Thiensville, Wisconsin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thiensville
Village
Thiensville's Main Street Historic District
Location of Thiensville in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.
Thiensville, Wisconsin Location in Wisconsin
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Ozaukee
Settled	c. 1837
Incorporated	1910; 114 years ago (1910)
Area
• Total	1.08 sq mi (2.79 km2)
• Land	1.04 sq mi (2.69 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.10 km2)
Elevation	676 ft (206 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	3,235
• Estimate  (2019)	3,125
• Density	3,010.60/sq mi (1,162.67/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	262
FIPS code	55-79475
GNIS feature ID	1575351

Thiensville is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located on the west bank of a bend in the Milwaukee River, the community is bordered on all sides by the City of Mequon and is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 3,235 at the 2010 census.

Thiensville was the site of a Potawatomi village in the early 19th century before white settlers began arriving in the 1830s and 1840s. Many of the community's earliest settlers were German immigrants who were members of freethinker societies. One prominent freethinker was Joachim Heinrich Thien, for whom the village is named. Thien played a significant role in the Town of Mequon's early politics and organized the Thiensville Volunteer Fire Department. The freethinkers were opposed to organized religion and actively prevented churches from being established in the community for the first eight decades of its history. Thiensville grew and prospered in the late 1800s when it became a railway stop; the community became more urban with stores, mills and services for farmers in the rural Town of Mequon. The Village of Thiensville formally incorporated in 1910.

Both Mequon and Thiensville experienced significant development during the suburbanization that followed World War II, with Mequon incorporating as a city in 1957. The two communities have close ties, with a shared chamber of commerce, library, and school district. In July 2005, CNNMoney.com ranked Thiensville and Mequon 19th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.

History

The area that later became Thiensville was first surveyed between 1834 and 1836, after the United States government removed Native Americans from the land. Weston built the first log cabin in the area, and became the area's first postmaster. He soon sold his land holdings to John Henry Thien.

John Henry Thien (or Jochim Heinrich Thien), was a wealthy German immigrant who had stopped in Milwaukee after leaving Saxony with his wife. They set on finding a place to live in this new area, and journeyed north in 1842. They eventually settled along the Milwaukee River, where Thien purchased 148 acres (0.60 km²) of land and founded Thiensville that same year.

In 1846, the Wisconsin Territorial government formed the Town of Mequon, with borders that included all of present-day Mequon and Thiensville. The first town meetings were held in Thien's home. Thiensville itself was incorporated as a village in 1910, with a population of 289.

Geography

Thiensville is located at 43°14′13″N 87°58′48″W / 43.23694°N 87.98000°W / 43.23694; -87.98000 (43.236806, -87.979951).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.10 square miles (2.85 km²), of which, 1.09 square miles (2.82 km²) of it is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) is water.

The village of Thiensville is completely surrounded by the larger city of Mequon.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,235 people, 1,532 households, and 865 families living in the village. The population density was 2,967.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,145.9/km²). There were 1,644 housing units at an average density of 1,508.3 per square mile (582.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 93.3% White, 1.7% African American, 0.4% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population.

There were 1,532 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.5% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.82.

The median age in the village was 46.3 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.5% were from 25 to 44; 31% were from 45 to 64; and 21% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.8% male and 54.2% female.

Attractions

Thiensville Park, along the Milwaukee river, hosts the "Family Fun Before the Fourth" annually on the Saturday before July 4. The park also hosts the town's annual Lion's Fest every June.

From June to October, The Thiensville Farmers Market is held by the Milwaukee River in the scenic Village Park (299 Elm St.) every Tuesday (8am - 7pm), where fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers from area growers are sold.

Main Street, which runs the length of the village, is the site of the Thiensville business district, consisting of many historic buildings which have been converted into small shops and businesses.

In November and December, Main Street has a light display for the holiday season.

Education

Thiensville's public schools are operated by the Mequon-Thiensville School District. The villages students attend two of the district's three elementary schools, serving grades kindergarten through fifth grade. Students in northern and eastern Thiensville attend Oriole Lane Elementary, while students from southwestern Thiensville attend Wilson Elementary. All students from Thiensville attend Steffen Middle School for sixth through eighth grades and Homestead High School for grades nine through twelve. In 2009, Homestead was ranked by BusinessWeek magazine as the state's top high school. The school's mascot is a Highlander.

Christ Alone Evangelical Lutheran Church also operates a parochial school in Thiensville for students from kindergarten through eight grade.

Transportation

Thiensville has limited public transit compared with larger communities. Ozaukee County Transit Services' Shared Ride Taxi is the public transit option for traveling to sites in the county. The taxis operate seven days a week and make connections to Washington County Transit and Milwaukee County Routes 12, 49 and 42u.

The village has sidewalks in most areas, and the Ozaukee Interurban Trail runs north-south through the community, connecting Thiensville to the neighboring communities of Mequon as well as Cedarburg in the north and Brown Deer in the south, where the trail connects to Milwaukee County's Oak Leaf Trail. The Ozaukee Interurban Trail continues north to Oostburg in Sheboygan County. The trail was formerly an interurban passenger rail line that ran from Milwaukee to Sheboygan. The train was in operation from 1907 to 1948, when it fell into disuse following World War II. The old rail line was converted into the present recreational trail in the 1990s.

The Wisconsin Central Ltd. railroad, a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway, operates a freight rail line parallel to the Ozaukee Interurban Trail in the village. Despite the role that railways played in Thiensville's early development, the village currently does not have passenger train service.

Notable people

U.S. Representative Glenn Grothman (b. 1955) was raised in Thiensville and attended Homestead High School.

• Glenn Grothman, United States Congressman serving Wisconsin's 6th congressional district.
• William Carbys Zimmerman, architect, was born in Thiensville.

Images for kids

• 

  Many of the houses in Thiensville's Green Bay Road Historic District date to the 1890s and early 1900s.

See also

In Spanish: Thiensville (Wisconsin) para niños