Price County was created on March 3, 1879, when Wisconsin Governor William E. Smith signed legislation creating the county. The county was later organized in 1882. William T. Price, for whom Price County was named, was President of Wisconsin Senate and an early logger in Price County; he later was elected to the U.S. Congress. The county was formed from portions of Chippewa and Lincoln counties. The first white settler in what is now Price County was Major Isaac Stone, who located on the Spirit River in 1860 to engage in lumbering. Price County continues today to be a large producer of raw timber.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The highest natural point in Wisconsin, Timms Hill at 1,951 feet, is located in Price County.
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,822 people, 6,564 households, and 4,417 families residing in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile. There were 9,574 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98.22% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 44.4% were of German, 6.5% Norwegian, 5.9% Swedish, 5.4% Polish, 5.2% Irish and 5.0% Czech ancestry. There were 6,564 households out of which 28.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.50% were married couplesliving together, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.70% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.91. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.80% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 18.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.00 males. In 2017, there were 127 births, giving a general fertility rate of 71.4 births per 1000 women aged 15–44, the 13th highest rate out of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Additionally, there were fewer than five reported induced abortions performed on women of Price County residence in 2017.
