Sheboygan

Sheboygan is a city in and the county seat of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. The city is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Milwaukee and 64 mi (103 km) south of Green Bay. Migrants from New York, Michigan, and New England were among the first white Americans to settle this area in the 1830s. Lumbering was the first major industry, as trees were harvested and shipped to eastern markets through the Great Lakes. In the early 20th century, many Orthodox Greeks, Catholic Slavs and Lithuanians immigrated to the area. Hmong refugees from Laos and Southeast Asia settled there in the late 20th and early 21st century. In 1887, sheboygan adopted a sundown town ordinance banning African Americans from living there, according to a local Optimist member's account in 1963, though city leaders denied that any such ordinance was in effect. The town was officially incorporated in 1846, but much of the town had been platted in 1836, when property investors laid out more than one thousand lots. It is located at latitude 43°45' north, longitude 87°44' west. It has a warm-summer humid continental climate typical of Wisconsin. In spite of its position on Lake Michigan there are vast temperature differences between seasons, although it is somewhat moderated compared with areas farther inland.

History

Sheboygan is the primary city name, but also Haven, Howards Grove are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Sheboygan. Before European Americans, the Sheboygan area was home to Native Americans, including members of the Potawatomi, Chippewa, Ottawa, Winnebago, and Menominee tribes. Migrants from New York, Michigan, and New England were among the first white Americans to settle this area in the 1830s. Lumbering was the first major industry, as trees were harvested and shipped to eastern markets through the Great Lakes. Between 1840 and 1890, Protestant Dutch immigrants also settled in the area, as did Irish refugees fleeing the Great Famine. In the spring of 1898, sheboygan elected Fred C. Haack and August L. Mohr as aldermen, making them the first two Social Democratic Party candidates to be elected to public office in the United States. In late 20th century, Hmong refugees from Laos and Southeast Asia settled there. At the 1932 Socialist Party convention, Haack received recognition as the first Socialist officeholder in America. In 1887, Sheboigin adopted a sundown town ordinance banning African Americans from living there, according to a local Optimist member's account in 1963, though city leaders denied that any such ordinance was in effect. The place is known as Spwhekaneh, "at a hearing distance in the woods", in the Menominese language, and is located on the banks of the Wisconsin River. The town was officially incorporated in 1846, but much of the town had been platted in 1836.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.83 square miles (41.00 km²) It is located at latitude 43°45' north, longitude 87°44' west. Sheboygan has a warm-summer humid continental climate typical of Wisconsin. In spite of its position on Lake Michigan there are vast temperature differences between seasons, although it is somewhat moderated compared with areas farther inland. The city is home to the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan, which was founded in 1864. The university is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. The town is also home to a number of colleges, including Wisconsin State University and University of Illinois-Madison. It is also the home of the Wisconsin Brewers hockey team, which won the Stanley Cup in 1998 and 1999. It also hosts the Wisconsin State Marathon, the state's second-biggest high-speed waterway. It has a population of 1,816,000 (as of the 2010 Census). The city's population was 1,715,000 as of the 2000 Census, up from 1,077,000 in the 1990 Census. It was the first city in Wisconsin to reach 1,000,000 people in the 1950s. It had a population growth rate of 0.7% from 2000 to 2010, up to 0.9% from the 1990s. Its population has grown by 1.2% since the 1990 census. It now has a resident population of 2,817, up 1.3% since 2000.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 49,288 people, 20,308 households, and 12,219 families residing in the city. Ethnically, the population was 12.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race and 68.9% Non-Hispanic White. In 1976, the first three Hmong families settled in Sheboygan with the help of local refugee agencies such as the Grace Episcopal Church and Trinity Lutheran Church. The 2010 U.S. Census showed the number of Hmong citizens to be around 4,100 people, putting it fourth in Wisconsin for Hmong populations. In 2006, a Hmong Memorial was installed in the lakefront Deland Park to honor Hmong military and civilian contributions to the Secret War in Laos (particularly from 1961-1975). In December 1999, around 5,000 Hmong and Hmong American residents were in Sheboysgan, 65% of whom were under the age of 18. The city has a population of 49,929 as of the 2020 census, with a median age of 36.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49,5% male and 50.5%, with a gender ratio of 49.5%. The city is located on the shores of the Wisconsin Dells, which is home to the Dells Dunes National Lakeshore. The Dells are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city is a member of the U.N. Global Commission on the Status of Women and the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Arts and culture

Sheboygan was the site of a proposed new spaceport called Spaceport Sheboygan. The wreckage of the schooner Lottie Cooper was found buried in the harbor during the construction of the Harbor Centre Marina and is now on display in Deland Park. The Chordettes, 1950s female group, and Morbid Saint, thrash metal band, are among the local artists and musicians. The city is home to the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship, which is held every year in Johnsonville, Wisconsin. It is the only one of its kind on the Great Lakes. The town is also home to a number of museums, parks, and other places of interest for children, adults, and the elderly.

Parks and recreation

The city has a trail along the Highway 23 corridor leading to the Old Plank Road Trail. Several bike routes are marked in the city using existing streets and roads to demarcate separate bike lanes. Sheboygan hosted the annual Dairyland Surf Classic from 1988 to 2012, the largest lake surfing competition in the world. The city has been called "The Malibu of the Midwest" and "one of the best places to surf in the Great Lakes region" The city's surfing culture was discussed in the 2003 surfing documentary, Step into Liquid. It is also home to the Wisconsin Dunes State Park, which is a popular destination for kayakers and snowmobilers. It also has a lakefront trail between Pennsylvania and Park avenues along Broughton Drive. A north-south trail using the former Chicago & Northwestern Railroad right-of-way known as the "Shoreline 400" was added in 2013. A 2016 project added a trailalong the Taylor Drive corridor, and improvements to the south to allow an eventual connection to the Ozaukee Interurban Trail are proposed for a future date. It was also mentioned in the 2013 surfing documentary "Step into Liquid", which was about the life of a surfer in the U.S. and his family's experiences in surfing. The town is located on the shores of Lake Michigan and is known as "The Dairyland of the Great Lake region" It is home to a number of outdoor activities, including parks, trails, and water parks.

Government

Sheboygan has a MayorCouncil form of government. The full-time mayor is elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits and to an officially non-partisan position. The Common Council consists of ten alderpersons representing the city's ten aldermanic districts with a council president and vice-president presiding over them. A City Administrator oversees the day-to-day administration of the city and is appointed by the Common Council. Sheboygan is in the 6th congressional district of Wisconsin, which is represented by Republican congressperson Glenn Grothman. The city is represented in the Wisconsin State Assembly as part of both the 26th (Terry Katsma, ROostburg) and 27th (Tyler Vorpagel, RPlymouth) districts. The City Hall was remodeled throughout 2018 and into 2019, being re-dedicated on September 3, 2019 with a new north frontage becoming the building's new main entrance. The fire department provides fire suppression and emergency medical services, operating out of five fire stations throughout the city. Civil and criminal law cases are heard in the Sheboygans County Circuit Court, with municipal citations for Sheboygans and Kohler handled through the City's municipal court within the police headquarters building. It is also part of the 9th district (Devin LeMahieu,ROostburg), which is part of Wisconsin's State Senate. It has a mayor-elect and a city council-manager.

Education

Sheboygan public schools are administered by the Sheboygan Area School District. The school district was the first in Wisconsin to operate an FM radio station, WSHS (91.7). Since 1996, sheboygan has had a high school program, Rockets for Schools, where students build and launch 8-and-20-foot-tall (2.4 and 6.1 m) rockets. The city is home to the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and the Lakeshore Technical College (satellite campus) The city also has its own high school and college, both of which are located in the city's suburb of Sheboygansburg. The town is also home to a number of high schools and colleges, as well as a small number of private schools and a private day care center. It is located on the shores of the Wisconsin Dells, which was once part of the Dells Peninsula, and is now part of Wisconsin Bay, which once was part of Waukesha, which is now a part of Madison, Wisconsin. It also has a small airport on the Wisconsin River, which used to be known as the Waukegan Airport. It was once the only airport in the state, but has since been taken over by the Port of Wausau, which now has a major airport. It has a population of about 3,000 people. The population of the city is about 4,000. The community has a history of being heavily affected by the Great Depression.

Infrastructure

Interstate 43 is the primary north-south transportation route into Sheboygan, and forms the west boundary of the city. U.S. Route 141 was the primary North-South route into the city before Interstate 43 was built. Shoreline Metro provides public bus transit throughout the city, as well as in Kohler and She Boygan Falls. The city is served by the county-owned non-commercial Sheboygans County Memorial Airport (KSBM) Blue Harbor Resort is located on a peninsula between the lake and the Sheboygen River's last bend. In July 2022, Aurora Health Care opened a modern replacement for Aurora sheboygan Memorial Medical Center on Union Avenue east of I-43. In 2008 the Wisconsin Department of Transportation proposed to reestablish passenger service to Milwaukee and Green Bay via Fond du Lac and the cities along Lake Winnebago's west shore, though political complications in the 2010s have since mothballed rail expansion in Wisconsin. The City has no active port in the 21st century, but charter charter fishing boats dock near the mouth of the river. It is bounded on the east by Lake Michigan, and on the west by the Wisconsin River, which runs through the city's downtown area. It has no airport, but the city does have a non- commercial non-profit airport three miles northwest of the town. It was once home to the C. Reiss Coal Company (now a Koch Industries division), which loaded and unload coal for delivery along the peninsula.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin = 9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 20. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 49. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Sheboygan = 3.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 49,929 individuals with a median age of 37.8 age the population dropped by -4.81% in Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,066.82 residents per square mile of area (1,184.14/km²). There are average 2.31 people per household in the 20,427 households with an average household income of $43,904 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.60% of the available work force and has dropped -3.73% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 21.94%. The number of physicians in Sheboygan per 100,000 population = 153.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Sheboygan = 31.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 45.6 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 113. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 188. 80 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 13.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 51, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Sheboygan, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin which are owned by the occupant = 57.75%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 54 years with median home cost = $115,430 and home appreciation of -3.93%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $21.16 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,092 per student. There are 14.7 students for each teacher in the school, 372 students for each Librarian and 375 students for each Counselor. 5.96% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 11.05% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.82% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).