Sheboygan, Wisconsin | |
|---|---|
 Sheboygan Riverfront | |
 Seal | |
| Nicknames: | |
 Interactive map of Sheboygan, Wisconsin | |
  Sheboygan  Sheboygan | |
| Coordinates:43°45′0″N87°43′30″W / 43.75000°N 87.72500°W /43.75000; -87.72500 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Wisconsin |
| Counties | Sheboygan |
| Settled | 1780s |
| Incorporated (city) | March 19, 1853; 172 years ago (1853-03-19) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Body | Common Council |
| • Mayor | Ryan Sorenson[4] |
| • City Administrator | Casey Bradley |
| • City Clerk | Meredith DeBruin |
| Area | |
• City | 15.83 sq mi (41.00 km2) |
| • Land | 15.64 sq mi (40.51 km2) |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2) |
| Population (2020) | |
• City | 49,929 |
| • Density | 3,066.9/sq mi (1,184.14/km2) |
| • Metro | 118,034 |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (Central) |
| ZIP Codes | 53081–53083 |
| Area codes | 920 |
| FIPS code | 55-72975 |
| Website | www |
Sheboygan (/ʃɪˈbɔɪɡən/) is a city inSheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and itscounty seat.[7] The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census, while the Sheboyganmetropolitan area had 118,034 residents. The city is located on the western shore ofLake Michigan at the mouth of theSheboygan River, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north ofMilwaukee and 64 miles (103 kilometers) south ofGreen Bay.
Before itssettlement byEuropean Americans, the Sheboygan area was home toNative Americans, including members of thePotawatomi,Chippewa,Ottawa,Winnebago, andMenominee tribes.[8][self-published source] In the Menominee language, the place is known asSāpīwǣhekaneh, "at a hearing distance in the woods".[9] The Menominee ceded this land to the United States in the 1831Treaty of Washington.[10] Following the treaty, the land became available for sale to American settlers. Migrants fromNew York,Michigan, andNew England were among the first new Americans to settle this area in the 1830s, though the French had been present in the region since the 17th century and hadintermarried with local people. One 19th centurysettler remarked: "Nearly all the settlers were from the New England states and New York."[11]Lumbering was the first major industry, as trees were harvested and shipped toeastern markets through theGreat Lakes.
Although Sheboygan was officiallyincorporated in 1846,[12] much of the town had beenplatted in 1836, whenproperty investors laid out more than one thousand lots.[13] One theory for why the town was called Sheboygan is that it was a Chippewa word meaning a waterway between lakes.[14]
By 1849, a wave ofliberal,middle-class immigration triggered by therevolutions of 1848 had made the community known for itsGerman population. As Major William Williams wrote on June 26, 1849: "Arrived at Sheboigin [sic] on the Wisconsin side, a small town, population purhaps [sic] from 700 to 1000. This is a promising place. There are a great many best class of Germans settling around it. 'Tis all along this Lake so far quite an interesting country."[15] Between 1840 and 1890,ProtestantDutch immigrants also settled in the area,[16] as didIrish refugees fleeing theGreat Famine.[citation needed] A neighborhood in northwestern Sheboygan (between Martin Avenue and Alexander Court) was settled bySlovenian immigrants and acquired the nameLaibach; it was also known asVollrath's Division.[17][18][19] According to a localOptimist member's account in 1963, in 1887 Sheboygan adopted asundown town ordinance, banning African Americans from living there, though city leaders denied that any such ordinance was in effect.[20][21]
In the spring of 1898, Sheboygan electedFred C. Haack andAugust L. Mohr asaldermen, making them the first twoSocial Democratic Party candidates to be elected to public office in the United States. Haack had originally been elected in 1897 as a member of thePopulist Party but joined the Social Democrats after they organized locally. Haack served as alderman for sixteen years before moving toMilwaukee and being elected as a Socialist alderman there. At the 1932Socialist Party convention, Haack received recognition as the first Socialist officeholder in America.[22][23]
In the early 20th century, manyOrthodox Greeks, Catholic Slavs andLithuanians immigrated to Sheboygan. In the late 20th century,Hmong refugees fromLaos andSoutheast Asia settled there.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.83 square miles (41.00 km2), of which, 15.64 square miles (40.51 km2) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.49 km2) is water.[24] It is located at latitude 43°45' north, longitude 87°44' west.
Sheboygan has a warm-summerhumid continental climate[25] typical of Wisconsin. In spite of its position onLake Michigan there are vast temperature differences between seasons, although it is somewhat moderated compared with areas farther inland.
| Climate data for Sheboygan, Wisconsin (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1899–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 63 (17) | 82 (28) | 92 (33) | 94 (34) | 102 (39) | 108 (42) | 107 (42) | 101 (38) | 90 (32) | 79 (26) | 65 (18) | 108 (42) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 30.3 (−0.9) | 33.3 (0.7) | 42.2 (5.7) | 52.2 (11.2) | 63.2 (17.3) | 74.3 (23.5) | 81.9 (27.7) | 80.1 (26.7) | 72.4 (22.4) | 59.4 (15.2) | 46.5 (8.1) | 35.6 (2.0) | 55.9 (13.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 22.5 (−5.3) | 25.3 (−3.7) | 34.2 (1.2) | 44.0 (6.7) | 54.6 (12.6) | 65.1 (18.4) | 72.3 (22.4) | 71.0 (21.7) | 63.7 (17.6) | 50.9 (10.5) | 38.8 (3.8) | 28.5 (−1.9) | 47.6 (8.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 14.7 (−9.6) | 17.3 (−8.2) | 26.2 (−3.2) | 35.8 (2.1) | 46.0 (7.8) | 55.9 (13.3) | 62.6 (17.0) | 61.9 (16.6) | 55.0 (12.8) | 42.4 (5.8) | 31.1 (−0.5) | 21.5 (−5.8) | 39.2 (4.0) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −26 (−32) | −25 (−32) | −12 (−24) | 10 (−12) | 23 (−5) | 34 (1) | 43 (6) | 37 (3) | 28 (−2) | 14 (−10) | −5 (−21) | −21 (−29) | −26 (−32) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.09 (53) | 1.72 (44) | 2.06 (52) | 3.55 (90) | 3.70 (94) | 4.01 (102) | 3.17 (81) | 4.03 (102) | 2.69 (68) | 3.21 (82) | 2.39 (61) | 2.06 (52) | 34.68 (881) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 10.7 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 12.5 | 11.5 | 10.6 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 10.6 | 10.7 | 9.8 | 125.4 |
| Source:NOAA[26][27] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 4,262 | — | |
| 1870 | 5,310 | 24.6% | |
| 1880 | 7,314 | 37.7% | |
| 1890 | 16,359 | 123.7% | |
| 1900 | 22,962 | 40.4% | |
| 1910 | 26,398 | 15.0% | |
| 1920 | 30,955 | 17.3% | |
| 1930 | 39,251 | 26.8% | |
| 1940 | 40,638 | 3.5% | |
| 1950 | 42,365 | 4.2% | |
| 1960 | 45,747 | 8.0% | |
| 1970 | 49,246 | 7.6% | |
| 1980 | 48,085 | −2.4% | |
| 1990 | 49,718 | 3.4% | |
| 2000 | 50,792 | 2.2% | |
| 2010 | 49,288 | −3.0% | |
| 2020 | 49,929 | 1.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[28] 2020 census[29] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[30] | Pop 2010[31] | Pop 2020[32] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 43,189 | 38,102 | 34,418 | 85.03% | 77.32% | 68.93% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 410 | 832 | 1,557 | 0.81% | 1.69% | 3.12% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 198 | 209 | 190 | 0.39% | 0.42% | 0.38% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 3,266 | 4,412 | 5,495 | 6.43% | 8.95% | 11.01% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 4 | 6 | 16 | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.03% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 23 | 31 | 160 | 0.05% | 0.06% | 0.32% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 668 | 824 | 1,864 | 1.32% | 1.67% | 3.73% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3,034 | 4,866 | 6,229 | 5.97% | 9.87% | 12.48% |
| Total | 50,792 | 49,288 | 49,929 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of thecensus of 2020,[33] the population was 49,929. Thepopulation density was 3,192.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,232.7/km2). There were 22,605 housing units at an average density of 1,445.4 per square mile (558.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 72.3%White, 11.1%Asian, 3.3%Black orAfrican American, 0.6%Native American, 4.8% fromother races, and 7.9% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 12.5%Hispanic orLatino of any race and 68.9%Non-Hispanic White.
As of thecensus[34] of 2010, there were 49,288 people, 20,308 households, and 12,219 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,528.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,362.2/km2). There were 22,339 housing units at an average density of 1,599.1 per square mile (617.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 82.5%White, 1.8%African American, 0.5%Native American, 9.0%Asian, 3.6% fromother races, and 2.5% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 9.9% of the population.
There were 20,308 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.8% were non-families. Of all households 33.4% were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06.
The median age in the city was 36.2 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.2% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.
In 1976, the first threeHmong families settled in Sheboygan with the help of local refugee agencies such as the Grace Episcopal Church and Trinity Lutheran Church. They were refugees fromLaos. By 1990, the city had 2,000 residents of Hmong descent, and by December 1999, there were around 5,000 Hmong andHmong American residents in Sheboygan, 65% of whom were under the age of 18.[35]
In 2006, theSheboygan Hmong Memorial was installed in the lakefront Deland Park to honor Hmong military and civilian contributions to theSecret War inLaos. The 2010 U.S. Census showed the number of Hmong citizens to be around 4,100 people, putting it fourth in Wisconsin for Hmong populations.[36] Per the 2022American Community Survey five-year estimates, theHmong American population was 5,002, the largest Hmong community in Wisconsin after Milwaukee.[37] They are the second largest ethnic group in Sheboygan after those of German descent.
Sheboygan is known for its large ethnic German population comprising roughly 40% of the population. Per the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimates, theGerman American population was 19,694.[38] TheMexican American population was 4,589 comprising over 80% of the Latino population.[39]
Museums in Sheboygan include theAbove & Beyond Children's Museum andSheboygan County Historical Museum. TheSheboygan Hmong Memorial recognizes the service and sacrifice of theHmong people ofLaos who fought for theUnited States during theSecret War from 1961 to 1975, part of theLaotian Civil War. The monument is located within Deland Park along theLake Michigan shoreline of Sheboygan, which contains one of the largerHmong communities in the United States.
In April 1894, the schoonerLottie Cooper wrecked just off Sheboygan in agale.[40] The wreckage was found buried in the harbor during the construction of the Harbor Centre Marina and is now on display in Deland Park, on Sheboygan's lakefront. The free display is the only one of its kind on theGreat Lakes.[41]
TheWisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, established in 2021 and the site of a large number of historically significantshipwrecks, lies in the waters of Lake Michigan off Sheboygan.[42][43][44]
TheJohn Michael Kohler Arts Center is a contemporaryart museum and performing arts complex located in Sheboygan. The center preserves and exhibits artist-built environments and contemporary art. In 2021, the center opened theArt Preserve, a satellite museum space dedicated to art environments.
The city is also home to the historicStefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts. Sheboygan was the home ofThe Chordettes, a 1950s female group, as well as the thrash metal bandMorbid Saint.
Sheboygan County is well known for itsbratwurst.[45] The SheboyganJaycees sponsor Brat Days, an annual fund-raising festival that includes theJohnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship.[46][47]
Sheboygan is a notable surfing destination and has been called the "Malibu of the Midwest".[48] Sheboygan is considered to be one of the best places to surf in theGreat Lakes region.[49][50] Sheboygan hosted the annual Dairyland Surf Classic from 1988 to 2012, the largestlake surfing competition in the world.[51][52] Sheboygan's surfing culture was discussed in the 2003 surfing documentary,Step into Liquid.[citation needed]
Notable parks in Sheboygan includeEllwood H. May Environmental Park, theSheboygan Indian Mound Park, and Quarry Beach.[53]Blue Harbor Resort is a resort,water park andconference center in Sheboygan located onLake Michigan at the mouth of theSheboygan River. It opened in June 2004 after being built byGreat Wolf Resorts.[54]
The city has a trail along the Highway 23 corridor leading to the Old Plank Road Trail to the west of Sheboygan that uses dedicated paths and bike lanes, along with a lakefront trail between Pennsylvania and Park avenues along Broughton Drive. Severalbike routes are marked in the city using existing streets and roads to demarcate separatebike lanes. Since 2018, Sheboygan has held a bronze-levelbicycle-friendly community award from theLeague of American Bicyclists.[55]
A 2013 project created a north-south trail using the formerChicago & Northwestern Railroad right-of-way known as the "Shoreline 400" between Pennsylvania and North avenues, with future expansion to the south planned. A 2016 project added a trail along the Taylor Drive corridor, and improvements to the south to allow an eventual connection to theOzaukee Interurban Trail are proposed for a future date.
Sheboygan has amayor–council form of government. The full-time mayor is elected by general election for a term of four years, with no term limits and to an officiallynon-partisan position. The Common Council consists of ten alderpersons representing the city's ten aldermanic districts with a council president and vice-president presiding over them.[56] A City Administrator oversees the day-to-day administration of the city and is appointed by the Common Council.
Sheboygan's 1916-built City Hall was remodeled throughout 2018 and into 2019, being re-dedicated on September 3, 2019, with a new north frontage becoming the building's new main entrance and making the building's vintage three-story staircase its most prominent feature within a new atrium.[57]
The Sheboygan Police Department is the law enforcement agency in the city. Civil and criminal law cases are heard in the Sheboygan County Circuit Court, with municipal citations for Sheboygan and Kohler handled through the city's municipal court within the police headquarters building.[58] The Sheboygan Fire Department provides fire suppression and emergency medical services, operating out of five fire stations throughout the city.
Sheboygan is represented in the Wisconsin State Assembly as part of both the26th (Terry Katsma, R–Oostburg) and27th (Tyler Vorpagel, R–Plymouth) districts, whose boundaries split the city along Geele Avenue from the west until North 18th Street, then Superior Avenue from North 18th Street to Lake Michigan. The city is also represented in the State Senate as part of the9th district (Devin LeMahieu, R–Oostburg).
Sheboygan is in the6th congressional district of Wisconsin, which is represented by Republican congressmanGlenn Grothman.
Sheboygan public schools are administered by theSheboygan Area School District.
High schools within the city include:
The school district was the first in Wisconsin to operate an FM radio station,WSHS (91.7). Since 1996, Sheboygan has had a high school program, Rockets for Schools,[59] where students build and launch 8-and-20-foot-tall (2.4 and 6.1 m) rockets.
The city's daily newspaper isGannett'sThe Sheboygan Press, which has been published since 1907. TheSheboygan Sun also provides local news coverage through its website, while theBeacon is published by the same company asThe Plymouth Review andSheboygan Falls News; the latter two have print editions mailed out weekly to all residents. The Gannett-ownedShoreline Chronicle contains Press "best-of" content, and is door-delivered and is also distributed with the WednesdayPress.
The city is served by television and radio stations in Green Bay and Milwaukee.Nielsen's television division places Sheboygan within the Milwaukee market, although Green Bay stations also report news, events, and weather warnings pertaining to Sheboygan and target the city with advertising.
Nielsen Audio places Sheboygan and Sheboygan County within one radio market, and several stations serve the area.Midwest Communications owns four stations within the county, includingtalk stationWHBL (1330, with atranslator station at 101.5 FM which transmits strongly due to its high tower height across most its service area;country stationWBFM (93.7);CHR/Top 40WXER (104.5 from Plymouth, with a translator at 96.1 FM in Sheboygan); andactive rock Sheboygan Falls-licensedWHBZ (106.5).WCLB (950, translated on 107.3) also serves the city from its Sheboygan Falls transmitter, repeating Plymouth'sWGXI (1420, translated on 98.5), aclassic country station. The Sheboygan Area School District'shigh school radio station,WSHS (91.7), provides school programming and theWisconsin Public Radio Music Network.
Variousreligious stations originating from Milwaukee and north of Green Bay and a translator for Kiel'sWSTM (91.3), andNOAA Weather Radio stationWWG91 broadcast from several towers in the city, mainly from a tower along Interstate 43 north of Superior Avenue, with aWVCY-FM translator at 9.49 broadcasting from the county-owned communications tower atop Taylor Hill by theSheboygan County Historical Museum.WYVM acts as a full-power relay ofSuring's WRVN (102.7), which has a religious teaching format.
The city is served bySpectrum andU-verse, withpublic-access televisioncable TV programming provided to both systems from "WSCS", and "SASD-TV" features school board meetings, with both channels featuring meetings and other content through their websites andYouTube. The city at one time had a translator of theTrinity Broadcasting Network,WPVS-LP (channel 16/20 analog), which went off the air following thedigital switchover and has since moved to Milwaukee; WHBL also attempted to establish a television sister station several times, without success.[60]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Interstate 43 is the primary north-south transportation route into Sheboygan, and forms the west boundary of the city.U.S. Route 141 was the primary north-south route into Sheboygan before Interstate 43 was built, and its former route is a major north-south route through the center of the city that is referred to as Calumet Drive coming into the city from the north, and South Business Drive/Sauk Trail Road from the south; between Superior and Georgia Avenues within the city's originalplat, the highway is known as 14th Street. Four-laneHighway 23 is the primary west route into the city, and leads into the city up to North 25th Street as a freeway as Kohler Memorial Drive. Other state highways in the city includeHighway 42,Highway 28, which both run mostly along the former inner-city routing of U.S. 141. Secondary county highways include County Trunk Highway DL (CTH-DL) and the decommissioned CTH-LS to the north; CTH-J, CTH-O, CTH-PP, and CTH-EE to the west; and CTH-KK to the south.
Foraddressing purposes, the city's north-south zero point is Pennsylvania Avenue (increasing from 500 past that line in both directions), while west addressing zeroes out at the extreme eastern point of Superior Avenue at Lake Michigan (Sheboygan and Sheboygan County have no east addresses, and the little land existing northeast of that point stretches out the six '100 blocks' eastward with x50-x90 numbers not otherwise used in most other addresses in Sheboygan).
Shoreline Metro provides public bus transit throughout the city, as well as inKohler andSheboygan Falls. All routes depart from the Metro Center, more commonly known as the "Transfer Point" located in the downtown.
Jefferson Lines andIndian Trails serve Sheboygan at the Metro Center, providing transportation toMilwaukee (and anAmtrak Thruway connection to theMilwaukee Intermodal Station) andGreen Bay.
Historically the city was connected to Milwaukee, Chicago and Green Bay via theMilwaukee Interurban Lines, theChicago & North Western Railroad and theMilwaukee Road. These railroads' passenger services were abandoned during the mid-20th century but in 2008 the Wisconsin Department of Transportation proposed to reestablish passenger service to Milwaukee and Green Bay via Fond du Lac and the cities along Lake Winnebago's west shore, though political complications in the 2010s have since mothballed rail expansion in Wisconsin.[61]
Sheboygan is served by the county-owned non-commercialSheboygan County Memorial Airport (KSBM) three miles northwest of the city.
Sheboygan is bounded on the east byLake Michigan. The city has no active port in the 21st century.Blue Harbor Resort is located on apeninsula between the lake and the Sheboygan River's last bend. This site was formerly used as the headquarters of the C. Reiss Coal Company (now aKoch Industries division). It was their base of operations for ships to load and unloadcoal for delivery along the peninsula.
TheSheboygan River passes through the city, but dams inSheboygan Falls prevent navigation upriver. Tall-masted boats are confined to the river downstream of the Pennsylvania Avenue bridge. Commercial charter fishing boats dock near the mouth of the river.
Two hospitals serve the city. Aurora Medical Center - Sheboygan County opened in July 2022 underAurora Health Care.[62] St. Nicholas Hospital operates as part of theHospital Sisters Health System.
Sheboygan'ssister cities are:
Esslingen am Neckar,Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Tsubame,Niigata, JapanSheboygan has student exchanges with Esslingen and has had student exchanges with Tsubame in the past.[71]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
One Optimist claimed that loan requirements of theFederal Home and Housing Agency will force Sheboygan to sell homes to Negroes 'and when that happens the lid is going to blow off.' The same Optimist asserted that present city officials deny that Sheboygan has an ordinance preventing Negroes from living in Sheboygan. But, he claimed, Sheboygan adopted such an ordinance in 1887 – 'that no Negroes will be housed in Sheboygan – and it is still on the books.'
[James] Loewen's testimonies are remembered, secondary accounts. The Sheboygan Press archives also tell a story of discriminatory local discourse and policy. The very rumor of a sundown ordinance prompted then-Mayor John Bolgert in 1959 to outright deny that Sheboygan had any sundown laws. He cited as proof that black people were able to live in the city when they were playing baseball for the local minor league team. The same story reported a local pastor as saying there was no prejudice toward black people because there were none here.
Control Cities adjacent to Sheboygan | |
|---|---|
Municipalities and communities ofSheboygan County, Wisconsin,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Villages | ||
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Former communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
