Whitewater, Wisconsin

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Whitewater, Wisconsin
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

---

imagesize =
image_caption = Main Street, Downtown Whitewater, WI


image_

mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Whitewater, Wisconsin


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Wisconsin
subdivision_type2 = Counties
subdivision_name2 = Walworth, Jefferson

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 18.9
area_land_km2 = 18.1
area_water_km2 = 0.8
area_total_sq_mi = 7.3
area_land_sq_mi = 7.0
area_water_sq_mi = 0.3

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 13437
population_density_km2 = 742.7
population_density_sq_mi = 1923.5

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_m = 251
elevation_ft = 823
latd = 42 |latm = 50 |lats = 6 |latNS = N
longd = 88 |longm = 44 |longs = 10 |longEW = W

postal_code_type =
postal_code =
area_code =
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 55-86925GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1576690GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Whitewater is a city in Jefferson and Walworth Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is home of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

History

Whitewater was founded at the confluence of Whitewater Creek and Spring Brook, and named for the white sand in their beds. [ [http://www.ci.whitewater.wi.us/about_whitewater/history.html History of Whitewater ] ] A gristmill was built on Whitewater creek, the resulting pond now called Lake Cravath. The city grew quickly when the first railroad line in Wisconsin passed through in 1853, but struggled when the two largest employers left town. [ [http://www.ci.whitewater.wi.us/about_whitewater/history.html History of Whitewater ] ] In 2006, local historian Fred Kraege published a historical overview of the city, entitled "Whitewater", with Arcadia Press.

Local government

The City of Whitewater has a council-manager form of government. Whitewater has a Common Council. The Council is made up of one Councilmember from each of the five districts in the city and two Members-at-Large positions.The City Manager is Kevin Brunner. The Municipal Judge is Richard Kelly.

Council Members
*District 1: Craig Stauffer
*District 2: Maxwell Taylor
*District 3: Roy Nosek
*District 4: Lynn Binnie
*District 5: Patrick Singer - Council President
*Member-at-Large: Jim Stewart - Council President Pro Tem
*Member-at-Large: Marilyn Kienbaum

The Common Council meets on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at City Hall and can be seen live on Cable Station 13.

Culture

Annual events in Whitewater include an Open House in December, "Freeze Fest" in January, the Bridal Fair, Donkey Basketball and Farm Toy Show in February, Maxwell Street Day and the 4th of July Celebration in July. Adding to these annual events are the Minneiska Water Ski Shows [http://www.geocities.com/bkelly145/] Saturday evenings on Whitewater Lake. Twice weekly throughout the year guided walks are held departing from the Hwy 12 crossing of the Ice Age Trail free of charge and group biking tours depart several times a week from the area. September through April, Young Auditorium at the university [http://www.uww.edu/youngauditorium/index.php] features world class entertainment.

Notable residents

Notable people associated with Whitewater include:

*Stephen Ambrose, author, historian
*John Belushi, comedian, actor (attended University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)
*Tom Bigelow, auto racer
*Edward S. Curtis, photographer, director, actor, cinematographer
*Tom Hulce, actor
*Warren S. Johnson, inventor of the electric thermostat, founder of Johnson Controls, Inc. (professor at State Normal School)
* [http://www.stevemeisner.com/ Steve Meisner] , musician (Polka)
* [http://www.benmccready.com/ Benjamin McCready] , painter
*Leon Pescheret, painter, architect
*Bob Wickman, major league pitcher (attended University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)
*Caryl Yasko, muralist

Geography

Whitewater is located at coor dms|42|50|6|N|88|44|10|W|city (42.834950, -88.736119)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²) of which 7.0 square miles (18.1 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (3.98%) is water. Most of the city lies in Walworth County.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000,GR|2 there were 13,437 people, 4,132 households, and 1,685 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,923.5 people per square mile (742.2/km²). There were 4,340 housing units at an average density of 621.3/sq mi (239.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.25% White, 2.34% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.48% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.50% of the population.

There were 4,132 households out of which 19.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.5% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.2% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.7% 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 3.00.

In the city the population was spread out with 12.5% under the age of 18, 53.2% from 18 to 24, 15.7% from 25 to 44, 9.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,600, and the median income for a family was $48,185. Males had a median income of $33,078 versus $22,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,965. About 10.6% of families and 27.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* [http://www.ci.whitewater.wi.us/ City of Whitewater official website]
* [http://www.discoverwhitewater.org/ Whitewater Tourism Council]
* [http://www.wwusd.org/ Whitewater Unified School District]
* [http://www.whswhippets.com/ Whitewater High School Alumni]
* [http://whitewaterbanner.com/ WhitewaterBanner.com - News, Photos, Events and Calendar for Whitewater WI]
* [http://www.freewhitewater.com/ FreeWhitewater.com - Toward a Free and Honest City]