce Bog is more acidic than other bogs in the region, creating a unique ecosystem of flora and fauna—including six species of Sphagnum moss—not typically seen so far south.

Ozaukee County Parks

 * Ehlers Park: A narrow seven-acre park on the east bank of the Milwaukee River, Ehlers Park has 2,200 feet of river front with canoe launches and fishing spots.
 * Hawthorne Hills Park, H. H. Peters Youth Camp, and Ozaukee County Pioneer Village: Located on the Milwaukee River in northeastern Saukville, these three, sandwiched-together county parks offer a wide range of activities. Hawthorne Hills Park features 57 acres of undeveloped forest with hiking trails on the river as well as an 18-hole golf course. The adjacent H. H. Peters Youth Camp is an additional 40 acres with hiking trails liked to Hawthorne Hills and a camp hall with showers and restrooms. Pioneer Village is directly north of the Hawthorne Hills Golf Course and is an open-air museum that preserves twenty-four buildings from the 1840s through the early 1900s, providing a snapshot of village life in early Ozaukee County.
 * Tendick Nature Park: The 122-acre Tendick Nature Park has a boardwalk through wetlands, a canoe launch on the Milwaukee River, an archery range, and picnic facilities.

Ozaukee Washington Land Trust

 * Shannon Preserve: A 34-acre nature preserve with hardwood forests, cattail swamps, and a lake, the Shannon Preserve has hiking trails and opportunities for birdwatching.

Additionally, the Blue Heron Wildlife Sanctuary on the Milwaukee River is a private, nonprofit nature center with 92-acres of land, hiking trails, and wildlife rehabilitation facilities. North American river otters have been spotted from the sanctuary's trails.

The Town of Saukville is also home to The Bog, a private, 18-hole golf course located east of the Cedarburg Bog.

title: Saukville (town), Wisconsin