Outline county map of Wisconsin showing the location of Onalaska
Onalaska is a city in La Crosse County, It is part of the
La Crosse, Wisconsin Metropolitan
Statistical Area. Wisconsin, United States. The
population was 16,186 at the 2006 census. The city borders three unincorporated rural towns including: Onalaska,
Medary, and Hamilton.
The original village (now city) was platted by Thomas G. Rowe (New York) and John C. Laird (Pennsylvania) in 1851. In its
early days, lumbering and related industries served as a basis for its economy.
The City of Onalaska is primarily built on a slightly elevated ridge above the Black River. Natural areas include river
bottomland as well as high, heavily wooded, scenic bluffs. It is known as "The Sunfish Capital of
the World." A manmade reservoir at the city's western edge is known as Lake Onalaska.
Use of the Name Onalaska in the United States
The name for the city comes from the poem, "The Pleasures of Hope," by Scottish poet Thomas
Campbell. The original spelling of the name in Campbell's poem was "Oonalaska" (an Aleutian island and fishing
village).
Onalaska, Wisconsin, Onalaska, Arkansas (now defunct), Onalaska, Texas, and
Onalaska, Washington are all historically linked to one another through the lumber
industry. The modernday City of Unalaska, Alaska and Unalaska Island are linked to the Onalaskas in the lower 48 states through Thomas Campbell's poem.
Unalaska, Alaska is the original Oonalaska or Onalaska or "Ounalashka" (Russian spelling) immortalized by Campbell.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 25.1 km² (9.7 mi²). 23.5 km² (9.1 mi²) of it is
land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it (5.99%) is water.
Named streams within the current corporate limits of the city include the Black River,
the La Crosse River, and Sand Lake Coulee Creek. In the
1930s, construction of Lake Onalaska resulted in the flooding and eventual disappearance of a
shallow, natural body of water, Rice Lake, as well as several smaller ponds in the Black River bottoms area.
Brice Prairie is an urban reserve area of the City of Onalaska. It lies to
the northwest of Onalaska's current northern border.
Onalaska lies immediately north of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Education
High schools:
Elementary schools:
Economy
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 14,839 people, 5,893 households, and 4,036 families residing
in the city. The population density was 630.3/km² (1,631.6/mi²). There were 6,070
housing units at an average density of 257.8/km² (667.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.17% White, 0.63% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 2.80% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population
were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 5,893 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were
non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from
45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $47,800, and the median income for a family was $57,264. Males had a median
income of $41,335 versus $25,316 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$24,066. About 4.5% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 7.7% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
External links
Coordinates:
43.888266° N 91.218624°
W
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