Vilas County ( ) is a county in the state of Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,047. Its county seat is Eagle River. The county partly overlaps the reservation of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The county is considered a high-recreation retirement destination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

History Native Americans Native Americans have lived in what is now Vilas County for thousands of years. The county contains archaeological sites dating to the prehistoric Woodland period. In the eighteenth century, the area was disputed by the Dakota and Ojibwe people. According to oral histories, the conflict culminated in Ojibwe victory in a battle on Strawberry Island in Flambeau Lake around 1745. Ojibwe people have continued to live in the area ever since, securing the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation in the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe.

Settlement The first recorded white settler was a man named Ashman who established a trading post in Lac du Flambeau in 1818.Vilas County, WI Government Main Page Accessed January 11, 2011

In the 1850s migrants from New England, primarily from Vermont and Connecticut, constructed wagon roads and trails through Vilas County including the Ontonagan Mail Trail and a military road from Fort Howard to Fort Wilkins in Copper Harbor, Michigan.

Vilas County was set off from Oneida County on April 12, 1893, and named for William Freeman Vilas. Originally from Vermont, Vilas represented Wisconsin in the United States Senate from 1891 to 1897.William Freeman Vilas: Doctrinaire Democrat Front Cover Horace Samuel Merrill State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1954Vilas County History .

Logging era Logging began in the late 1850s. Loggers came from Cortland County, New York, Carroll County, New Hampshire, Orange County, Vermont and Down East Maine in what is now Washington County, Maine and Hancock County, Maine.History of Northern Wisconsin Illustrated. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1881. Many dams were built throughout the county to assist loggers as they sent their timber downstream to the lumber and paper mills in the Wisconsin River valley. After the county was founded in 1893 and logging ceased to be the primary industry in the area, migrants seeking other forms of employment settled in the county. These later immigrants primarily came from Germany, Ireland and Poland though some came from other parts of the United States as well.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (16%) is water. There are 1,318 lakes in the county. Much of Vilas County is covered by the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest as well as extensive county forest lands. Vilas County waters drain to Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and the Mississippi River. The Wisconsin, Flambeau, and Presque Isle Rivers all find their headwaters in Vilas County.

Adjacent counties Forest County – southeast Iron County – west Oneida County – south Price County – southwest Gogebic County, Michigan – north Iron County, Michigan – northeast

Major highways U.S. Highway 45 U.S. Highway 51 Highway 17 (Wisconsin) Highway 32 (Wisconsin) Highway 47 (Wisconsin) Highway 70 (Wisconsin) Highway 155 (Wisconsin)

Buses

Airports KARV – Lakeland Airport / Noble F. Lee Memorial Field KEGV – Eagle River Union Airport KLNL – Kings Land O' Lakes Airport D25 – Manitowish Waters Airport

National protected areas Chequamegon National Forest (part) Nicolet National Forest (part)

Although these two forests have been administratively combined into the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, the county contains portions of both original forests.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Vilas County, Wisconsin – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)15,29516,07318,76518,54619,56992.50%90.77%89.22%86.54%84.91%Black or African American alone (NH)494231490.02%0.05%0.20%0.14%0.21%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1,1811,5281,8762,2902,1817.14%8.63%8.92%10.69%9.46%Asian alone (NH)17353761570.10%0.20%0.18%0.28%0.25%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census210xx0.01%0.00%0.00%Other race alone (NH)0193610.00%0.01%0.04%0.01%0.26%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census121230671xx0.58%1.07%2.91%Hispanic or Latino (any race)38611812684590.23%0.34%0.86%1.25%1.99%Total16,53517,70721,03321,43023,047 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,047, and the population density was . There were 24,486 housing units at an average density of .

The median age was 56.8 years. 15.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 33.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 85.5% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 9.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 10,804 households in the county, of which 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.6% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 24,486 housing units, of which 55.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.1% were owner-occupied and 18.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,033 people, 9,066 households, and 6,300 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,397 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.69% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 9.08% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.8% were of German, 7.9% Polish, 6.6% Irish and 5.3% English ancestry. 95.9% spoke English, 1.3% Spanish and 1.2% German as their first language.

There were 9,066 households, out of which 23.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.73.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.70% under the age of 18, 5.00% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 28.50% from 45 to 64, and 22.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

In 2017, there were 186 births, giving a general fertility rate of 74.9 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 7th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were twelve reported induced abortions performed on women of Vilas County residence in 2017.Reported Induced Abortions in Wisconsin, Office of Health Informatics, Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Section: Trend Information, 2013-2017, Table 18, pages 17-18

Economy The economy in Vilas County is based on tourism centered on its high concentration of lakes and forests. Hunting and sport fishing are the backbones of the fall economy, and ice fishing and especially snowmobiling makes up the bulk of the economy in the wintertime. Logging, forestry, construction and government also account for important parts of the local economy.

Municipalities The municipalities with their population within Vilas County and their total population as of the 2010 Census, are:

City Eagle River – 1,628 (county seat)

Towns

Arbor Vitae – 3,403 Boulder Junction – 1,057 Cloverland – 1,068 Conover – 1,318 Lac du Flambeau – 3,552 Land O' Lakes – 944 Lincoln – 2,659 Manitowish Waters – 624 Phelps – 1,238 Plum Lake – 553 Presque Isle – 805 St. Germain – 2,083 Washington – 1,587 Winchester – 528

Census-designated places

Boulder Junction – 179 Lac du Flambeau – 1,845 Sayner – 231

Other unincorporated communities

Arbor Vitae Conover Katinka Village Land O' Lakes Manitowish Waters Marlands Phelps Presque Isle St. Germain Star Lake Winchester

Notable people Herman Finger was the Treasurer of Vilas County in the 1890s while also co-owning and operating Gerry Lumber Company in the county Screenwriter Winifred Dunn was born in Vilas County.

Politics

Vilas County has long been one of the most consistently Republican counties in Wisconsin. Since 1944, the county has only once voted Democrat, supporting Lyndon B. Johnson in his nationwide landslide of 1964, and even then, Johnson won by just 14 votes and 0.25% in the county.

Images

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Vilas County, Wisconsin

References

Further reading Commemorative Biographical Record of the Upper Wisconsin Counties of Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Langlade and Shawano. Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1895. Jones, George O.; McVean, Norman S. (comp.). History of Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas Counties, Wisconsin. Minneapolis: H. C. Cooper, Jr., 1924.

External links Vilas County government website Vilas County Chamber of Commerce Vilas County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation