| Adams County, Wisconsin | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Wisconsin |
|
 Wisconsin's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1848 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Friendship |
| Largest city | Adams |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
689 sq mi (1,783 km²) 648 sq mi (1,678 km²) 41 sq mi (106 km²), 5.92% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
18,643 29/sq mi (11/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website: www.co.adams.wi.us | |
| Named for: Late president John Adams or John Quincy Adams | |
Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Sources differ as to whether its name is in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams, or his son, the sixth President, John Quincy Adams. As of 2000, the population of Adams County was 18,643. Its county seat is Friendship.[1][page needed]
Contents |
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 689 square miles (1,783 km²), of which, 648 square miles (1,678 km²) of it is land and 41 square miles (106 km²) of it (5.92%) is water.
Major highways
Highway 13 (Wisconsin)
Highway 21 (Wisconsin)
Highway 23 (Wisconsin)
Highway 82 (Wisconsin)
Highway 73 (Wisconsin)
Adjacent counties
- Wood County – northwest
- Portage County – northeast
- Waushara County – east
- Marquette County – east
- Columbia County – southeast
- Sauk County – southwest
- Juneau County – west
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1900 | 9,141 |
|
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| 1910 | 8,604 | −5.9% | |
| 1920 | 9,287 | 7.9% | |
| 1930 | 8,003 | −13.8% | |
| 1940 | 8,449 | 5.6% | |
| 1950 | 7,906 | −6.4% | |
| 1960 | 7,566 | −4.3% | |
| 1970 | 9,234 | 22.0% | |
| 1980 | 13,457 | 45.7% | |
| 1990 | 15,682 | 16.5% | |
| 2000 | 18,643 | 18.9% | |
| WI Counties 1900-1990 | |||
As of the census[2][page needed] of 2000, there were 18,643 people, 7,900 households, and 5,466 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 14,123 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.63% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 39.3% were of German, 14.8% American, 9.2% Polish, 8.3% Norwegian, 8.0% Irish and 6.0% English ancestry. 96.1% spoke English, 1.8% Spanish and 1.1% German as their first language.
There were 7,900 households out of which 23.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.50% were married couples living together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.76.
In the county, the population was spread out with 20.80% under the age of 18, 5.60% from 18 to 24, 24.30% from 25 to 44, 28.40% from 45 to 64, and 20.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 102.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.
According to the 2005 Census, German was the most commonly reported ethnic group in Adams County. The leading ethnic groups were:
- German 35.1%
- Irish 10.7%
- Polish 9.1%
- Norwegian 8.1%
- English 7.1%
Within Wisconsin
 |
This section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (April 2009) |
There are 72 counties in Wisconsin:
- Adams County is the 51st most populous county in Wisconsin – 20,828 according to the 2005 Census population estimates
- Adams County is the 49th most densely populated county – 32.6 people per square mile according to 2004 population estimates
- Adams County has the 6th highest poverty rate – 11% according to 2003 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)
- Adams County has the lowest median per capita household income – $17,753 according to the 2003 SAIPE
- Adams County had the second lowest percentage of high school graduates – 76.7% according to the 2000 Census
- Adams county had the lowest percentage of college graduates – 6.5% according to the 2000 Census
- Adams County had the 28th highest percentage of African-American residents – .3% according to the 2000 Census
- Adams Counts had the 24th highest percentage of Hispanic residents – 1.4% according to the 2000 Census
- Adams is the 20th most Czech, 6th most Danish, 27th most Dutch, 35th most German, 6th most Hungarian, 15th most Irish, 18th most Italian, 30th most Norwegian, 18th most Polish, 6th most Portuguese, 6th most Scottish, 30th most Swedish, and 9th most Ukrainian.
History
The area covered by present-day Adams County was historically part of several other counties. In 1840, when Wisconsin was still a territory, Adams County was the southwestern section of Brown County. In 1836, Portage County was created and included most of present day Columbia County, including the city of Portage, Wisconsin. In 1846, Portage County was renamed Columbia County. The area from the northern boundary of Columbia County to Lake Superior was removed from Brown County and was then called Portage County. In 1848, the southern part of Portage County was renamed Adams County and included all of current-day Adams County and the northern section of Juneau County. In 1858, The northwestern part of Adams County was joined with the northern part of Sauk County to form present-day Juneau County. At this time, Adams County took its current shape.
Friendship was founded by settlers coming from Friendship, New York. Today, Adams is the largest community in Adams County, but this was not always so. In the 1880s, there were plans for a railroad that connected Chicago and St. Paul to pass through Friendship. Once this was decided, local landowners increased their demands. Instead of paying more for the land in Friendship, the railroad placed the tracks two miles south of Friendship. It was recorded that Emma Barnes, wife of "Appletree" Barnes, Friendship postmaster in the 1920's, wrote in 1957, "I believe that the people of Friendship should express their appreciation of two of the early citizens... J. B. Hill and J. W. Purves... for holding the price of their land so high that the great C&NW R.R. Co. would not purchase a right of way... for who would enjoy the smoke and the noise of a train running through this beautiful village?"
To service workers, boxcars were stacked to form housing, and the town of Adams was created. Actually the What is now called the City of Adams was created because the railroad originally did call it Friendship, but because there were two Rail Depot Stops named "Friendship" on the rail-line. Passengers were often confused and bought the wrong tickets, so it was suggested that the name be changed. Photo of Depot Showing "Friendship" The new name Adams was determined by the citizens who chose between the choice of Adams, for President Adams, and Nottingham. This stretch of track became the famous "400" route. Today, the population of Adams is about three times that of Friendship.
Cities, villages and towns
Cities
- Adams
- Wisconsin Dells (partial)
Villages
Towns
Unincorporated communities
References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
- Adams County official website
- Adams County Chamber of Commerce
- Memorial and Biographical Record and Illustrated Compendium of Biography ... of Columbia, Sauk and Adams counties, Wisconsin...
- Adams County Genealogy and Family History
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Wood County | Portage County | |
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| Juneau County |  |
Waushara County and Marquette County | ||
 Adams County, Wisconsin  |
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| Sauk County | Columbia County |
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