St. Croix County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2010 census, the population was 84,345. Its county seat is Hudson. The county was created in 1840 (then in the Wisconsin Territory) and organized in 1849.
St. Croix County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Between 2000 and 2010, it was the fastest-growing county in Wisconsin.
History
St. Croix County was created on August 3, 1840 by the legislature of the Wisconsin Territory. It was named after the river on its western border. Sources vary on the origin of the name; the St. Croix River may have been named after Monsieur St. Croix, an explorer who drowned at the mouth of the river late in the seventeenth century. Another account credits Father Hennepin with giving this region the French name Ste Croix (Holy Cross) because of the burial markers located at the mouth of the river.
La Pointe County (now extinct, see Bayfield County) was created from the northern portions of Wisconsin Territory's St. Croix County on February 19, 1845. When Wisconsin was admitted into the union as a state on May 29, 1848, the territorial St. Croix County was further divided, with the territory from the Mississippi River to the current border of Minnesota continuing as de facto Wisconsin Territory until on March 3, 1849, it and unorganized federal territory lying north of Iowa were used in the creation of the Minnesota Territory. Itasca, Washington, Ramsey and Benton Counties were created by the Minnesota Territory on October 27, 1849 from the de facto Wisconsin Territory that had been separated from the Wisconsin Territory's La Pointe County.
The part of St. Croix County allocated to Wisconsin became the parental county to Pierce and Polk Counties, and formed significant portions of Dunn, Barron, Washburn and Burnett Counties.
On June 12, 1899, a deadly F5 tornado struck New Richmond. The tornado's damage path was 300 yards (270Â m) wide and 30 miles (48Â km) long. The tornado formed on the banks of the St. Croix River, south of Hudson. Moving to the northeast across St. Croix County, the tornado passed through the villages of Burkhardt and Boardman before striking New Richmond head on, destroying a vast majority of the town. The storm continued on towards the northeast, narrowly missing the town of Deer Park before crossing into Polk County, where it again narrowly missed the town of Clear Lake, before striking the towns of Richardson and Clear Lake. Once the tornado passed into Barron County, it struck the town of Arland before breaking up southwest of Barron. The tornado killed 117 people in St Croix, Polk and Barron Counties, 64 in New Richmond alone. It has since been established as the 9th deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 736 square miles (1,910Â km2), of which 722 square miles (1,870Â km2) is land and 13 square miles (34Â km2) (1.8%) is water.
Major highways
Airport
New Richmond Regional Airport (KRNH) serves the county and surrounding communities.
National protected area
- Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (part)
Adjacent counties
- Polk County - north
- Barron County - northeast
- Dunn County - east
- Pierce County - south
- Washington County, Minnesota - west
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 63,155 people, 23,410 households, and 16,948 families residing in the county. The population density was 88 people per square mile (34/km²). There were 24,265 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.85% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.4% were of German, 19.3% Norwegian, 8.2% Irish and 5.4% Swedish ancestry.
There were 23,410 households out of which 38.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county, the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 9.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.
Communities
Cities
- Glenwood City
- Hudson (county seat)
- New Richmond
- River Falls (mostly in Pierce County)
Villages
Towns
Census-designated places
- Emerald
- Houlton
Unincorporated communities
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Croix County, Wisconsin
References
Further reading
- Johnson, Helen Sophia. Early History of St. Croix County, Wisconsin. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1921.
External links
- St. Croix County government website
- St. Croix County map at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
