Saukville is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on the Milwaukee River with a district along Interstate 43, the community is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 4,258 at the 2020 census.

Downtown Saukville was the site of a Native American village at the crossroads of two trails before white settlers arrived in the mid-1840s. In its early years, the community was a stagecoach stop on the road from Milwaukee to Green Bay and also grew as a mill and market town serving the dairy farmers of northwestern Ozaukee County. The village incorporated in 1915 and later in the 20th century grew into a suburban community with a manufacturing-based economy. As of 2019, more than 40% of the village's jobs were in manufacturing, with the largest employers being a steel mill as well as several foundries and metal fabricators.

The village and the neighboring Town of Saukville are rich in biodiverse bogs and coniferous swamps, the largest of which is the 2,200-acre Cedarburg Bog State Natural Area. The area's bogs are a habitat for endangered species, many types of 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 the Milwaukee River and two trails, one of which became the north–south Green Bay Road and the other the east–west Dekora Road. The area was populated centuries before the first European settlers arrived. In the mid-19th century, Increase A. Lapham identified a group of circular mounds near Saukville and found a stone ax. Lapham did not speculate about the age of the artifact or the mounds. An additional artifact of the early Native American presence in the area is the Ozaukee County Birdstone, discovered by a six-year-old farm boy in 1891. While the exact age of the Ozaukee County Birdstone remains uncertain, many birdstones date from a period ranging from 3000 BCE to 500 BCE.

By the early 1800s, the Native Americans in the Saukville area were probably Menominee and Sauk people, who were forced to leave Wisconsin in the 1830s. 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. In that year, William Payne opened a stagecoach inn for travelers on the route from Milwaukee to Green Bay. The Payne Hotel still stands today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1848, several residents constructed a dam on the Milwaukee River and later built a saw mill and a grist mill. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, Saukville was a rural community with many dairy farmers.

In 1871, a rail line was constructed in the community. It would eventually become part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway.

In 1915, the village of Saukville officially incorporated with a vote of 66 in favor and 40 opposed. At that time, the village had a population of 376 people."Encyclopedia of Milwaukee: Saukville"

In 1945, sixty German prisoners of war from Camp Fredonia in Little Kohler, Wisconsin were contracted to work at Canned Goods, Inc. in the village to make up for the loss of labor due to local men fighting in World War II.

Saukville experienced significant population growth following World War II. Between 1950 and 1980, the village population increased five-times over, from 699 to 3,494. The construction of Interstate 43 in the mid-1960s connected Saukville to other communities, such as Milwaukee and Sheboygan.

Geography

Saukville is located at (43.38137, −87.944578). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. The village perimeter is bordered by the Town of Saukville to the north and west, the Town of Port Washington to the east and southeast and by the Town of Grafton to the south and southwest.

The village is located in the Southeastern Wisconsin glacial till plains that were created by the Wisconsin glaciation during the most recent ice age. Much of the community is located on the Saukville Reef formation, which is part of the Racine Dolomite 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, it's exposed at some old quarries in the northern part of the village.

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, which flows north–south through Saukville. Much of the original forest was cleared to prepare the land for agriculture. The Kurtz Woods State Natural Area in the village, maintained by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, has old growth endemic trees and retains the character of the pre-settlement beech-maple forests.

The village is east of the Cedarburg Bog, a 2,200 acre state natural area, which is home to many endangered plant and animal species. Located in the Town of Saukville, the bog contains two lakes, extensive white cedar and tamarack swamps, and the southernmost string bog on Earth. The bog is a habitat for several carnivorous plant species, including bladderworts, pitcher plants, and sundews.

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 village. Many birds, including great blue herons and wild turkeys, are found in the village.

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

2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 4,451 people, 1,766 households, and 1,208 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 1,848 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.0% White, 0.7% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.9% of the population.

There were 1,766 households, of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 31.6% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.06.

The median age in the village was 36.7 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.4% were from 25 to 44; 28.1% were from 45 to 64; and 8.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 4,068 people, 1,583 households, and 1,104 families living in the village. The population density was 1,366.3 people per square mile (527.1/km2). There were 1,639 housing units at an average density of 550.5 per square mile (212.4/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 97.42% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,583 households, out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% 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 3.07.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.5 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $53,159, and the median income for a family was $62,436. Males had a median income of $41,625 versus $28,583 for females. The per capita income for the village was $22,035. About 1.4% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Saukville's early economy was primarily agricultural, and the first major businesses were hydropowered mills on the Milwaukee River as well as other businesses that served the local farmers. In the late 19th century and into the 20th century, dairy farming was a major industry in the Saukville area. As the village grew in the 20th century, the local economy diversified. As of 2019, manufacturing accounted for over 40% of local jobs, with three of the village's largest employers being metal manufacturers. Many of the village's manufacturers are located in the Dekora Woods Business and Industrial Park in north-central Saukville, west of Interstate 43.

+Largest Employers in Saukville, 2019RankEmployerIndustryEmployees1Charter SteelIron, steel, and ferroalloy mill500-9992Johnson Brass & Machine Foundry Inc.Non-ferrous metal foundry100-2493Sauk TechnologiesFabricated metal manufacturing100-2494WalmartRetail100-2495YMCACivic and social organization100-2496Jeneil Biotech Inc.Spice and extract manufacturing50-997Oldenburg Metal TechTool, die, and machining manufacturing50-998Pope ScientificIndustrial machine manufacturing50-999Piggly WigglyRetail (Grocery)50-9910Eric von Schledorn Chevrolet BuickRetail (car dealership)50-99

Culture

Cinema The Marcus Corporation operates a twelve-auditorium multiplex movie theater in Saukville. (closed in September 2023 due to lack of ticket sales a failing attendance following the pandemic shut down)

Source: Marcus Theaters

Events The Saukville Area Historical Society hosts the Crossroads Rendezvous in Peninsula Park on the third weekend in May. The event is an educational reenactment of the annual rendezvous gatherings associated with Wisconsin's 18th and early 19th century fur trade. The event was originally held every year from 1991 to 2006. After a decade-long hiatus, the historical society began hosting the annual event again in 2017.

The village also hosts a farmers market in Veterans Park every Sunday from June through October, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Museums Crossroads Museum: The Saukville Area Historical Society operates the Crossroads Museum, dedicated to Saukville's local history. The museum in housed in a restored firehouse that was built in 1912, and serves as the historical society's headquarters. Ozaukee County Pioneer Village: Located north of the village in the Town of Saukville, Pioneer Village 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.

Oscar Grady Public Library The Oscar Grady Public Library has a collection of physical media, digital resources, and archival photos of the community. It facilitates literacy programs for children and is a member of the Monarch Library System, comprising thirty-one libraries in Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Washington, and Dodge counties.

Religion