Richland Center, Wisconsin

Richland Center is a city in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat of Richland County. As of the 2010 census, 5,184 people lived there.

Richland Center, Wisconsin
City
Location of Richland Center, Wisconsin
Location of Richland Center, Wisconsin
Coordinates: 43°20′16″N 90°23′5″W
CountryUnited States
StateWisconsin
CountyRichland
Area
[1]
 • Total4.36 sq mi (11.29 km2)
 • Land4.28 sq mi (11.09 km2)
 • Water0.08 sq mi (0.21 km2)
Elevation
[2]
728 ft (222 m)
Population
 (2010)[3]
 • Total5,184
 • Estimate 
(2011[4])
5,182
 • Density1,211.2/sq mi (467.6/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)608
FIPS code55-67625[5]
GNIS feature ID1578616[2]

History

Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira Sherwin Hazeltine. Haseltine offered to give land to the county if Richland Center was voted the county seat.[6] In 1852, the Wisconsin Legislature named Richland Center as the seat for Richland County.[7] The Richland County courthouse was built in 1889.

In 1876, a railroad branch opened to connect Richland Center with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad at Lone Rock, Wisconsin. This gave an outlet for the town's commerce. On October 8, 1882, the town's railway depot was destroyed when a fire lit two kegs of gunpowder inside it. This caused an explosion that tore the roof from the building.[8] Another depot was built in 1909. Today, it is a visitor center for the community.[9]

Frank Lloyd Wright was born at Richland Center in 1867.

Geography

The city has a total area of 4.36 square miles (11.29 km2). Of this, 4.28 square miles (11.09 km2) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km2) is water.[1]

Notable people

References
  1. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
  5. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. Butterfield, C. W. (1884). History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin. Springfield, Illinois: Union Publishing Company. pp. 1150-1151.
  7. "An Act to Declare the County Seat of Richland County," Wisconsin Statutes 1852, c. 37.
  8. Butterfield (1884). p. 1164
  9. "Richland Center Visitor Center Archived 2011-11-03 at the Wayback Machine." Richland Chamber & Development Alliance. Retrieved 2011-11-03.

Other websites
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.