Douglas County, named after Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas, was established on February 8, 1854, from the larger La Pointe County, Wisconsin, and the City of Superior was immediately selected as the county seat. In Wisconsin's 1952 U.S. Senate primary, Douglas County was one of two counties that Sen. Joe McCarthy did not carry.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. A portion of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is located within Douglas County.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 44,159 people living in the county. 93.2% were White, 2.0% Native American, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 2.7% of two or more races. 1.1% were Hispanic or Latino. 20.7% were of German, 11.2% Norwegian, 9.7% Swedish, 7.8% Irish, 6.4% Finnish and 6.1% Polish ancestry. As of the census of 2000, there were 43,287 people, 17,808 households, and 11,272 families living in the county. The population density was 33 people per square mile. There were 20,356 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95.35% White, 0.57% Black or African American, 1.82% Native American, 0.63% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 17.8% had German, 13.5% Norwegian, 11.5% Swedish, 8.5% Irish, 8.2% Finnish, 6.8% Polish and 5.1% United States or American ancestry. 96.7% spoke English and 1.2% Spanish as their first language. There were 17,808 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.10% were married couplesliving together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.70% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males. In 2017, there were 413 births, giving a general fertility rate of 50.8 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the seventh lowest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were no reported induced abortions performed on women of Douglas County residence in 2017.
