Kewaunee County, Wisconsin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kewaunee County
U.S. county
Kewaunee County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Wisconsin
Wisconsin's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
Founded	1859
Seat	Kewaunee
Largest city	Algoma
Area
• Total	1,084 sq mi (2,810 km2)
• Land	343 sq mi (890 km2)
• Water	742 sq mi (1,920 km2)  68%
Population  (2020)
• Total	20,563
• Estimate  (2023)	20,690
• Density	60.0/sq mi (23.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th

Kewaunee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,563. Its county seat is Kewaunee. The county was created in 1852 and organized in 1859. Its Menominee name is Kewāneh, an archaic name for a species of duck. Kewaunee County is part of the Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Green Bay-Shawano, WI Combined Statistical Area.

Fishing and boating

In 2018, Kewaunee County ranked first in the state in the Chinook salmon harvest, with 26,557 fish caught, with nearby Door County ranking second at 14,268 fish caught. Chinook salmon are sought after by tourists enjoying chartered fishing trips.

The state record rainbow trout was set in 1997 at 27 pounds, 2 ounces and 42.5 inches long. It came from the Kewaunee County portion of Lake Michigan. In 1999 the state record pink salmon was also caught in Lake Michigan out of Kewaunee County waters. It was 6 pounds, 1.9 ounces and was 24.0 inches long. In 2005, the state record white perch was taken out of the Kewaunee County portion of Green Bay. It weighed 1 pound, 5.4 ounces and was 13.5 inches long.

Beginning in 1964, first coho and then chinook salmon were stocked in Lake Michigan. New salmon and trout fingerling stocking in the spring and egg and milt collection from late September to early November takes place at the C.D. "Buzz" Besadny Anadromous Fish Facility. The facility is a public attraction.

In recent years there has been concern that the alewife population will not support the salmon population, especially as the Chinook population has already collapsed in Lake Huron. A 2016 survey of Wisconsin anglers found they would on average pay $140 for a trip to catch Chinook salmon, $90 for lake trout, and $180 for walleye. Should the Chinook salmon fishery be replaced with a native lake trout fishery, the economic value would decrease by 80%.

A 1995 study found the greatest abundance of spawning lake trout in Lake Michigan was on the Clay Banks Reef off of Door and Kewaunee counties.

The sucker run, which was a popular fishing event in the 19th century, occurs in March and April. Suckers may be taken by frame dip nets, and the sucker run is also sought out as viewing opportunity. The smelt run also attracts fishermen.

The state recognizes 11 public boat access sites. There are 14 inland lakes or ponds in Kewaunee County. In 2012, there were 2,252 registered boats in the county. Algoma Light and Kewaunee Pierhead Light are active navigational aids for boaters. The Daniel Lyons shipwreck near Algoma is used as a dive site, but the America near Carlton is less visited by divers due to its remote location. There are 24 other known shipwrecks in county waters. The Tug Ludington in Kewaunee is operated as a museum boat.

Parks and other lands open to the public

The county operates eight parks. The Dana Farm (childhood home of Ransom Asa Moore) was relocated to the Winter Park. Along with the Bruemmer Park and Zoo, it is located near the state-owned C.D. Buzz Besadny Fish Hatchery. Two other state-owned parks are Mashek Creek Public Access and the Brusky Wildlife Area. There are also 27 municipal parks operated by the cities of Algoma, Kewaunee, and the Village of Luxembourg.

There are four public beaches in the county, three of which are routinely monitored for water quality advisories. The county and the city of Algoma each operate one beach. Kewaunee operates two beaches, There are boardwalks along the beach in Algoma and the Kewaunee Marshland Walk. Altogether there are ten public access sites to Lake Michigan and Green Bay in the county.

Limestone kiln remnants of historical interest are open to the public at the Bruemmer Park and Zoo. Although lime is not presently produced in Kewaunee County, as of 2016, there were 9 active gravel pits producing sand and gravel for roadwork and construction use.

279.54 acres (113.13 hectares) of privately owned land is open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, sight-seeing and cross-country skiing under the Managed Forest Program.

Species lists and coastal wetlands

The four state recognized coastal wetlands in the county are the Kewaunee River Wetland Complex, the Black Ash Swamp Area, the Ahnapee River Wetlands, and the Duvall Swamp. A 1980 inventory of natural areas recognized Duvall Swamp, Alaska Bog, Krok Woods, Kewaunee River Marshes, Cosco Tamarack Woods, Broemmer Creek Headwaters, Alaska Lake, Three Mile Creek Tag Alder, Silver Lake, Krohn's Lake, and the Ahnapee River Swamps. Historically, hypnum peat was produced in the county.

Plants

In 2016, 586 plant species were listed in a checklist for the county that excluded mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. In 2020, 33 species of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts and 125 species of macrofungi (including lichens) were listed for the county. In 1999, 8 aquatic species were found in East Alaska Lake.

Snails

From 1996 to 2001, researchers listed 48 species of snails in Kewaunee County, ranking eighth out of the 22 counties in the study. Nearby Door and Brown counties ranked first and second with 69 and 62 species respectively. However, they only sampled 13 areas in Kewaunee County, compared to 74 areas in Door and 28 areas in Brown. Slugs were found in all three counties.

Birds

As of 2020, 103 species of birds have been confirmed to breed in Kewaunee County.

In 1911, passenger pigeons were seen in the Black Ash Swamp. This was one of the last reported sightings in the state.

Cattle and deer

In 2018 statistics, a county total of 3,527 deer were killed as a total of all deer hunting seasons, down from the total harvest of 3,787 deer for 2017 statistics. In 2017, Kewaunee and Door counties were reported to have equal deer-to-human ratios. Kewaunee County had the third highest cow-to-human ratio in the state, with only Lafayette and Buffalo counties having higher ratios. In 2018, there were an estimated 97,000 head of cattle in the county, more than Door County which had 23,500 head of cattle.

Foods, agritourism, and alcohol

Kewaunee County is known for its kolache. Another distinctive local food is booyah. The cooking of booyah is not exclusive to Belgians, but has also been adopted by some Czechs. Cornish apple elderberry dumplings are another local dish.

In 2017, six operations tapped 1,840 trees to produce maple syrup, down from 3,024 trees tapped by three operations in 1997.

U-pick strawberries, apples, and pumpkins are grown.

There are also two Christmas tree operations. In 2017, 4,084 Christmas trees were cut, down from 4,462 in 2012.

In 2014–15, there were 96 liquor licenses in the county. The first modern winery in the state opened in Algoma in 1967. The area was recognized as part of a larger federally designated wine grape-growing region in 2012. In 2017, there were 28 acres of vineyards, down from 34 in 2012.

Arts

Tourism supports an arts community, including papermaking, sculpture, and painting.

Crops

The most important field crops by acres harvested in 2017 were hay and haylage at 48,887 acres, corn (silage) at 37,042 acres, corn (grain) at 22,846 acres, soybeans at 15,000 acres, wheat at 9,975 acres, oats at 2,834 acres, and barley at 146 acres.

Both sale prices and rental values of agricultural land are higher than the average for Wisconsin counties. The most common USDA soil association in the county is the Hortonville–Symco association. About 51 percent of soils in this association are Hortonville and 16 percent are Symco. The remaining 33% in the association are minor soils such as Carbondale, Pella, and Kolberg. Altogether, about 34.8% of the county has Hortonville-Symco association soils. In a forested environment, Hortonville and Symco soils have an average of 7.6% and 13.2% organic matter, respectably. However, as cropland they only have tested from 2% to 3% organic matter.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,084 square miles (2,810 km²), of which 343 square miles (890 km²) is land and 742 square miles (1,920 km²) (68%) is water. The northern part of the county is on the Door Peninsula between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. The northern part of the Kettle Moraine extends into Kewaunee County. There are three named peaks in the county. The USGS monitors one well in the county on an hourly basis. It also takes hourly pictures of the field in front of the well. It usually takes four to five hours for the groundwater level to rise after a big rain.

Adjacent counties

• Door County – north
• Manitowoc County – south
• Brown County – west
• Benzie County, Michigan – northeast across Lake Michigan
• Manistee County, Michigan – southeast across Lake Michigan

Transportation

Major highways

• Highway 29 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 42 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 54 (Wisconsin)
• Highway 57 (Wisconsin)

Rustic road and quilt trail

• There is one rustic road in the county. A quilt trail along roadside barns was organized in 2009.

Railroads

• Watco

Buses

• List of intercity bus stops in Wisconsin

Non-motorized

• The Ahnapee State Trail connects Kewaunee to Sturgeon Bay. The Ice Age Trail coincides with the Kewaunee County portion of the Ahnapee State Trail, and also extends further south along the East Twin River Segment. Winter snowmobile access to trails is dependent on weather and trail grooming.
• WIS 42 and 57 are part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour.
• Riverview ATV Park includes mountain bike trails that are off limits to ATVs. It is open from May to November.

Airport

• The Rio Creek airport (also called Walter's Agri-center Airport) (WI28) is privately owned, but open to the public and includes a campground.
• The nearest international airport is the Green Bay–Austin Straubel International Airport

National marine sanctuary

The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary was established in 2021 in the waters of Lake Michigan, with its extreme northern portion lying off the southeast corner of Kewaunee County′s coast. The national marine sanctuary is the site of a large number of historically significant shipwrecks.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 20,563. The population density was 60.0 people per square mile (23.2 people/km²). There were 9,267 housing units at an average density of 27.1 units per square mile (10.5 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.1% White, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% Black or African American, 2.4% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 4.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Population dynamics

Between April 2010 and January 2019, there were an estimated 1,745 births and 1,605 deaths in the county. The greater number of births served to increase the population by an estimated 140 people. In addition, there were an estimated 68 more people who moved in than left. Combined, this positive net migration along with the natural increase raised the county population by an estimated 208 persons during this period. In 2013, a researcher predicted that in 2030 the county's population would peak then start to decline.

Marriages

Five-year ACS data from 2012 to 2016 show that an estimated 5.2% of women aged 45–54 in the county had never been married, tying with 19 other counties in having the 697th lowest percentage of never-married women in this age bracket out of 3,130 U.S. counties reporting data. The ACS estimate also found that 76.3% of women aged 35–44 were married, tying with five other counties in having the 360th highest number of married women in this age bracket out of 3,136 counties reporting data, and that the county was tied with seven other counties in having the 552th lowest percentage of births to unmarried women out of 3,021 counties reporting data. 22.8% of births were to unmarried women.

In 2015, the county tied with Sawyer County in having the 13th fewest marriages in the state. It tied with Marquette County in having the 23rd fewest divorces out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. May and October tied as the months with the most weddings, with 21 each. In 2016 the county was the 19th-least populous in the state.

Religion

In 2010 statistics, the largest religious group in Kewaunee County was the Catholics, with 10,606 adherents worshipping at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Stangelville and six other parishes, followed by 1,622 WELS Lutherans with three congregations, 1,356 LCMS Lutherans with three congregations, 318 ELCA Lutherans with one congregation, 163 NACCC Congregationalists with one congregation, 155 United Methodists with two congregations, 119 non-denominational Christians with two congregations, 90 Converge Baptists with one congregation, 70 AoG Pentecostals with one congregation, and 27 EC-USA Episcopalians at St Agnes-by-the-Lake in Algoma. Altogether, 70.6% of the population was counted as adherents of a religious congregation. In 2014, Kewaunee County had 15 religious organizations in the county.

Radio stations

• WBDK (96.7 FM, Algoma)
• WRLU (FM 104.1, Algoma)
• WEZY (92.7 FM, Kewaunee)

Townships of Kewaunee County

Communities

Cities

• Algoma
• Kewaunee (county seat)

Villages

• Casco
• Luxemburg

Towns

Census-designated places

• Dyckesville (partial)

Unincorporated communities

Former communities

• Black Earth

History

In 1795, Jacques Vieau established a short-lived trading post in Kewaunee.

In 1854, the first Czechs arrived, coming north from Milwaukee.

19th-century Algoma (at the time called Ahnapee) was host to a longstanding inter-ethnic economic struggle over pier pricing and access.

In 1887, an octahedrite meteorite weighing nearly nine pounds was plowed up four miles west of Algoma. It is displayed at the Geology Museum at UW–Madison.

Kewaunee and Casco Junction were connected to Green Bay in 1891 by the Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western Railroad. It later became part of the Green Bay and Western Railroad. The western portion of this line provides freight service to Luxembourg to the present day, but not further east.

The first leg of the Ahnapee and Western Railway was built in 1892.

The first Belgian Kermiss harvest festival in the nation is thought have taken place in the county.

Gallery

Notable people

For lists of notable people from Kewaunee County, see the following articles:

• Luxemburg § Notable people
• Algoma § Notable people
• Kewaunee § Notable people
• Ahnapee § Notable residents
• Carlton § Notable people
• Franklin § Notable people

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Kewaunee para niños