Fond du Lac County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du Lac is French for "bottom of the lake", given so because of the county's location at the southern shore of Lake Winnebago. Fond du Lac County comprises the Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Holyland region is in northeastern Fond du Lac County.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (6.0%) is water.

Adjacent counties Winnebago County – north Calumet County – northeast Sheboygan County – east Washington County – southeast Dodge County – southwest Green Lake County – west

National protected area Horicon National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 41 U.S. Highway 41 U.S. Highway 45 U.S. Highway 151 Highway 23 (Wisconsin) Highway 26 (Wisconsin) Highway 44 (Wisconsin) Highway 49 (Wisconsin) Highway 67 (Wisconsin) Highway 175 (Wisconsin)

Railroads Canadian National Wisconsin and Southern Railroad

Buses Fond du Lac Area Transit

Airport Fond du Lac County Airport serves the county and surrounding communities.

Climate

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)87,69788,15792,52893,39890,15098.58%97.86%95.10%91.90%86.55%Black or African American alone (NH)1242518571,2262,3210.14%0.28%0.88%1.21%2.23%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1842833534223550.21%0.31%0.36%0.42%0.34%Asian alone (NH)1384358391,1291,2410.16%0.48%0.86%1.11%1.19%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 Census251631xx0.03%0.02%0.03%Other race alone (NH)692031452140.08%0.02%0.03%0.04%0.21%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census6761,0293,125xx0.69%1.01%3.00%Hispanic or Latino (any race)7529371,9874,3686,7170.85%1.04%2.04%4.30%6.45%Total88,96490,08397,296101,633104,154 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 104,154. The population density was 144.7 per square mile. The median age was 41.4 years, with 21.2% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.2% of residents 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 97.0 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.6 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 88.0% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.0% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.4% of the population.

63.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 36.3% lived in rural areas.

There were 42,824 households in the county, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.8% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 45,740 housing units at an average density of 63.6 per square mile, of which 6.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.5% were owner-occupied and 30.5% were renter-occupied; the homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.6%.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 97,296 people, 36,931 households, and 25,482 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 39,271 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.16% White, 0.90% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 2.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 57.7% were of German, 6.1% Irish and 5.3% American ancestry. 95.5% spoke English, 2.1% Spanish and 1.3% German as their first language.

There were 36,931 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% 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 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.

In 2017, there were 1,066 births, giving a general fertility rate of 57.7 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 20th lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were 74 reported induced abortions performed on women of Fond du Lac 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

Communities

Cities Fond du Lac (county seat) Ripon Waupun (mostly in Dodge County)

Villages

Brandon Campbellsport Eden Fairwater Kewaskum (mostly in Washington County) Mount Calvary North Fond du Lac Oakfield Rosendale St. Cloud

Towns

Alto Ashford Auburn Byron Calumet Eden Eldorado Empire Fond du Lac Forest Friendship Lamartine Marshfield Metomen Oakfield Osceola Ripon Rosendale Springvale Taycheedah Waupun

Census-designated places Alto St. Peter Taycheedah Van Dyne

Unincorporated communities

Arcade Acres Armstrong Artesia Beach Ashford Banner Bergen Beach Byron Calumet Harbor Calumetville Calvary Chinatown Dexter Dotyville Dundee Eldorado Elmore Garnet Gladstone Beach Graham Corners Hamilton Highland Park Hopokoekau Beach Johnsburg Ladoga Laudolff Beach Luco Malone Marblehead Marytown Metomen Minawa Beach New Fane New Prospect Oak Center Peebles Pipe Pukwana Beach Rogersville Rosendale Center St. Joe Silica South Byron Waucousta Welling Beach West Rosendale Wilmoore Heights Winnebago Heights Winnebago Park Woodhull

Ghost towns/neighborhoods Ceresco New Cassel Reeds Corners

Education School districts include: - Text list

Campbellsport School District Fond du Lac School District Kewaskum School District Lomira School District Markesan School District New Holstein School District North Fond du Lac School District Oakfield School District Ripon Area School District Rosendale-Brandon School District Waupun School District

Public high schools within the county include: Campbellsport High School Fond Du Lac High School Horace Mann High School Ripon High School

Government and politics

Fond du Lac County is governed by a twenty-five-member Board of Supervisors and an elected County Executive, all of whom are elected in nonpartisan elections. The other countywide officials, including the Sheriff and District Attorney, run in partisan elections.

As Ripon's Little White Schoolhouse was the birthplace of the Republican Party in 1854, the GOP has long been the dominant party in Fond du Lac County. Since 1896 when the county broke a 20 year streak of voting Democratic, outside 1912 (when the Republican vote was split by Theodore Roosevelt's run as part of the Bull Moose Party), Franklin D. Roosevelt's first two terms, and Lyndon Johnson winning the county in 1964, along with state Progressive Robert M. La Follette's win in 1924, the majority of Fond du Lac County voters have chosen the Republican candidate.

+ Fond du Lac County Elected Officials Office Officeholder Party Executive Sam Kaufman Nonpartisan Sheriff Ryan F. Waldschmidt Republican Clerk Lisa Freiberg Republican Treasurer Brenda Schneider Republican Register of Deeds Jim Krebs Republican Clerk of Circuit Court Ramona Geib Republican District Attorney Eric Toney Republican

+ Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors Name District Kat Griffith District 1 Gary A. Will District 2 Karen Madigan District 3 Michael J. Will District 4 Sarah Ann Smith District 5 Michael Beer District 6 Jonathon Venhuizen District 7 Bob Simon District 8 Thomas Dornbrook District 9 Ken Depperman District 10 Steven A. Abel District 11 Dennis Stenz District 12 John J. Rickert District 13 Michael Conley District 14 Joseph Fenrick District 15 Mike Streetar District 16 Jay John Myrechuck District 17 Scott Rodman District 18 Tom Herlache District 19 Tiffany Brault District 20 Dean P. Will District 21 Caroline M. Janke District 22 Martin S. Ryan District 23 Mary B. Hayes District 24 Angela C. Luehring District 25

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin Wisconsin Phalanx

References

Further reading Glaze, A. T. Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond du Lac From Early Times to the Present. Fond du Lac: P. B. Haber, 1905. McKenna, Maurice (ed.). Fond du Lac County Wisconsin, Past and Present. Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1912.

External links Fond du Lac County website Fond du Lac County map from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation