Birchwood, Wisconsin

Birchwood, Wisconsin
Village
Nickname(s): The Bluegill Capital of Wisconsin
Location of Birchwood, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 45°43′33″N 91°36′32″W / 45.72583°N 91.60889°W / 45.72583; -91.60889Coordinates: 45°43′33″N 91°36′32″W / 45.72583°N 91.60889°W / 45.72583; -91.60889
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Washburn
Village	1903
Government
• President	Virgin a
Area[1]
• Total	1.26 sq mi (3.26 km2)
• Land	1.09 sq mi (2.82 km2)
• Water	0.17 sq mi (0.44 km2)
Elevation[2]	1,329 ft (405 m)
Population (2010)[3]
• Total	442
• Estimate (2012[4])	435
• Density	405.5/sq mi (156.6/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	715 & 534
FIPS code	55-07575[5]
GNIS feature ID	1582813[2]
Website	http://www.birchwoodvillagewi.com

Birchwood is a village in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 442 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Birchwood.

History

Knapp, Stout & Company

Knapp, Stout and Company was a logging company in Northern Wisconsin. Founded in 1846 William Willson brought the company together. The company was originally owned by; William Wilson, Andrew Tainter, John Knapp, and Henry Stout. Knapp, Stout and Co. became the largest lumber company in the world. In 1873 they owned 115,000 acres of pine forests. They put out 55,000,000 ft. of lumber, 20,000,000 shingles, and 20,000,000 lath annually. The company owned six big farms with six, or seven thousand acres of improved land to supply the lumber camps with pork and wheat.^[6]

First Settlers

Knapp, Stout, and Co. had a major impact on Northern Wisconsin. The large lumber company brought the SS and Omaha railroads to northern Wisconsin. They also created many logging camps that turned into small towns. Birchwood is located where it is due to the Birch Lake lumber camp, and the crossing of the Soo and the Omaha railroads.^[6]

Birchwood WI was platted in 1901. Birchwood was originally named Loomis after Wilbur Loomis, one of the first residents, and the first storekeeper. In 1912 the name was officially changed to Birchwood due to a political argument, and the abundance of birch trees in the area.^[7]

The Birch Lake Dam

The Birchwood dam was first owned by Knapp, Stout and Co. The first dam was built in 1881 from logs. The dam was enlarged by Knapp, Stout, and Co. in 1893 when they found that the first dam was too small. In 1911 the dam was sold to Chippewa Light & Power Co., who built the first concrete dam. The dam was sold again in 1915 to the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Co. In 1916 the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Co. Brought electricity service to Birchwood.^[7]

Birchwood's Best

In 1903 the Ahnapee Veneer and Seating Co. came to Birchwood and built a mill where Birchwood’s Best now stands. They ran the mill until 1906 when it burned down. It was immediately rebuilt and remained the Ahnapee Veneer and Seating Co. until 1921. In 1921 the name was changed to the Algoma Panel Co. and again in 1931 to the Algoma Plywood and Veneer Co. In 1931 the mill was sold to the U.S. Plywood Corp. In 1943 the U.S. Plywood Corp ceased operations. Eleven months later a new corporation was formed and named the Birchwood Lumber and Veneer Co. The different companies that owned the mill did their own logging until 1932, when they started hiring agencies to do the logging. Throughout the various companies that have owned and ran the mill, it has always been Birchwood’s principle industry.^[7]

Schools

In 1902 the settlers of Birchwood, most young with children, were face with the issue of a school. A piece of land was set aside for a school and they built Birchwood’s first school, consisting of one room. A new, state graded, school was built in 1903. In 1909 the school became over populated and classes were split up between the Methodist and Lutheran Churches until an addition was built. In 1921 a high school was built out of brick. This is the same building that is now used, with a few additions.^[7]

Geography

Birchwood is located at 45°39′26″N 91°33′15″W / 45.65722°N 91.55417°W / 45.65722; -91.55417 (45.657262, -91.554367).^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.26 square miles (3.26 km²), of which, 1.09 square miles (2.82 km²) of it is land and 0.17 square miles (0.44 km²) is water.^[1]

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 442 people, 200 households, and 118 families residing in the village. The population density was 405.5 inhabitants per square mile (156.6/km²). There were 290 housing units at an average density of 266.1 per square mile (102.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.2% White, 0.2% African American, 1.1% Native American, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.

There were 200 households of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.0% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.79.

The median age in the village was 43.7 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.3% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 518 people, 227 households, and 142 families residing in the village. The population density was 459.7 people per square mile (177.0/km²). There were 269 housing units at an average density of 238.7 per square mile (91.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 96.33% White, 1.54% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races. 2.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 227 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the village the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $23,636, and the median income for a family was $35,795. Males had a median income of $22,000 versus $19,091 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,237. About 4.5% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Birchwood has a public school (Birchwood Public School), consisting of grades preK-12 with approximately 350 students. Birchwood also offers two charter schools, Birchwood Blue Hills Charter School and Birchwood Public Montessori.

References

External links

• Birchwood Area Chamber of Commerce
• Birchwood Public Schools

Municipalities and communities of Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States
County seat: Shell Lake
Cities	Shell Lake Spooner
Villages	Birchwood Minong
Towns	Barronett Bashaw Bass Lake Beaver Brook Birchwood Brooklyn Casey Chicog Crystal Evergreen Frog Creek Gull Lake Long Lake Madge Minong Sarona Spooner Springbrook Stinnett Stone Lake Trego
CDPs	Stone Lake‡ Trego
Unincorporated communities	Beaver Brook Chicago Junction Chittamo Earl Lampson Madge Nobleton Sarona Springbrook Stanberry
Ghost town	Harmon
Indian reservation	Lac Courte Oreilles‡
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties